SIAA 2012 Profiles

Sundaresh MENON, S.C.
Chief Justice, Supreme Court of Singapore

Mr Menon, graduated with Bachelor of Laws (First Class Honours) from the National University of Singapore in 1986 and later obtained a Master of Laws degree from Harvard Law School in 1991. He was admitted as an advocate and solicitor of the Supreme Court of Singapore in 1987 and as an Attorney and Counsellor-at-law of the Bar of the State of New York in 1992. He was appointed Senior Counsel in January 2008.

As a private practitioner, Mr Menon was recognised as one of the leading lawyers in the fields of commercial litigation and arbitration, insolvency and construction law, in Singapore and abroad. He advised and represented numerous local and overseas clients in complex and technical disputes and appeared before as well as in arbitration tribunals in various jurisdictions.

Mr Menon has also served as the Deputy Chairman of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre and has represented Singapore at the UNCITRAL Working Group on Arbitration.

From April 2006 to March 2007, Mr Menon served as a Judicial Commissioner of the Supreme Court and presided over several prominent criminal and civil cases in the High Court. After completing his term on the Bench, he returned to Rajah & Tann becoming the Managing Partner in August 2009, a position he held until his appointment as the Attorney- General on 1 October 2010. Mr Menon relinquished his position as the Attorney-General on 24 June 2012 and was appointed as a Judge of Appeal of the Supreme Court on 1 August 2012. On 6 November 2012, Mr Menon was appointed as the Chief Justice of Singapore.

Steven CHONG, S.C.
Attorney-General of SingaporeMr Steven Chong Horng Siong, S.C. graduated with Bachelor of Laws (Second Class, Upper Division Honours) from the National University of Singapore in 1982. He was admitted as an advocate and solicitor of the Supreme Court of Singapore in 1983.Mr Chong started his legal practice at Drew & Napier where he spent 14 years starting as an associate, and leaving when he was joint Managing Partner. He then spent 12 years in Rajah & Tann and was a Senior Partner and then its Managing Partner. In January 1998, he was appointed Senior Counsel.Mr Chong was a leading commercial lawyer and argued many cases in court. Mr Chong was also a senior member of the Singapore arbitration community and participated in arbitrations both as counsel as well as arbitrator. He is an accredited Arbitrator of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre and the Singapore Chamber of Maritime Arbitration.From 1 October 2009 to 30 May 2010, Mr Chong served as a Judicial Commissioner of the Supreme Court. He was appointed as a Supreme Court Judge from 1 June 2010 until 24 June 2012. During his term, he presided over a wide range of cases and delivered significant judgments covering diverse areas of the law including criminal, constitutional, banking, defamation and shipping law.Mr Chong assumed office as the Attorney-General on 25 June 2012.

Justice Quentin LOH, S.C.
Judge, Singapore Supreme Court

Quentin Loh was appointed a Judicial Commissioner of the Supreme Court of Singapore on 1 September 2009 and a Supreme Court Judge on 1 June 2010. Prior to his joining the Bench, he was the Deputy Managing Partner of Rajah & Tann LLP from December 2003 to 12 August 2009. He was a key member of its international arbitration group as well as head of the Construction & Projects and Insurance and Reinsurance practice groups. Prior to joining Rajah & Tann in 2001 as a member of its Executive Committee, he was Managing Partner of Cooma, Lau & Loh, a firm he co-founded in 1978. He was appointed Senior Counsel in 1999. Until his appointment as a Judicial Commissioner, he was also a director of Maxwell Chambers, a dedicated building for holding arbitrations.

In private practice, he has appeared as counsel in numerous domestic and international arbitrations, (SIAC and non-SIAC, ad hoc arbitrations, ICC, HKIAC). He has represented parties in arbitrations not only held in Singapore, but also in Malaysia, Hong Kong, England and Paris. He has also been appointed as arbitrator in domestic and international arbitrations. He argued and established that the Singapore Courts do not have the jurisdiction to injunct arbitrators or halt arbitrations under the Model Law pending arbitrator challenges or setting aside injunctions, [2004] 2 SLR 14.

He is also the author of Chapter 14: Advocacy in International Arbitrations in Modern Advocacy: Perspectives from Singapore, (Singapore Academy of Law, 2008), Confidentiality in Arbitrations: How Far Does it Extend? (Singapore Academy of Law Monograph Series, 2007), The Duty of Counsel Before an Alternative Dispute Resolution Tribunal, Wege zur Globalisierung des Rechts – Reinhold Geimer (C.H.Beck’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung Oscar Beck oHG, 1999), the Insurance Chapter in Law Relating to Specific Contracts in Singapore, (Sweet & Maxwell Asia, 2008) and Injunctions Restraining Calls on Performance Bonds – Is Fraud the Only Ground in Singapore? [2000] Lloyd’s Maritime & Commercial Law Quarterly, p.289-448.

