IFLR 1000
The Guide to the World's Leading Financial Law Firms

Practitioners generally agree that the oldest law firms in Sri Lanka have maintained their dominant positions in the legal market and both FJ&G de Saram and Julius & Creasy still command sizeable market shares. However, a partner notes that an increasing number of high profile clients are going towards the newer firms in in the country: "Both the established large firms and younger firms have been working on the largest projects in Sri Lanka....

Practitioners generally agree that the oldest law firms in Sri Lanka have maintained their dominant positions in the legal market and both FJ&G de Saram and Julius & Creasy still command sizeable market shares. However, a partner notes that an increasing number of high profile clients are going towards the newer firms in in the country: "Both the established large firms and younger firms have been working on the largest projects in Sri Lanka. It has been more common for the younger firms to act on high profile projects, and the differences in the amount of work that the older and younger firms get is decreasing."

Another partner also notes that the professionalism in the legal industry in Sri Lanka is receiving increasing attention, "There are still a lot of matters related to transparency of both the public and private sector in Sri Lanka," says one partner. However, practitioners have become more aware that they have to take the initiative to comply with the regulations and to be more legal-centric. There have been many discussions in regards to professional practice and practitioners are becoming more sophisticated in realising the legal risks associated with not complying with the regulations.

Sadly, two well-respected practitioners in Sri Lanka's legal circle have passed away in the past 12 months, including Tudor Jayasuriya, partner of FJ&G de Saram, and Senathi Rajah, managing partner of Julius & Creasy.

CONTEXT AND TRENDS Funds for infrastructure projects in Sri Lanka have continued to come in from overseas, despite global economic conditions. Besides Chinese government funding, there has been strong interest from private investors, according to practitioners....

Funds for infrastructure projects in Sri Lanka have continued to come in from overseas, despite global economic conditions. Besides Chinese government funding, there has been strong interest from private investors, according to practitioners. "The Chinese government has continued to supply funding for projects. There has still been a consistent level of funding coming in for larger projects, but there has been a decrease in funding for smaller to mid-size projects," A partner says, "The private investors and banks are providing funds for projects of different sizes. International banks have continued to provide loans to investors on their projects. A few Indian banks are also seeking to expand their operations, Axis Bank, for example, is seeking to expand its operation in Sri Lanka."

The country is yet to develop a comprehensive public-private partnership (PPP) framework, which has been a concern for international development agencies. As one partner says: "Sri Lanka is still lacking a sophisticated PPP framework, therefore when it comes to government and private company collaboration, it is often necessary for law firms to pay extra attention and effort in drafting agreements. There are infrastructure projects going on quite often still; there is just need for further institutionalisation of infrastructure development in Sri Lanka, which the international organisations such as the World Bank are working with the government and the private practitioners to develop that."

Investors are also looking to develop the hotel and tourism industry in Sri Lanka with the construction of the Shangri-La Hotel in Colombo this year seen as a landmark development. A partner says, "The conglomerates have made more profits this year than last year, in spite of the economic crisis. We've seen new investment coming in, mostly in the hotel sector. Large hotel chains such as Shangri La have been coming in. There have been new hotel constructions in many places."

Practitioners also agreed that it has been a quiet year for the capital markets due to the depreciation of the Rupee and global market sentiment. "The capital markets in Sri Lanka are not yet mature. The practitioners and investors have been pushing for the approval of several new instruments, which are still pending."