NOTE/CON
18 Sep 2026 / 9 min read
CIPAA at fourteen: what the payment claim still gets wrong
Most adjudications are lost on paper before they start. A plain checklist for the payment claim, the response and the dates that sink both.
Advocates & Solicitors
KL / Johor Bahru
We see a dispute through.
Varden Rais & Partners acts in court, in arbitration and in the corporate work that sits under both. One team carries the matter from the first letter to the last order, so nothing is lost in a handover.
The practice docket.
Ten practice groups, one file system. Every matter opens under a reference like the ones below and keeps it until the last order is served.
Contract, shareholder and banking disputes run in the civil courts, from the letter of demand to appeal. We start with what the documents can prove and build the pleading around that.
High Court, Court of Appeal
Seat, rules and tribunal chosen with enforcement in mind. We draft the notice, run document production and take witnesses through cross-examination, in English or Bahasa Malaysia.
AIAC, SIAC, ICC, ad hoc
Payment claims under CIPAA 2012, delay and disruption, defects and final account disputes. Programme experts and quantum experts brief to one lead lawyer.
CIPAA adjudication, arbitration
Upstream service contracts, fabrication yards, offshore vessel charters and the joint venture rows that follow a price drop.
Arbitration, High Court
Licensing questions, customer data incidents and contract disputes for payment, lending and digital asset businesses. We work alongside your compliance team, not around it.
Regulators, High Court
Winding-up petitions, judicial management, schemes of arrangement and creditor claims, for the company and for the people owed money.
High Court (Companies)
Share and asset deals, joint ventures and shareholder agreements, written by people who see what happens when one goes wrong.
Transactions
Dismissal claims, restraint of trade, senior executive exits and internal investigations, handled with the speed these matters need.
Industrial Court
Title and boundary disputes, plantation leases, compulsory acquisition and the long-running estate matters that span generations.
High Court, Land Office
Responding to a regulator, running an internal inquiry, preparing people for interview. Calm first steps when a letter arrives on a Friday.
Agencies, internal
Four industries we know by night.
Most of our files come from four sectors. Knowing how a yard, a site or a payment rail actually runs saves weeks of explaining.
SEC/01
Oil and gas
Service contracts, charters, decommissioning and joint venture exits.
SEC/02
Construction
Payment claims, delay, defects and final accounts on building and infrastructure work.
SEC/03
Fintech
Payments, lending and digital asset businesses facing customers, partners and regulators.
SEC/04
Plantation
Estate land, leases, offtake contracts and long family disputes over title.
How a matter moves.
A typical High Court or arbitration file, start to finish. Real matters jump stages, pause or settle; the lower rail is there because most of them do.
Stage 1, Week 0
Intake and conflict check
You send the papers. We clear conflicts before we read a word of strategy, then name the lead lawyer.
Stage 2, Weeks 1-3
Early case assessment
A written view of the facts, the weak points on both sides, the forum and a budget range for each stage.
Stage 3, Month 1-2
Letter, writ or notice
Letter of demand, writ and statement of claim, notice of arbitration or a CIPAA payment claim.
Stage 4, Months 2-9
Pleadings and documents
Defence and reply, discovery or document production, witness statements and expert reports.
Stage 5, Months 9-18
Hearing
Trial or arbitral hearing. Openings, cross-examination, closing submissions. You are briefed every evening.
Stage 6, After
Decision and enforcement
Judgment or award, then appeal, enforcement or recognition abroad, whichever the file needs next.
Matters we take on.
The kinds of files that reach us most often, the forum they sit in and the first thing we do. This list describes the work only. It says nothing about results, and no past result predicts the next one.
TABLE M-1 / 10 matter types / updated quarterly
Matter types, forum and first step
| Matter | Forum | We usually come in | First step |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shareholder oppression petition | Forum: High Court, s.346 Companies Act 2016 | We come in: Before filing or on service | First step: Board minutes and share register review |
| Unpaid progress claims | Forum: CIPAA adjudication | We come in: Payment claim stage | First step: Payment claim served within the contract window |
| Delay and extension of time | Forum: Arbitration (AIAC) | We come in: Notice of dispute | First step: Programme analysis with the planning expert |
| Offshore charter termination | Forum: Arbitration (seat varies) | We come in: Day the notice arrives | First step: Termination clause and notice audit |
| Bank guarantee call | Forum: High Court, injunction | We come in: Within hours of the call | First step: Urgent ex parte application papers |
| Customer data incident | Forum: Regulator and civil claims | We come in: First 72 hours | First step: Incident timeline and notification plan |
| Winding-up on a debt | Forum: High Court (Companies) | We come in: Statutory demand stage | First step: Dispute of the debt in writing |
| Senior executive dismissal | Forum: Industrial Court | We come in: Before or after the exit | First step: Representation to the Director General |
| Estate land title dispute | Forum: High Court, Land Office | We come in: At caveat or summons | First step: Title search and survey history |
| Enforcing a foreign award | Forum: High Court, Arbitration Act 2005 | We come in: After the award | First step: Recognition application and asset search |
The people on the file.
Four partners, each leading a group of associates and pupils. The partner you meet first is the partner who argues your matter.
Daniel Varden
Founding partner, Commercial litigation, appeals
- Admission
- Admitted 2003
- Languages
- English, Bahasa Malaysia
Iman Rais
Founding partner, Arbitration, construction
- Admission
- Admitted 2005
- Languages
- English, Bahasa Malaysia, Arabic
Kavya Thirunal
Partner, Corporate, fintech, regulatory
- Admission
- Admitted 2010
- Languages
- English, Bahasa Malaysia, Tamil
Lee Jia Hern
Partner, Insolvency, employment
- Admission
- Admitted 2012
- Languages
- English, Bahasa Malaysia, Mandarin, Cantonese
Firm facts
- Year founded
- 2011Opened in Kuala Lumpur by two partners and one pupil.
- Offices
- 02Kuala Lumpur and Johor Bahru.
- Working languages
- 04English, Bahasa Malaysia, Mandarin, Tamil.
- Lawyers
- 38Partners, associates and pupils in chambers.
Notes from the desk.
Level 31, after hours
Pupillage and careers.
Pupils sit with one partner for nine months, draft real pleadings from week two and attend every hearing on that partner's diary. We pay a monthly allowance and cover Bar course fees for pupils we keep.
- Pupillage, March 2027 intake6 placesApplications close 15 Dec 2026
- Pupillage, September 2027 intake6 placesApplications close 30 Jun 2027
- Associate, arbitration and constructionOpen2-5 years post-call
- Legal executive, litigation supportOpenKuala Lumpur office
Open a matter.
Tell us who the parties are and what has happened so far. We run a conflict check first and reply within two working days. Please do not send confidential documents until we confirm we can act.
- Day 0We log the enquiry and run the conflict check against every party you name.
- Day 1-2A partner reads the summary and calls you, or tells you plainly that we cannot act.
- Day 3+Engagement letter, scope and a budget range for the first stage, before any work starts.
- Kuala Lumpur
- Level 31, Menara Contoh
Jalan Demo, 50450 Kuala Lumpur - Johor Bahru
- Suite 12-03, Wisma Rekaan
Jalan Sampel, 80000 Johor Bahru - Telephone
- +60 12-000 0000
- matters@example.com