LL.M (International Commercial Law), University of Sussex
LL.B (Hons), University of London Attorney-at-Law
Programme: LLB
Year of Registration: 2009
Year of Convocation: 2011
Designation: Attorney-at-Law / Civil & Commercial Law Practitioner
I joined RIC in 2009 soon after my Advanced Level’s. I wasn’t too sure about pursuing Law at the time but took it on by chance. To be honest, I was a little sad not to be able to pursue higher studies abroad due to personal circumstances. So, my entry point to RIC, there was some disappointment and resentment within me. However, as soon as I got into the course, a few months in, I realized my passion for the law. Additionally, RIC was able to give me an Internationally recognized Law degree from the comforts of my home country Sri Lanka. I settled in with happiness to my chosen programme at RIC and a journey of excellence followed.
I must pay tribute to my lecturers at the time who made this journey in law a transformative one. Mr. F.M.A. Ranaweera, Mr. Lionel Jayasinghe, Mr. Seevali Amitrigala PC, Mr. Nilshantha Sirimanne, Mr. Amrit Rajapakse, Ms. Sandunil Meepe and Ms. Laswi Chang.
They were excellent knowledge sharers who instilled in me a discipline for the law and curiosity for reading the law. I must specifically mention lecturers such as Mr. Sirimanne and Mr. Amrit Rajapakse who ensured we ‘read’ law which was an important skill. This cannot be replaced by rote learning or note taking. I must mention this as I have noticed that note taking and rote learning to pass exams is increasingly becoming the only way young students think of passing law exams.
Throughout my years at RIC , I was able to perform very well at the examinations ending up with a higher grade second upper with a few 70 plus scores as well. This was a confidence booster that we were able to compete with the rest of the world.
I made the best of friends, participated in RI Student Council activities including a 2010 first of a kind Musical show called ‘FAME’ initiated by Safra Deen and Natasha Burhan two batch mates of mine. RIC had given me the gift of a LLB from London and the world was my oyster from that point. I cannot say that I had any limitations whatsoever from the law degree I obtained from RIC and everything from there was an advantage.
After graduating, I was fortunate to be invited to be a tutor in Intellectual Property Law and Public International Law at RIC for the final year students for about 3 years. It was a great experience for me to give back to the institute and the programme that gave me so much and my passion for teaching was satisfied. Something to which I would someday like to return.
I decided to pursue a career in Litigation, taking Oath as an Attorney in August 2013. After apprenticeship and initial years in the Chambers of an eminent Civil and Commercial Law practitioner, I commenced my own practice in about 3 years thereafter. I have been able to work with many other Senior Lawyers and peers and brush shoulders with them confidently due to my grounding in law at RIC. My practice has grown steadily and substantially since then for 14 years and now I lead my own Chambers with several juniors working with me. My practice extends across all Civil and Commercial Courts including Public Law. The groundings for interest in these areas must be credited to the programme at RIC and its depth. I have also found that the international recognition of the programme easily allows transition to any foreign jurisdiction as well if such was desired. I of course prefer the sunny isle of Sri Lanka.
There have also followed several leadership opportunities with the Bar Association of Sri Lanka in those years to have contributed to the legal professional. To name a few I was elected to the Executive Committee of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka for Years 2025/2026, Chairman of the Legal Aid Committee of the BASL 2026/27, Deputy Chairman of the Commercial Law Committee 2025/26 and several other activities across the Bar. I was also privileged to have worked in several Law Reform initiatives at the Law Commission of Sri Lanka, the Ministry of Justice Commercial Law Reform Unit and the Bar Associations Special Standing Committee on Future of Legal Education. Apart from working hard to reach such positions, the strong grounding in law was definitely a facet for achieving these accolades.
Academically, I was also awarded a Chevening Scholarship in 2023 to pursue my Masters in the United Kingdom where I pursued a Masters in International Commercial Law at the University of Sussex with distinction in the lovely city of Brighton. It was a full circle moment for me to go to the United Kingdom after starting my journey in English Law at RIC and an experience I would recommend for anyone. Apart from traditional litigation the strong Commercial Law background has allowed me to venture into Arbitration and Mediation, and I am also qualified as a SIMI Accredited Mediator in 2025. These are essential skills for all young aspirants to the profession.
I am grateful to RIC for the world class opportunity it gave me and can safely say with that grounding in law and hard work thereafter the world is your oyster. Most of my peers from RIC are doing very well in all of their pathways and it is a pleasure to connect professionally from time to time having the same foundation in law.
To anyone who considers this pathway to the law, I highly recommend it and you will not regret it. Do not however forget to ‘read law’ always. It will take you head and shoulders above others who just study a note. If you couple your groundings at RIC with hard work, ambition and passion, there is no limit to your aspirations.