In a historic move, President Ranil Wickremesinghe conferred the title Senior Instructing Attorneys-at-Law on five senior attorneys for the first time by Act No. 26 of 2023.

They are G.G. Arulpragasam, Dr. J.M. Swaminathan, D.M. Swaminathan,  H.R.A.D.P. Goonetilleke and S.N.M. Gunawardena.

Their profiles:

G.G. Arulpragasam

G.G. Arulpragasam achieved 1st class in all three years in his law exams at Law College and in the final year, he topped the batch.
Arulpragasam is a proud receiver of; 

Sir Lalitha Rajapakse Award for the Best Outstanding Student of law exams.

AB Cooray Memorial Prize for the subject of Civil Procedure & Pleadings

The 1st Class Scholarship for the most Distinguished Student of the Law College for the final year.

The Challenge Shield Cup for his outstanding academic performance.

In 1979 he was unanimously elected President of the Law College Christian Federation and in the same year he contested and was elected Junior Treasurer of the Law Students Union. 

G.G. Arulpragasam enrolled as an attorney-at-law in the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka on the 26th of September 1980 and has been in active practice for almost 44 years in the District Court, Commercial High Court, Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court and has appeared in several land mark and sensational cases during the past four decades. 

He is a life member of the Sri Lanka Bar Association and the Colombo Law Society. 

He is a member of the International BAR Association. 

He was appointed Member of the Law Commission of Sri Lanka by the President on March 24, 2015. 

He was also appointed as overall Chairman of the Professional Purposes Committee appointed by the Bar Association of Sri Lanka to look into the professional misconduct of the lawyers and the Chief Justice too appointed him as the Chairman of the Disciplinary Panel to inquire into the conduct of the lawyers. 

He was appointed by the Minister of Justice, as a Member of Civil Procedure Code Amendment Committee headed by former Chief Justice Priyasath Dep P.C and subsequently headed by Justice Priyantha  Jayawardena P.C. 

Dr. J. M. Swaminathan   

Dr. J. M. Swaminathan, a Senior Partner at Julius & Creasy for 10 years, possesses extensive experience in Admiralty and Maritime Law, Intellectual Property Law, Commercial and Company Law, Industrial Disputes Law, and Conveyancing.

During his tenure at Julius & Creasy, Dr. Swaminathan headed the Maritime and Admiralty Law, Intellectual Property Law, and Conveyancing divisions.

In commercial law matters, Dr. Swaminathan has instructed Counsel for litigation arising in Sri Lanka on behalf of various city of London law firms, including renowned firms such as Slaughter & May, Linklaters, and Clifford Chance.

As the head of the Intellectual Property division at Julius & Creasy, Dr. Swaminathan has represented several Fortune 500 companies in opposition proceedings, infringement proceedings, and other litigation matters in Sri Lanka.

He has also provided legal counsel and instructed Counsel in matters related to Company Law and commercial matters in general.

With almost 60 years of practice, Dr. Swaminathan has had the opportunity to instruct many Queen’s Counsel and President’s Counsel. He has taught various subjects at the Sri Lanka Law College, including Administrative Law, Local Government Law, Thesawalamai Law, Kandyan Law, Civil Procedure Code and Law of Executors and Administrators.

D.M. Swaminathan 

D.M. Swaminathan is a leading Senior Civil Lawyer with over fifty-two (52) years of professional experience. He was enrolled as an attorney-at-law on January 17, 1971. Specialising in Civil, Commercial, and Banking Laws, D.M. Swaminathan serves as a legal consultant to banks and financial institutions.

Throughout his career, D.M. Swaminathan has held several significant appointments. He was appointed by D.B. Wijetunga as the Governor of the Western Province Provincial Council in 1994. Prior to this, he served as a Member of the Local Government Service Commission in Sri Lanka in 1977, appointed by R. Premadasa. He was also appointed by J.R. Jayewardene as a Member of the Public Service Commission Educational Service Committee in Sri Lanka in 1977, and as a Member of the University Grants Commission in 1981.

D.M. Swaminathan’s contributions extend beyond the legal field. He was elected as District Governor of Rotary International for Sri Lanka and certain Districts of South India for the period 1990/1991. Additionally, he served as a Member of the Bar Council of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka and an Executive Member of the Colombo Law Society. He has been a past President and Patron of the Vivekananda Society, Colombo.

D.M. Swaminathan holds key trustee positions in various organisations, including being the Managing Trustee of Sir Ponnampalam Vaneswarar Temple, Kotahena, and a Trustee of All Ceylon Hindu Congress and Moothatamby Madam – Nallur. He is also a Patron of Ramanathan Hindu Ladies College and the Founder Member of Ramanathan Hindu Ladies College, Bambalapitiya.  

Shiranthi Gunawardena

Shiranthi Gunawardena was enrolled as an attorney-at-law on  December 12, 1975.

She began her professional career as an Assistant Law Officer at People’s Bank, where she served from 1977 to 1986. Following this, from 1986 to 1991, Shiranthi Gunawardena held the position of Deputy General Manager of Legal at Mercantile Credit Limited and Mercantile Group of Companies.

In 1991, she entered private practice in partnership with Chathuri Ranasinghe, attorney-at-law under the firm name “Gunawardena and Ranasinghe Associates,” a partnership that lasted until 2016. Subsequently, she continued her practice in partnership with Ranjith Gunawardena, attorney-at law under the firm ‘Shiranthi Gunawardena Associates’.

Throughout her career Gunawardena has held various positions within the legal community. She served as the Chairperson of the Notaries Standing Committee of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka. Additionally, she was a Legal Consultant to Finance House Associate, an organisation comprising all registered finance companies in Sri Lanka.

Shiranthi Gunawardena has actively contributed to the amendment of several Acts and Ordinances. She served in committees appointed by Former Minister of Justice Ali Sabry, focusing on amendments to the Notaries Ordinance, Registration of Document Ordinance, Power of Attorneys Act, Will’s Ordinance, Apartment Ownership Act, and Registration of Title Act.

Anoma Goonetilleke

Anoma Goonetilleke was sworn in as an Attorney-at-Law of the Supreme Court on  September 18,  1978. Since joining the Bar in 1978, she has been in active practice, making significant contributions to the legal profession in Sri Lanka.

Goonetilleke has held several important positions within the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL). She served as Assistant Secretary of the BASL from 1995 to 1997, Secretary of the BASLin 2004/2005 and 2005/2006, and Deputy President of the BASL in 2012/2013. Furthermore, she served as the Treasurer of the BASL in 2019/2020 and 2020/2021.

In addition to her roles in the BASL, Goonetilleke has also held positions in the Colombo Law Society, serving as its Treasurer, Secretary, and President.

Goonetilleke has made significant contributions to the legal community. During her tenure as Secretary of the BASL, she played a key role in various initiatives. She established a Library Fund, providing outstation Bars with books for their references. After the Tsunami hit Sri Lanka, she visited affected outstations, providing infrastructure facilities and support to affected members.

She initiated Mobile services to outstations, enabling members to access BASL services locally. Anoma Goonetilleke organised seminars in outstations as part of the continuing Legal Education Program, with senior judicial officers as speakers.