Rozali is a Counsel in the Litigation and Dispute Resolution practice group of the firm.

Having worked as Counsel at the Corporation Division of the Attorney General’s Department of Sri Lanka representing the State in all Industrial Disputes, Rozali joined the firm in 2013. She has over 11 years of post-qualification experience in a broad range of civil, commercial and corporate dispute resolution matters including actions before the District Court, Commercial High Court, Civil Appellate High Court, Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka. She also advises clients extensively on industrial and labour disputes and represents clients before the Commissioner of Labour as well as the Labour Tribunal with a high rate of success.

She has also represented clients in several arbitrations and before administrative and regulatory bodies in Sri Lanka.

Rozali holds a LL.B. (Hons.) and LL.M. (London) in Corporate and Commercial Law both offered by the University of London and has successfully completed the course to obtain membership to the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (MCIArb). Rozali also acts as a visiting lecturer at a leading law school in Colombo.

Rozali’s practice spans over a wide range of areas including Labour Law, Law of Contract, Company Law, Intellectual Property Law, Admiralty Law, Land Law, Law of Delict, Public and Administrative Law as well customs inquiries and has experience in providing advice and managing disputes from the pre-litigation stage until the conclusion of legal action. The following illustrates some of the key highlights in litigation and advisory matters.

Industrial Disputes

• Advises on employment related matters and appears in all industrial disputes of all the properties in Sri Lanka owned and managed by a major international hotel chain.
• Has advised several companies including a leading American research and market measurement firm, a leading American Finance and Insurance Corporation on retrenchment and termination of employment resulting from a closure of the business or restructuring and has successfully obtained the approval of the Labour Commissioner to terminate the employment contracts.
• Represents and advises the local affiliate of an American Integrated Communications Company on industrial and employment disputes.
• Represents and advises one of the largest commercial banks in Qatar on employment disputes arising from the closure of business operations in Sri Lanka.

Company law and winding-up

• Advised a multinational finance and insurance corporation in winding-up operations in Sri Lanka.
• Presently appears for the Petitioner in several winding-up actions before the Commercial High Court including a multinational software enterprise, one of the largest privately-owned agribusinesses in Asia, a publicly listed forestry company and a subsidiary of a leading manufacturer in India successfully obtaining winding-up orders as well as interim orders.
• Appeared for a Fortune 500 Company, successfully resisting a winding-up Petition filed against it preventing the publication of winding up notice and concluding the matter.
• Has appeared for an Indian public sector bank, an intervening creditor in a winding-up, successfully securing payment of a debt owed to the Bank.
• Successfully defended a Derivative Action filed against a multinational enterprise software company headquartered in Sweden and its associate companies in Sri Lanka as well as the directors involving a series of court actions.
• Represented one of the oldest conglomerates in South Asia and leading tea exporter in over thirty court actions in a heavily contested corporate dispute.

Intellectual Property

• Filed action seeking a declaration of non-infringement against one of Sri Lanka’s largest public retail companies and successfully obtained injunctive relief safeguarding the rights of one of Sri Lanka’s leading beauty and personal care product manufacturers to use their tradename/mark.
• Involved in inquiries before the National Intellectual Property Office seeking registration of the trademark of the market leader in the local tea industry.
• Advised one of world’s leading professional bodies in terminating a relationship agreement with its local representative and on matters incidental to the protection of their intellectual property rights

Admiralty

• Represents the Hong-Kong based owner of a Barge and successfully defended a claim made by the salvor for salvaging the barge from the Tsunami in 2004.

Law of Delict

• Successfully obtained interim injunctions in a landmark case filed in private nuisance preventing the use of residential property for business operations in violation of the Urban Development Authority Law and City of Colombo Development Plans and obtained judgements in favour, in the appeals preferred to the High Court and the Supreme Court.
• Successfully defended a money recovery action filed against a Pakistani multinational bank filed by a leading State-owned commercial bank under the law of delict.

Public and Administrative Law

• Successfully opposed a Fundamental Rights Application filed against the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe headquartered in Munich, in the Supreme Court in relation to an award of a Tender of National Importance.
• Appear for a key player in the Petroleum industry in several Fundamental Rights Applications filed challenging the executive and administrative decisions taken in relation to the Trincomalee Tank Farm.
• Appear for one of Sri Lanka’s leading beauty and personal care product manufacturer (the successful bidder) in a Writ Application challenging the technical suitability of the successful bidder.

Power and Energy

• Has represented a key player in the petroleum industry, in several rounds of discussions held with the Head of State, officials of the respective High Commission and other state institutions headed by the Minister in charge, in relation to a project of national importance and has been involved in the drafting of agreements related to the Project.
• Advised an operator of a hydro-thermal power generating facility on all disputes arising from the power purchase agreement and the fuel supply agreement entered into with state-owned entities, including the termination of the power purchase agreement, buy-out and the transfer of the facility to the state-owned entity.
• Acts as counsel for a key player in the petroleum sector which is also a Fortune 500 Company, in disputes including money recovery matters, company law matters, tax matters, fundamental rights applications and all land disputes including land acquisitions in several jurisdictions in the Island.

Plantation and Agriculture

• Appears for the plantation and agri-business arm of a leading conglomerate against a public quoted fertilizer manufacturer and provider.
• Appeared on behalf of a Regional Plantation Company in a writ application filed against the Land Reform Commission in connection with a Quit Notice served under the State Land (Recovery) of Possession Act No.07 of 1979.
• Successfully appeared and obtained judgment in favour of a Regional Plantation Company in a dispute arising from a sub-lease agreement entered into with a third party.
• Advised the managing plantation company on the termination of a management agreement entered into with a Regional Plantation Company and appeared in the arbitration proceedings subsequently.
• Advised the Sub-lessee on the termination of a Sub-Lease entered into with a Regional Planation Company and appeared in the court action.

Information Technology

• Advised the Singapore branch of an American multinational computer technology corporation headquartered in Texas (one of the largest software companies in the world) in relation to the termination of a master distribution agreement.
• Advised and appeared for an American Multinational Technology Corporation headquartered in New York in an action filed against it on disputes arising from a Transaction Agreement and Business Partnership Agreement.

Finance and Investment

• Advised a full-service financial services firm affiliated to a Dubai based investment and advisory company on regulatory reporting under the Financial Transactions Reporting Act.
• Appeared for a leading Sri Lankan Asset Management Company in an action filed against a public quoted company in relation to a dispute arising from an investment portfolio.

Arbitration

• Appeared for a multinational enterprise software company and successfully enforced a foreign arbitration award in the Commercial High Court and subsequently obtaining judgement in favour in revision applications and appeals preferred to the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.
• Appeared for subsidiary of a conglomerate against a leader in the plantation sector in ad hoc arbitration proceedings involving issues of breach of contract, termination and the recoverability of damages.
• Advised on instituting arbitral proceedings under a share sale and purchase agreement against a subsidiary of one of Sri Lanka’s largest conglomerates.
• Provided comprehensive advice to a Singapore based real estate developer on the enforceability of foreign arbitration awards and the procedure involved.

Customs

• Appears for one of Sri Lanka’s leading food manufacturers in an inquiry conducted by the Customs.