Our People
Steven S. Sengayen
Steven S. Sengayen
Steven S. Sengayen
Managing Partner
David Wyld Esq
Steven S. Sengayen
Steven S. Sengayen
Expert Consultant
Chris Daw KC
Prof. Damilola S. Olawuyi, SAN, FCIARB
Prof. Damilola S. Olawuyi, SAN, FCIARB
Expert Consultant
Prof. Damilola S. Olawuyi, SAN, FCIARB
Prof. Damilola S. Olawuyi, SAN, FCIARB
Prof. Damilola S. Olawuyi, SAN, FCIARB
Expert Consultant
Satyabhooshun Domah
Prof. Damilola S. Olawuyi, SAN, FCIARB
Satyabhooshun Domah
Expert Consultant
STEVEN S. SENGAYEN
Background
Steven Sarangavany Sengayen is an influential international lawyer, a Practising English Solicitor of England & Wales, and the co-founder and managing partner of Steven & Associates International Law Firm based in Mauritius. He also holds the prestigious position of Founder and President of the International Law Association (Mauritius Branch). While his practice is based in both Mauritius and the City of London, his influence extends globally.
Educated extensively in law, Steven attained his LL.B from the University of Hull, a Pg. Dip. Legal Practice from the University of Oxford, and an LL.M in Finance and Securities Law from the University of London. His multidisciplinary education also includes a BA Hons. in Economics and Law from London Guildhall University and a Licence degree in Administration Economique et Social (AES), from the University of Paris V - Rene Descartes. In December 2014, he added an MBA Finance from the University of Bradford, School of Management, to his impressive academic portfolio.
In 2012, Steven made history as the first Mauritian citizen to be elected Freeman for the City of London Solicitors' Company. He is a recognized expert in various facets of law, including international dispute resolution, arbitrations, general litigation, and corporate, international finance and investment matters.
Steven's expertise extends to the court system in Mauritius, where he has worked on significant appellate cases before the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. He acts as a Privy Council Agent in Commercial and Civil Appeals and has played a key role in some of the most notable appeals in recent years.
His expertise in insolvency in Mauritius led to his selection by the World Bank Group from 2017 to this date to contribute to their Doing Business reports. In 2012, he compiled the comprehensive "Business in Mauritius 2012" report, published in the UK’s Sunday Telegraph Newspaper. Steven also contributed to the latest Insolvency 2023 Global Practice Guide for the Mauritius jurisdiction.
Steven is a member of the executive council of the International Law Association (ILA) and serves on the Scholarship Committee and the Foresight Panel of the ILA. He has chaired multiple committees at ILA Conferences, being the first Mauritian citizen to do so. His leadership in international law was again evident in June 2022 when he chaired the first-ever joint ILA Committees on International Monetary Law and International Financial and Securities Regulations. In June 2023, Steven co-chaired the mediation panel at the ILA Paris 150th Anniversary Conference, further highlighting his profound influence and expertise in the field of international law.
Summary
- Member of the Executive Council of the International Law Association (HQ, London,UK)
- Founder and President of the International Law Association (Mauritius Branch)
- English Solicitor for the Supreme Court of England & Wales
- Chartered President of the Rotary Club of Quatre Bornes- Sodnac
- Member of the Law Society of England and Wales
- Member of the City of London Law Society
- Elected Freeman for the City of London Solicitors’ Company
SATYABHOOSHUN DOMAH
Background
Among our Mauritian counterparts, Dr S.B. Domah, retired Judge of the Supreme Court of Mauritius, is the Chairperson of our Board. He is also one of our prized legal consultants. The firm draws a lot from his extensive practice in legal, judicial and administrative fields. He is also the current judge of the Court of Appeal of Seychelles. He holds a doctoral degree in Comparative Law from Aix-Marseille University and King’s College. A member of Middle Temple, he holds an LLB and an LLM from the University College London.
His notable specializations include Air and Space Law, Public International Law, Private International law, International Trade Law, the Law of Public Procurement. He has been conducting academic lectures and vocational training at Universities and other tertiary institutions in Constitutional Law, Construction Law, International Business Law, Banking Law, Comparative Law, Legal Opinion Writing etc. Fellow of the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies of the University of London, he has conducted seminars for lawyers and judges in various countries of Asia (including China and Japan), Europe and Africa.
His monographs include comparative study of laws relating to corruption, terrorism, financial services for ISS (International Security Studies). He is the author of fiction as well as professional legal works: The Mauritian Legal System, the Theory and Practice of the Law of Swindling, The Mauritian Road Traffic Offences. His article on Comparative Trust Law was published by Milton Keynes, London. This work is a reference for postgraduate studies at the University of London. He has published works for Antwerp University and for World Constitutions. He has been a member of the United Nations Committee Against Torture and the current Chair of the Financial Regulating Council.
