T H Liew & Partners was established in Kuala Lumpur in June 2004. The predecessor of this practice was P H Looi & Co. which was in existence from the early 1990s.
The Firm changed its name to Suflan T H Liew & Partners (STHLP) in March 2015. The lawyers in STHLP included former litigation lawyers from Zaid Ibrahim & Co. (ZICO).
In May 2022, the Firm changed its name to Zaid Ibrahim Suflan T H Liew & Partners (ZISTHLP) when Datuk Zaid Ibrahim joined the Firm as a Senior Partner. Datuk Zaid was the Founder and Precedent Partner of Zaid Ibrahim & Co (ZICO) for 30 years. He has the singular distinction of having built the largest law firm in Malaysia during that period. In 2008, Datuk Zaid left ZICO to take up appointment as a Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department for Legal Affairs and Judicial Reform. He was then a Senator in the Dewan Negara.
The principal partner, Mr Liew Teck Huat, was the Head of the Insurance and Shipping Litigation Practice Group in ZICO. Mr Rueben Mathiavaranam, a partner in the Firm, was also a leading counsel in the litigation practice group in ZICO, engaged in the specialist areas of insurance, libel and slander. Ms Lim Qi Si is a junior partner in the Firm with a good litigation background in civil and commercial litigation including insurance disputes. Mr Surendra Naidu, an experienced insurance lawyer of about 30 years standing at the Malaysian Bar also brings corporate expertise to the Firm. He was a company secretary for many years including a long stint with South East Asia Insurance Berhad in the 1970s.
ZISTHLP has, since its inception, been in full association with Niru & Co LLC, a boutique law Firm in Singapore. Mr Liew Teck Huat is also a Senior Director of Niru & Co LLC.
Niru & Co was founded in 1978 by another Malaysian born lawyer, Mr Niru Pillai, who is the Managing and Senior Director of the Firm.
Niru & Co LLC provides ZISTHLP with specialist expertise in all the areas of practice and also brings an international dimension to the practice. Mr Niru Pillai himself actively coordinates and leads the specialist work involving ZISTHLP and Niru & Co LLC in collaboration, including substantial arbitration matters (see the section on “Arbitration”). ZISTHLP therefore is in a strategic full association with this well-established boutique specialist regional law firm.
This makes additional resources and expertise available to the Firm to deliver first class service across the board in all areas of the law.
ZISTHLP is also modelled as a boutique law Firm. Its focus is in the niche practice areas of insurance, reinsurance, shipping & aviation, defamation (media), oil & gas, energy, banking, intellectual property, corporate, commercial and civil litigation.
The singular objective of the Firm is to provide personalised partner level service in a time-efficient and affordable manner. The Firm’s work principally covers litigation and dispute resolution in the specialist areas. Where necessary, the work transcends advisory aspects too, such as drafting of policies, charterparty, etc.
Client-Centred. Personalised Service Focused on Excellence
Our clients’ interests and needs come first.
We emphasise personal partner level care.
We strive for the right solutions by adopting the best strategies.
Loyalty
We believe in the good old-fashioned values of loyalty. We are loyal to our clients. They have been loyal to us. We are equally committed to our Team.
Diversity & Inclusion
At ZISTHLP, we celebrate diversity and inclusiveness. We believe that diversity adds to our strengths, allowing us to work across cultures in the region.
The colours red, yellow and green as depicted in our logo celebrates our multi-racial, multi-cultural and religious diversity.
We look to build long-lasting partnerships with our clients and everyone who works with us.
The Firm has retained its original core staff members who have been with the Firm from the beginning, forming the backbone of the Firm.
At ZISTHLP, we value people – our clients, our lawyers, our vendors and our staff.