Professor S. JAYAKUMAR
Former Deputy Prime Minister and Senior Minister of Singapore; Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore

Professor S Jayakumar currently is Professor of Law, Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore. He is the Chairman of the Advisory Council for the Law Faculty NUS, and is also Chairman of the International Advisory Panel of the Center for International Law, (CIL). He was former Deputy Prime Minister and Senior Minister. He took leave from the Law Faculty in 1980 to enter politics. He held various portfolios like Minister for Home Affairs, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Minister for Labour, and was one of the longest serving Law Ministers in Asia (26 years). He was also co-ordinating Minister for National Security and also for climate change. He oversaw the Pedra Branca case with Malaysia before the International Court of Justice, well as the land reclamation case with Malaysia before ITLOS.

Professor S Jayakumar has written several books and articles on constitutional law and international law, the most recent being a book on the Pedra Branca case with Professor Tommy Koh (PEDRA BRANCA, the Road to the World Court) and the other his book on DIPLOMACY: A Singapore Experience based on his reflections on foreign policy when he was Ambassador as well as a Minister.

 

The Right Hon the Lord PHILLIPS of Worth Matravers, K.G.
President of the Supreme Court of the United KingdomNicholas Phillips, Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers, KG was the first President of The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom from 1 October 2009 to 30 September 2012, having been Senior Law Lord from 1 October 2008. He was previously the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales.Lord Phillips began his second stint as Lord of Appeal in Ordinary in October 2008. Before that he served as a Judge of the High Court of Justice, Queen’s Bench Division from 1987 to 1995, where he sat in the Commercial Court and presided over the Barlow Clowes and Maxwell prosecutions.He was promoted to the Court of Appeal in 1995 and elevated to Lord of Appeal in Ordinary on 12 January 1999. He was appointed Master of the Rolls and Head of Civil Justice on 6 June 2000, a post that he held until 2005.On 1 October 2005 he was appointed Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales. He became the Senior Law Lord on 1 October 2008.

Tan Sri Dato’ Cecil W.M. ABRAHAM
Zul Rafique & partners

Tan Sri Cecil Abraham, Senior Partner with Zul Rafique & Partners, is a Barrister-At-Law of the Middle Temple and is a Bencher of the Inn. He is a graduate of Queen Mary College, University of London. He is a Chartered Arbitrator and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators U.K., Malaysian Institute of Arbitrators, Singapore Institute of Arbitrators and the Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration Limited. He has been involved as Arbitrator and Counsel in more than 100 arbitrations under the ICC, SIAC, KLRCA, LCIA and ICSID Rules and also in Ad Hoc arbitrations. He is a Member of the ICSID panel. He has represented the Government of Malaysia in an ICSID arbitration and is presently involved in annulment proceedings under the ICSID Convention. He is also a Member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration. He is Malaysia’s representative to the ICC Court of Arbitration. He was a former Member of the LCIA Court.

Professor Robert C. BECKMAN
Director, Centre for International Law, National University of Singapore

Robert Beckman is the Director of the Centre for International Law (CIL) and the head of its programme in Ocean Law and Policy. He heads the CIL Research Projects on Submarine Cables and Law of the Sea and on International Maritime Crimes.

Prof Beckman is also an associate professor in the NUS Faculty of Law. He currently teaches Public International Law and Ocean Law & Policy in Asia. He also teaches a module on International Law & Singapore Law in the first year compulsory course, Singapore Legal System. In addition to his current subjects, he has taught International Legal Process, International Regulation of Shipping, Maritime Security & International Law, Marine Environmental Law, Space Law & Policy and United Nations Law.

Prof Beckman has a special interest in public international law and in ocean law and policy. He lectures in Rhodes Academy of Oceans Law and Policy, a summer diploma programme held in Rhodes, Greece. He has also taught intensive course on Ocean Law & Policy for UNITAR in Myanmar and at the Graduate School of International Studies, University of Tokyo.

He is an Adjunct Senior Fellow in the Maritime Security Programme at the Institute for Defence and Strategic Studies of the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, NTU. He serves as a member of the Singapore delegation meetings of the Council on Security and Cooperation in the Asia-Pacific (CSCAP). He also served as a resource person for many of the meetings and Workshops on Managing Potential Conflicts in the South China Sea. He has also worked on ocean law and policy issues with the Ocean Policy Research Foundation (OPRF) of Japan and the Science Council of Asia.

