Tiruchelvam Associates was established in 1982, by Dr Neelan Tiruchelvam, P.C. and Sithie Tiruchelvam. It developed from the chambers of former Senator, Minister and Solicitor-General of Sri Lanka, M. Tiruchelvam, Q.C. Dr. Neelan Tiruchelvam was a scholar, an internationally recognized constitutional lawyer, a Member of Parliament and a visiting professor at Harvard Law. As a peacemaker, he worked to resolve the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka through non-violent political means, including consensus building, negotiation and constitutional reform. Dr. Tiruchelvam's constitution making skills were renowned, and he assisted in the drafting of several constitutions of Central Asian countries and also post conflict Ethiopia.
Since 1999 Sithie Tiruchelvam led the Firm as Precedent Partner. Her expertise included representing foreign and domestic multinationals in corporate and commercial transactions. She specialized in corporate law, employment and labour law, tax and regulatory law and laws governing non-profit institutions. She served on the board of John Keels Holdings as a non executive director and has played a pivotal role in some of Sri Lanka's most ground breaking investment ventures. Sithie was renowned for her contributions to the field of human rights and has served on the boards of several non-profit organizations, including the Nadesan Centre for Human Rights, South Asians for Human Rights, and was a founding member of Foundations for Peace, based in Northern Ireland, and the Neelan Tiruchelvam Trust. The Firm is now lead by three partners, Asanka Abyesekera, Ramani Muttettuwegama and Laila Nasry.
