Ramesh Perera

D. L. & F. De Saram

Attorneys At Law D. L. & F. De Saram is one of the oldest law firms in Sri Lanka, founded in 1898 by Richard Francis De Saram, and carried on in partnership by his sons, Douglas and Fred De Saram. This tradition has endured without interruption well into the 20th century when Fred De Saram's four sons, Colonel F.C. De Saram, F.J. "Coo" De Saram, Robert De Saram and Maurice De Saram, and a nephew, Clifford Trevor De Saram, guided the fortunes of the firm. Interestingly, the tradition is kept alive by the present partners, Michael Sproule and Dijen De Saram, grandsons of Fred De Saram, and Savantha De Saram and Prabash De Saram, his great grandsons. De Saram's is one of the largest full service law firms in Sri Lanka, which, while taking great pride in its rich heritage is, in these rapidly changing times, not anchored by its traditions. The firm has been consistently ranked as a top-tier legal firm by IFLR 1000, Legal 500, Chambers Global and Chambers Asia Pacific. We provide cross border legal services to major international firms in, inter alia, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, China, Singapore, Hong Kong, India, Europe and Australia. Our highly qualified, versatile and experienced legal team specializes in infrastructure project development (including ports, power and energy, highways, etc.), with emphasis on PPPs and cross border financing. We acted as local counsel to the US $ 1.5 billion Port City Project, the largest infrastructure project undertaken in Sri Lanka. The firm's M & A team has been involved in three of the largest M & A transactions in Sri Lanka: the acquisition of Aviva NDB Insurance PLC by Aviva Company; the merger of the Lafarge and Holcim entities in Sri Lanka pursuant to the global merger of these entities; and the sale by Lafarge Holcim of its shares in Holcim Lanka Limited. We also advised on antitrust implications of the Lafarge and Holcim merger under Sri Lankan law.