The MD of law firm Blackstone & Gold believes litigation should always be the last resort
“How They See It” is where we delve into the minds of those shaping the future of today’s most dynamic companies. In this instalment, we ask Baldev Bhinder about his work as Managing Director of Blackstone & Gold, Singapore’s first energy and commodities law firm. He shares an insightful perspective on navigating legal complexities in global trade, the evolving role of lawyers as strategic advisers, and why the best legal solutions go beyond the courtroom to shape entire industries.
“I’ve learned, over time, to avoid telling people I’m a lawyer. Nothing kills a conversation faster. Instead, I tell them what I actually do at Blackstone & Gold: I fix problems. Legal disputes, financial entanglements, corporate risks — my job is to see the potential disasters before they happen and, where possible, stop them in their tracks. And when prevention fails? That’s when I go to court.
It’s easy to think of the law as a purely reactive profession. A company gets defrauded, a contract is breached, a deal goes south — someone calls their lawyer to clean up the mess.
But that’s not how I see it. The real value of what I do isn’t just in fighting fires but in ensuring they never start in the first place. Litigation is the last resort. My real job is risk management.
Because my firm specialises in international trade, we operate at the intersection of law, finance, and global geopolitics. If an oil pipeline is blocked in the Middle East, if a trade war erupts between superpowers, if shipping lanes are disrupted — these things don’t just make headlines. They alter the trajectory of entire industries.
Companies navigating these waters need more than legal expertise. They need someone who understands the commercial realities underpinning these shifts, can anticipate the regulatory fallout before it happens, and can move faster than the crisis itself. That’s where we come in.
Before I founded Singapore’s first energy and commodities law firm, I spent years working in international firms across Singapore and London, handling cases in oil and gas, mining, and energy. What I saw was a gap. Local firms weren’t specialising in this space, which meant businesses were forced to seek advice from global firms that often lacked an intimate understanding of the region. That’s why I started Blackstone & Gold.
But expertise wasn’t enough. The legal industry is built on rigid structures — corporate lawyers here, litigators there, and finance teams in their silos. I wanted to break that.
Instead of mirroring the traditional law firm model, we structured ourselves the way our clients’ businesses actually operate. Trade finance, trade advisory, trade disputes, trade fraud — each function mapped directly onto the needs of the industries we served.
I’ve seen what happens when legal advice is detached from commercial realities. Clients don’t want to pay a lawyer to explain their business to them. They want strategic partners who understand their industry as well as they do.
Our role isn’t just about the law — it’s about translating it into practical, real-world solutions. Sometimes, that means telling clients not to sue, even if they have a strong case. Because time, resources, and opportunity cost matter more than legal principle.
Take, for example, a crypto company that came to us eager to sue a rival over an alleged breach of contract. They were convinced they had an ironclad case, and legally speaking, they might have. However, the industry moves at lightning speed, and tying up resources in prolonged litigation could mean losing crucial ground in a rapidly evolving market.
Instead, Blackstone & Gold advised them to negotiate a settlement that allowed them to protect their business interests without getting mired in a costly legal battle. That’s what legal strategy really looks like.
It’s this duality — the law as both service and solution — that most people misunderstand. The image of the lawyer as an aggressive litigator, endlessly arguing cases in court, is only half the picture. Law is a service industry.
And the best lawyers aren’t just legal technicians; they’re trusted advisers, sounding boards, problem-solvers. No matter how large the corporation, legal decisions are made by people who want to feel heard, understood, and reassured that they’re in good hands.
Unpacking deception
Of all the work I do, fraud cases are the ones that fascinate me most. There’s no textbook for this — no university module that teaches you how to dismantle a meticulously orchestrated financial crime. You learn on the job. And what I’ve learned is that fraud, at its core, is never just about money. It’s about psychology.
People assume sophisticated institutions are immune to deception. They’re not. Even the best investors, the most seasoned bankers, fall prey to the same cognitive biases that affect everyone else. Confirmation bias. Groupthink. The belief that if something looks legitimate, it must be legitimate.
I’ve seen it too many times — the Envy nickel investment scandal, where even lawyers were fooled; the collapse of Hin Leong, where banks with decades of experience were blindsided. The mechanisms change, but the underlying deception remains the same. And that’s why fraud keeps happening. Because human nature doesn’t change.
But if fraud is about psychology, so is success. And one of the hardest things I’ve had to learn in this job as managing director of Blackstone & Gold is how to deal with rejection. When I started my firm, I knew we had the expertise.
What I didn’t anticipate was how much companies relied on the comfort of a big-name law firm. Even when dissatisfied with the service they were getting, many were hesitant to switch. Change is difficult. Familiarity, even if imperfect, is easier.
Rejection could have been discouraging. Instead, I let it fuel me. Every ‘no’ became an incentive to refine, improve, and sharpen our approach. When we did get the opportunity, we had something to prove. And that’s the difference between firms like Blackstone & Gold and the legacy institutions: We fight to earn every mandate.
That hunger shapes the way we operate. It keeps us sharp.
The future of legal work
Today, the legal industry is evolving quickly. General Counsels and company management are becoming more sophisticated in understanding legal risk. There’s a growing recognition that subject-matter expertise matters more than brand name.
And as more lawyers leave large firms to build their own, the old assumptions about boutique firms will shift. Technology — automation, AI — will help further level the playing field, bringing cost efficiencies that benefit lawyers and clients.
But what won’t change — what shouldn’t change — is the reason we do this work. I love what I do at Blackstone & Gold. And that’s why I wake up every day with the same energy, the same drive to help clients, to share knowledge, and to make legal solutions more transparent, faster, and better.
If there’s one complaint I hear about senior lawyers, it’s that we’re inaccessible and exist behind layers of hierarchy and formality. I don’t want to be that kind of lawyer.
Success, to me, isn’t measured in awards or accolades. Courtroom victories don’t even measure it. It’s when the people around me — my team and my clients — end their day feeling more equipped, confident, and in control of their challenges than they were that morning.
That’s what matters. That’s the kind of impact that lasts.
And if you ask me what gives me hope in a chaotic world, I’d say this: People are searching. For clarity, meaning, and a better understanding of themselves and the world. As a society, we are becoming more conscious of how we think, perceive, and interpret the world around us. And that shift — from reaction to reflection — can only lead to better decisions. In business, in law, in life.
“That, to me, is where the future lies.”
