

With close to 30 years of experience with the SME community in dispute resolution & business growth matters, we have secured a 4.9 STAR rating. Check the reviews from our past clients : https://www.vanillalaw.law/#review-carousel
We want to emphasize the importance of choosing the right legal representation for your needs. When selecting any law firm, you should not just be happy with standard legal advice. You should seek out a team of highly skilled professionals dedicated to achieving the best outcome for yourself.
DON'T TAKE THE RISK of securing top-notch legal assistance tailored specifically to your situation. Let's schedule a call to discuss how we can best support you
Practice areas
Lawsuits & Disputes
When your commercial and reputational interests are at risk, you will want lawyers who are able to give you a cost-effective and tactical plan, strategically navigate you through the process till a settlement is reached.
These are some of the building blocks we use to customize the plan for you :
- Negotiation
- Mediation
- Arbitration
- Court Litigation
CLIENTS' REVIEWS
I have entrusted all my legal affairs to Mark since 1997; from fundraising agreements in Singapore to litigation in the London Court of International Arbitration. He’s as quick off the mark in court as he is on his bicycle. Most importantly he takes a forensic evidence based approach which is in the interest of the small client, instead of burning fees on legal platitudes and litigation letters.
------- Jim Christopher James [EastWest PR]
Recently I won a case under the guidance and advice of Mark and got most of my legal fees and court fees reimbursed. I have engaged local heavyweight law firms before, and I can say that Mark and his associate Boon Chong’s client service and technical competence are parallel to, if not better, than them. Long before the pandemic, Mark has already adopted innovative technology to deliver legal services. While many law firms charge their clients on an hourly rate, they have taken a new approach by charging fixed fees for a defined scope of work. I would recommend Mark’s service to anyone who values customer service and wants to manage their fees on a no-surprise basis. ------------ Martyn Chew [GIC Group]
Business
As corporate lawyers, we are here to help business owners remove barriers to growth or mitigate the risks to such growth. You have set your sights on closing that deal which you have spent hours negotiating and (perhaps) you are now at the last step to seal the deal.
With more than 2 decades of experience in this field, our team of experts are able to meld creative thinking and the law to identify, protect the business relationships, commercialize your trademarks, patents and copyright materials through an integrated approach.
In today’s global marketplace, partnering up and collaborations are inevitable for business growth. With a worldwide view, we are your trusted partner to help you develop creative and constructive solutions to manage the risks and maximise growth, tax optimisation and minimising insolvency risks.
CLIENT'S REVIEW
It was great working with the team. They were commercial minded and gave us the legal advice candidly, while always keeping the ultimate goal of closing the deal in sight. We would work with the them again anytime! (It was a successful merger and acquisition).
------ Foo Chih Yuen [Image Engine Pte Ltd]
Media, Technology and Telecoms
At the forefront of legal technology, Mark is the architect of the world's first client-facing document assembly software, VanillaLaw Docs. The software has a subscriber base of more than 1500 global business owners. This project has given Mark an opportunity to understand the intricacies of software technology building, melding with the intellectual property rights and their protection and enforcement methods. Mark is also a certified Enterprise Architect [TOGAF]
In May 2017, VanillaLaw Docs was mentioned in the press release by Senior Minister of State for Law, Indranee Rajah, S.C. to launch “Tech Start For Lawyers”
In 2019, Mark was invited to participate in a 70 strong participant zoom event with Indranee Rajah and Minister for Culture, Community and Youth and Second Minister for Law, Edwin Tong, S.C. in a dialogue “Emerging Stronger Together as One Legal Industry”. VanillaLaw LLC was one of 4 law firms invited to share how he transformed and digitised his law firm to enable it to go global.
REVIEW BY SENIOR MINISTER OF STATE FOR LAW [SINGAPORE]
Tech for more productive interaction with clients: A good example is VanillaLaw® Docs, an interactive web-based platform created by Singapore law firm, VanillaLaw® LLC. VanillaLaw® LLC developed their own online contract template which, when used together with this platform, allows their clients to insert relevant information to prepare the first draft of legal documents.
The law firm reviews this and focuses on issues requiring legal advice and drafting amendments. The end product is still cleared by qualified lawyers but this technology enabled process cuts down the need for multiple or long meetings to take instructions. This saves time and costs for the firm and clients.
-------------- Indranee Rajah, Senior Counsel Senior Minister of State for Law [Singapore]
Employment & Labor
Talented people are integral to the business growth, but managing people is not without its challenges. With digitisation and an increasing mobile workforce, whether they are your employees, freelancers or service providers, you need to be able to harness the best in them wherever in the world they may be working from. But you will also need to consider the potential breach of confidentiality at the work place. Such breaches have far reaching consequences to the business and it needs to be mitigated and contained.
The people who work with you on projects are often given sensitive or confidential information (including trade secrets, copyrighted materials etc). Despite having the best practices in the sharing of such materials and information, how can a business owner mitigate this (very real) potential risk?
Where confidential breaches and disputes arise, you will want lawyers who are able to give you a cost-effective and tactical plan, strategically navigate you through the process till a settlement is reached.
Our Partners and Associates

Mark started his law practice very shortly after he was admitted to the Singapore Bar in 1994. The law firm, VanillaLaw® LLC, now spans more than 2 decades. Through the decades, Mark has singlehandedly and successfully steered the firm through 5 global recessions.
Mark began his professional practice as a litigator in commercial, civil and criminal law. At the age of 29 years old, he was one of the youngest lawyers to be appointed as Lead Counsel in capital cases, having led no less than 30 capital cases within a 10 year period. He had the opportunity to work alongside prominent senior criminal lawyers, observing their court craft but all the while developing his own voice and advocacy style.
Having cut this teeth as a dispute resolution lawyer in the early days of his career, this has given him deep insights into how contracts (its structure and clauses) are being stress tested in the courts.
As an entrepreneur and business owner, coupled with his personal connection with the global business community, he is well place to fully understand the challenges and triumphs faced by any SME (small and medium enterprise). Being an entrepreneurial lawyer, he has always been fascinated with the intricacies of running a business in all its aspects including marketing and sales, human resource, operations (not forgetting law and business structuring). Mark has unparalleled knowledge and working theories on how small businesses can endure and flourish (just like the larger organisations).

Tomoka deals exclusively with the firm's Japanese clients. Having lived overseas for many years, she is comfortably fluent in both Japanese and English. Tomoka is passionate about bridging the local and Japanese communities wherever she resides. She has been residing in Singapore for more than 8 years

Boon Chong joined the firm as a Practice Trainee and is now its Legal Associate. With a penchant for self-determination and having previously set up a niche import & sale businesses, he understands the difficulties and risks associated with running SMEs. He strongly believes that law, when done right, will be the chisel that shapes, structures and grows a business
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