ABOUT THE FIRM
A practice built on careful, structured thinking
Tanjong Counsel was established to serve Singapore businesses navigating the legal dimensions of financial difficulty — with precision, discretion, and a steady hand.
← Back to HomeOUR STORY
From the intersection of law and commerce
Tanjong Counsel was founded by practitioners who had spent years in larger firms handling complex insolvency and corporate recovery matters. Over time, a clear gap became apparent: smaller and mid-sized Singapore businesses facing financial difficulty often found themselves without access to focused, practical legal counsel — the kind that acknowledges commercial realities while ensuring statutory obligations are properly managed.
The firm was established to address precisely that gap. We work primarily within the framework of the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018 — Singapore's consolidated insolvency legislation — and our practice reflects the specific procedural and regulatory landscape that this Act created.
The name Tanjong reflects our connection to Singapore's maritime heritage and the idea of a headland — a point from which direction becomes clearer. It is a name that speaks to orientation: helping clients find their footing when the commercial landscape has become difficult to read.
Mission
To provide Singapore businesses with legally precise, commercially aware counsel in matters of debt restructuring, insolvency, and creditor relations — enabling informed decisions at every stage of the process.
Values
- Clarity: Plain communication about complex processes and realistic timelines
- Discretion: Sensitive matters handled with full confidentiality
- Proportion: Advice scaled to the circumstances, not inflated
- Diligence: Thorough preparation at every stage of an engagement
THE TEAM
Counsel with practical insolvency experience
Rachel Lim
MANAGING DIRECTOR · SENIOR COUNSEL
Called to the Singapore Bar with over fourteen years in corporate insolvency and restructuring practice. Experienced in scheme of arrangement proceedings, IRDA moratorium applications, and high-value creditor negotiations across the manufacturing and services sectors.
David Tan
DIRECTOR · RESTRUCTURING
Twelve years advising on voluntary winding-up processes and corporate dissolution. Works closely with liquidators and ACRA filings, with extensive experience managing creditor communication and statutory compliance in both members' and creditors' voluntary winding-up matters.
Siti Karimah
ASSOCIATE · CREDITOR ADVISORY
Specialises in creditor-debtor negotiation and settlement documentation. Trained in Singapore and the UK, with a background in banking law that brings a lender-side perspective to debtor advisory work. Advises across real estate, technology, and F&B sectors.
HOW WE WORK
Professional standards applied to every engagement
Insolvency and restructuring work involves both legal precision and professional discretion. These are the standards we hold ourselves to across all client matters.
Singapore Law Society Membership
All practising lawyers at Tanjong Counsel hold current practising certificates issued by the Law Society of Singapore and comply with its professional conduct rules.
Legal Professional Privilege
All communications between Tanjong Counsel and its clients are protected by legal professional privilege. Information shared during the course of our engagement is not disclosed to third parties without client authority.
Anti-Money Laundering Compliance
We carry out client due diligence and source-of-funds verification in accordance with the Legal Profession (Professional Conduct) Rules and MAS guidelines applicable to legal practitioners.
PDPA Data Handling
Client personal data is collected, retained, and disposed of in accordance with the Personal Data Protection Act 2012. We do not share data beyond what is required for the legal services being provided.
IRDA Procedural Adherence
Our team stays current on procedural requirements under the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018, practice directions from the Singapore courts, and ACRA's filing requirements for insolvency-related matters.
Conflict of Interest Checks
Before accepting any new engagement, we conduct a formal conflicts check to ensure we can act without any compromise to either the client or parties with whom we may already have an existing relationship.
Legal expertise in corporate insolvency and financial restructuring, Singapore
Corporate financial difficulty in Singapore is governed primarily by the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018 (IRDA), which consolidated and modernised the legislative framework previously spread across the Companies Act and the Bankruptcy Act. The IRDA introduced significant changes including revised moratorium provisions, new rescue financing mechanisms, and updated creditors' meeting requirements — reflecting Singapore's commitment to maintaining a creditor-friendly yet restructuring-supportive legal environment.
Tanjong Counsel works within this framework across three areas: debt restructuring advisory for businesses seeking to preserve going-concern value; voluntary winding-up support for companies completing an orderly dissolution; and creditor negotiation advisory for parties seeking settlement outside formal proceedings. Each service area draws on the same foundation — careful reading of the applicable statutory requirements and a practical understanding of how Singapore courts and regulatory bodies approach insolvency matters.
The Samsung Hub location at 3 Church Street places Tanjong Counsel within close reach of the Singapore courts, ACRA's offices, and the financial institutions and corporate clients we serve in the Central Business District. We operate as a focused practice, maintaining the quality of advice and attention to each matter that a larger firm's volume may not allow.
NEXT STEPS
Understanding your position is where we begin
An initial consultation with Tanjong Counsel is the appropriate first step — regardless of whether you are considering restructuring, preparing for wind-down, or seeking to resolve a creditor matter.
Arrange a Consultation