A disputes lawyer must have a passion to help people, and a willingness and desire to formulate arguments and advance them.
Amos Cai
Director
Head of Disputes Resolution Practice Group
Advocate and Solicitor, Singapore
LLB (Hons), National University of Singapore, Class of 2011
A disputes lawyer must have a passion to help people, and a willingness and desire to formulate arguments and advance them.
Amos Cai helms the Disputes team. His main areas of practice are civil, commercial and construction litigation. Amos has also acted for and advised clients in many other areas of law including debt recovery, insolvency, medical negligence, criminal, defamation, and arbitration.
Specialisation
- Civil & Commercial Litigation
- Dispute Resolution, Mediation, Arbitration
- Construction
- Debt Recovery
- Insurance
- Personal Injury & Motor Accident
- Medical Negligence
- Defamation
- Criminal Defence
- Restructuring & Insolvency
Language Proficiency
English, Mandarin
Amos Cai, an esteemed legal practitioner, currently serves as a Director and Head of Dispute Resolution Practice at Yuen Law LLC. Leading a team of dedicated practitioners, the group consistently receives recognition from Benchmark Litigation, the sole publication in the market exclusively dedicated to dispute resolution. This year marks a significant achievement as the team has advanced to a tier 5 firm ranking, underscoring their strengths in commercial and transactional disputes.
With over a decade of experience, his main areas of practice are civil, commercial and construction litigation. In addition, Amos has advised clients on a broad range of legal matters, including debt recovery, insolvency, death claims from medical negligence, criminal, defamation, arbitration, adjudication, claims under the Security of Payment Act, hearings at the Strata Title Board, and at disciplinary tribunal inquiries by the Singapore Medical Council and the Singapore Dental Council.
Since joining Yuen Law in 2018, Amos has helmed the Disputes Practice, where he relishes working on a variety of case types, and finding pragmatic solutions for his clients.
Outside of the courtroom, Amos is known for his friendly demeanour, quick thinking, commitment to excellence. In Court, he is sharp and persuasive, known for his tenacity, and ability to lead successful outcomes for clients, making him a popular choice among individuals and companies seeking reliable and robust representation.
Amos’ professional passion is helping start-ups and SMEs, recognising the challenges that businesses face with limited resources. He takes the time to ensure that his clients have a thorough understanding of their legal situation, and provides clear guidance on the available courses of action, remaining agile as circumstances change.
Amos is a pro bono lawyer with the Singapore Law Society’s Criminal Legal Aid Scheme (CLAS), a non-profit initiative by the Law Society of Singapore that aids underprivileged individuals in criminal cases. He also volunteers with a Singapore NGO that works with migrant workers.
In addition to his professional pursuits, Amos is a keen sportsman and loves playing football and tennis. He represents the Law Society football team in the annual Bench and Bar competition. In his spare time, he is a board game enthusiast and enjoys playing strategy games, including wargames and train games that can last for multiple hours.
- Represented a prominent building and construction company in a SIAC arbitration against a main contractor concerning unpaid sums for contracted work and additional works performed, as well as wrongful call on our client’s performance bond. We defended against counterclaims filed by the respondent for alleged failure to provide certain goods and rectification of defects. We successfully negotiated a settlement for the parties involved.
- Represent Eller, Urs against Cheong Kiat Wah with a claim for equitable compensation for breach of trust deed in relation to shares of a Malaysian company. An appeal was filed by Cheong Kiat Wah to the Appellate Division of the High Court of Singapore, which was subsequently dismissed. (Eller, Urs v Cheong Kiat Wah [2021] SGHC 253, [2020] SGHC 106).
- Represented one of the defendants in a claim by one of the parties to a joint venture. The claimant sued for an indemnity and damages, and alleged that the defendants had breached an exit agreement by failing to service a loan. The dispute involved issues on contract formation. (Choong Cher Siong Ronnie v Florensia Leovanny Liong and others, [2022] SGDC 286).
- Represented two of the defendants in a claim initiated by their investor for relief against minority oppression under Section 216 of the Companies Act for excluding him from conduct of company’s affairs, and wrongful dilution of shares. The defendants were found not to have unfairly diluted the claimant’s shares. (Lim Tong Zhen Kevryn v Cheo Jean Sheng and others [2022] SGHC 315).
- Represented the defendant and plaintiffs-in-counterclaim against claims for commission and salary by a former employee who was their vice president of sales in the Asia-Pacific region. The former employee made claims for commission and salary, but our client disputed the amount of commission due, specifically for projects where the engagement with their clients turned sour. The Judge awarded judgment for less than what the plaintiffs had claimed. (Appelqvist, Pontus Paal v Eon Reality Pte Ltd [2022] SGHC 296).
- Successfully defended the second defendant, a director and shareholder of Island logistics Pte Ltd, in a High Court trial concerning a judgment creditor’s claim against the company. The creditor sought a declaration seeking to hold the directors personally liable for the judgment on alleged grounds of fraudulent trading. (Marina Towage Pte Ltd v Chin Kwek Chong & Anor [2021] SGHC 81).
- Represented an employer in defending claims initiated by her domestic worker, for allegedly inflicting psychiatric harm and conspiring with the agent to detain her in the apartment wrongfully. We applied to strike out the action on grounds that it was frivolous, vexatious or an abuse of the court. (Nina Duwi Koriah v Noor Hayah binte Gulam and another [2019] SGDC 285).
- Assisted in a SIAC arbitration involving a construction dispute worth in excess of S$12 million.
- Defended client substantially in High Court in a million-dollar civil claim, including succeeding on a point of law involving amendment of pleadings after trial.
- Provided pro bono defence for the accused in a drug trafficking trial over 3 days.
- Acted pro bono for an accused in a theft in dwelling trial over 8 days.
- Acted for both employers and employees in employment disputes in MOM Labour Court and High Court.
- Volunteer lawyer with the Singapore Law Society’s Criminal Legal Aid Scheme (CLAS)
- Volunteer lawyer with Humanitarian Organization for Migration Economics (HOME), a Singapore NGO that works with migrant workers
- Member of the Teochew Poit IP Huay Kuan
- Member of Business Network International
Download Amos Cai's CV (PDF)
News about Amos Cai
Dispute cases can be distressing, and I always try to make clients feel like they are heard while advising them on the most pragmatic course of action to achieve a favourable outcome.
Articles by Amos Cai