Among the languages he speaks fluently and writes with ease are English and French. His work experience is not limited only to courts only at various levels but extends to conducting ADRs, local and international — Early Neutral Evaluation, Conciliation, Negotiation, Mediation, Arbitration and is a Legal Consultant with the Firm.
David Wyld Esq
Background
Educated at Harrow and Oxford University David spent some time teaching before becoming a pupil to Gordon Slynn (later Lord Slynn of Hadley) whose practice was in the commercial and constitutional law fields, before joining Linklaters.
· Linklaters, Solicitor, 1974 – 1979
· Chairman of the Litigation Sub-Committee of the City of London Law Society 1989-94
· London Solicitors Litigation Association, President, 1994
· Qualified as a mediator with CEDR (1995)
· Chairman of The City of London Law Society (2001 – 2004)
· Macfarlanes, Senior Litigation Partner,1981 – 2001
· International Law Association, Secretary General and Vice Chairman, 1994 – 2018
· City of London Law Society, Chairman, Litigation Sub-Committee
· Member of the LCIA
David is an Expert Consultant with the firm, based in the City of London and he presently assists us in Commercial Mediation and International Arbitration matters.
Chris Daw KC
Background
Chris Daw KC is one of Britain's leading barristers, as well as a presenter of legal documentaries for the BBC and the author of a bestselling book, Justice on Trial, published in 2020.
Chris acts for corporate and individual clients, in the fields of business regulation, serious fraud, money laundering, specialist and white collar crime.
He has acted for high profile figures in the worlds of sport, including the former England and Chelsea football captain, John Terry, as well as billionaires, members of the House of Lords, multi-nationals around the world and other high-net-worth and prominent clients who find themselves in legal difficulty.
As well as his stellar legal practice, Chris acts as a senior strategic adviser to variation corporations, drawing on his background as an entrepreneur and investor. He also appears regularly in the media and recently presented "Crime - are we tough enough?"; a major documentary series for BBC1.
Chris's legal practice and media activity takes him all over the world, from the entertainment and sports sector in Los Angeles, to the thriving new commercial markets of Africa and all over Europe.
Chris Daw KC is now proud to offer his unique legal expertise and insight, in association with the leading international lawyer, Steven Sengayen. Together, Chris and Steven offer a unique combination of international legal experience, strategic and tactical excellence and local knowledge of the growing Mauritian legal scene.
Chris is available for instructions as an overseas lawyer based in the UK, to advise alongside Steven on all matters within their joint fields of expertise, particularly on cross border disputes and transactions and Judicial Committee of the Privy Council matters.
Chris was called to the Bar in 1993 and took Silk on 2013. He practises from Lincoln House Chambers in Manchester and Millenium Chambers in London.
Prof. Damilola S. Olawuyi, SAN, FCIArb
Summary
Doctor of Philosophy in Law (DPhil), University of Oxford, United Kingdom (2013)
• Master of Laws (LL.M), Harvard University, United States (2009)
• Master of Laws (LL.M), University of Calgary, Canada (2008)
• Bar Certificate (First Class Honours), Nigerian Law School, Abuja (2006)
• Bachelor of Laws (First Class Honours), Igbinedion University, Okada, Nigeria (2005)
Bar Admissions: Nigeria (2006), Alberta, Canada (2012), Ontario, Canada (2016)
Year of Silk: 2020
Background
Damilola S. Olawuyi, SAN, FCIArb, is a Professor of petroleum, energy and environmental law at the HBKU Law School, Qatar, and chancellor’s fellow at the Institute for Oil, Gas, Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development (OGEES Institute), Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti, Nigeria. In 2020, he was appointed as an Independent Expert on the African Union’s Working Group on extractive industries, environment and human rightsviolations in Africa. A prolific and highly regarded scholar, Professor Olawuyi has published 8 books and over 100 influential peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, and reports on energy finance, sustainable development law and extractive resource governance. Professor Olawuyi was formerly an international energy lawyer at Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP, Calgary, where he served on the firm’s global committee on extractive resource investments in Africa. He has lectured on energy and environmental law in over 40 countries in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America and the Middle East. Professor Olawuyi serves on the executive committees and boards of several organisations. He is Vice-Chair of the International Law Association globally.
In recognition of his "substantial contribution to legal scholarship and jurisprudence," Professor Olawuyi was awarded the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (Queen's Counsel equivalent) in the year 2020, aged thirty-seven, therefore becoming the youngest academic ever elevated to the rank. In 2021, he was appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari as a member of the Governing Board of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI).
He is a regular media commentator on all aspects of energy, environment and sustainable development.
Professor Damilola is a consultant at the firm based in Doha, Qatar.