Rajendra Navaratnam is a lawyer who obtained his first degree in Electrical Engineering and started his career as an Engineer in the Power industry. He has worked in wide and various capacities in the then National Electricity Board of Malaysia, ranging from construction and maintenance of high voltage transmission lines and substations, test and instrument functions, culminating in managing international procurement contracts, for about 10 years before he retrained in law and started his legal career with Azman Davidson and Co in 1988 which has a major construction/arbitration practice. He became a Partner in 1993.