Sumudu Attygalle

Identified contract formation failures, preventing daily liquidated damages exceeding LKR 2 million.

Guided procedural rulings of arbitral tribunal through key legal arguments on claimant status.

• Participated in over 50 arbitration and adjudication hearings for claims between LKR 10–100 million.
• Drafted pleadings and legal submissions, reducing client liability in multi-million rupee disputes.
• Contributed to issue framing in compliance with international FIDIC standards.

• Successfully advocated for increased child maintenance by aligning educational needs with best interests of child principle.
• Conducted legal research and drafted opinions on malicious desertion, accepted by senior counsel for application strategy.
• Interacted with vulnerable clients in family disputes, coordinating psychological support and drafting affidavits.
• Prepared ex parte submissions in divorce cases involving absent spouse, emphasizing malicious desertion and abandonment.

Former UN Legal Advisor and leading Sri Lankan expert in constitutional law

Public & Constitutional Law Research

Mentored by Dr. Laksiri Mendis, former UN legal advisor and leading public law scholar.

• Supported litigation strategy during Sri Lanka’s 2018 constitutional crisis by assisting with legal argumentation on executive power and constitutional validity, including analysis of 'void for vagueness' concerns in presidential authority.
• Conducted comparative legal research on treaty interpretation, legislative drafting, and statutory interpretation, including perspectives of Canadian authorities (e.g., Driedger, Sullivan) to Sri Lankan contexts.
• Contributed to a fundamental rights application before the Supreme Court on behalf of a retired woman denied her pension, preparing submissions that led to an out-of-court settlement in the client’s favor.
• Provided research assistance on a forthcoming legal textbook manuscript, focusing on constitutional structure, and the separation of powers.