Prajakt Samant

Praj is the firm’s Asia managing partner, based in Reed Smith’s Singapore office. He spearheads growth of the Asia business, strengthens client relationships, and drives excellence in delivering legal advice. Praj has over 20 years of experience representing a wide range of banks, exchanges, hedge funds, and numerous energy and commodity companies in a variety of transactional, cross-border regulatory, compliance, and risk management matters within the energy sector.

Praj has extensive experience working on transactions involving the acquisition and disposal of energy and non-energy commodity portfolios and businesses, along with more structured transactions, involving energy management and market optimisation structures. He has documented, structured, analysed, and negotiated both physical and financial UK and European energy commodity arrangements (inter alia, trading agreements, offtake and marketing arrangements, and intermediation structures) in coal, freight, gas, LNG, oil and power, and uranium, for a range of clients. He also has transactional and regulatory experience in non-energy commodities such as cocoa, sugar, and grain, as well as in metals trading and metals warehousing. He has advised a number of industry-leading clients on the expansion of their commodities trading operations in various jurisdictions.

Praj has an in-depth knowledge of cross-border regulation and commodities trading compliance relating to the marketing, trading, and post-trading consequences of energy commodity derivatives trading in a number of jurisdictions outside the UK. In addition, he has advised clients on UK/EU regulations and legislation relating to the energy and financial services sectors (including advising clients on the impact of EMIR, REMIT, MAD/MAR, MiFID 2/MiFIR, and other EU regulatory initiatives).

Praj is recognised as a Leading Lawyer in the latest edition of The Legal 500 UK and as a “recognised practitioner” in Chambers UK.

Chambers UK 2022 describers Praj as “excellent and one of the sharpest legal minds I have had the pleasure of instructing.” “He stands out for his constant availability, for driving the team, and his ability to give advice under pressure.”
The Legal 500 UK 2020 describes Praj as “a very smart cookie with an excellent bedside manner. He is very knowledgeable and commercial, a pleasure to deal with”.
The Legal 500 UK 2019 describes Praj as an “excellent problem solver”.
The Legal 500 UK 2017 describes Praj as a “great transaction lawyer” who has “very good expertise and knows the market exceptionally well”.

Experience

Representative matters

Advised Macquarie Bank on its acquisition of Cargill’s global oil business

Advised Morgan Stanley on the disposal of its European power, gas, emissions, oil and coal business to an oil major.

Advising Barclays Bank on the disposal of its precious metals vault to ICBC Standard Bank.

Recognitions

Selected through peer review for inclusion in The Best Lawyers™ in the United Kingdom for Commodities, 2024-2025
Ranked in Chambers UK for UK-wide Commodities: Derivatives & Energy Trading, 2019-2020, 2022-2024
Listed as a Leading Individual in The Legal 500 UK for Finance Derivatives and Structured Products (including commodities), 2020-2024