Prof Beckman also has a special interest in mooting and advocacy. He served as the faculty advisor and coach of NUS teams in the Philip C Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition for 30 years, and has also coached NUS teams in the Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court Competition and the International Maritime Law Moot Court Competition.

Prof Beckman served as the Vice Dean (Academic Affairs) from 2001 to 2006. He was awarded the Public Administration Medal (Bronze) at the 2007 National Day Awards. He has also received two awards from NUS – the Outstanding Educator Award in 2001, and the Staff Achievement Award in 1997.

Sir Franklin BERMAN K.C.M.G., Q.C.
Essex Court Chambers

Sir Franklin (Frank) Berman joined HM Diplomatic Service in 1965 and was Legal Adviser to the Foreign & Commonwealth Office from 1991-99. For the past12 years he has been in practice in Essex Court Chambers specializing in international arbitration and advisory work in international law. He is Visiting Professor of International Law at Oxford and the University of Cape Town.

His 45-year career in international law and diplomacy has spanned a wide and varied field, including settlement of disputes; the law of treaties; State responsibility; diplomatic and State immunity; maritime delimitation; the law of the Continental shelf; outer space and nuclear energy; the law of international organisations; the UN Security Council; the laws of war and neutrality; international criminal tribunals; and numerous other areas. In the light of this extensive experience, he is highly qualified for advisory work in all areas of public international law, for international dispute-settlement proceedings of all kinds and for international commercial and investment arbitration.

Sir Frank has served as Judge ad hoc on the International Court of Justice in the Case concerning Certain Property (Liechtenstein v. Germany). His recent appointment by the Lord Chief Justice as the Legal Member of the Court of Arbitration between Pakistan and India under the Indus Waters Treaty confirms his high international standing in the field. He currently represents Cambodia before the International Court in the Case concerning the Temple of Preah Vihear.

He was appointed by the British Government in 2004 to the list of Arbitrators under the Washington Convention (ICSID), and is currently sitting or has recently sat in three ICSID arbitrations as Chairman* and seven as Party-appointed Arbitrator** (both claimant and host State), and in four ICSID annulment proceedings***, as well as in arbitrations under the ICC, Stockholm Arbitration Institute and LCIA (sole arbitrator), and ad hoc.

* The Rompetrol Group N.V. v. Romania; Alemanni v. Argentine Republic; Global Trading Resource Corp. & others v. Ukraine

** F-W Oil Interests, Inc. v. Republic of Trinidad & Tobago; Bayindir

Insaat Turizm Ticaret Ve Sanayi A.S. v. Islamic Republic of Pakistan; Russell Resources International Limited & others v. Democratic Republic of the Congo; Libananco Holdings Co. Ltd v. Republic of Turkey; Marion Unglaube v. Republic of Costa Rica; Reinhard Unglaube v. Republic of Costa Rica; Vattenfall AB & others v. Federal Republic of Germany

*** Consortium R.F.C.C. v. Kingdom of Morocco; Empresas Lucchetti v. Peru; CECF Transgabonais v. Republic of Gabon; Togo Électricité-GDF Suez v. Togo

He is the former Chairman of the Diplomatic Service Appeal Board, and the Appeals Boards of the WEU and IOPCF, and currently chairs the Claims Committee of the Austrian General Settlement Fund for Victims of Nazi persecution. In 2006 the Republic of Austria awarded him the Grand Decoration of Honour in Gold with Star. Since 2010 he has been a Member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration.

Gary BORN
WilmerHale LLP

Gary Born is the chair of the International Arbitration Practice Group at law firm Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP and is one of the world’s leading authorities in the fields of international arbitration and litigation.

Mr. Born has been involved as counsel in more than 550 arbitrations, under all leading arbitral regimes, including several of the largest arbitrations in both ICC and ad hoc history. He has been ranked for the past 15 years as one of the world’s leading international arbitration practitioners. He received the Global Arbitration Review’s inaugural “Advocate of the Year” award in 2011 and was recently voted the “World’s Best International Litigator” He sits as arbitrator, having served in some 150 institutional and ad hoc arbitrations.

Mr. Born is a graduate of Haverford College (BA 1978, summa cum laude) and the University of Pennsylvania (JD 1981, summa cum laude). He clerked for Judge Henry J Friendly on the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and Justice William H Rehnquist on the US Supreme Court.

Mr. Born has published a number of leading works on international arbitration, international litigation and other forms of dispute resolution. He is the author of International Commercial Arbitration (Kluwer 2009), the preeminent treatise in the field and recipient of the American Society of International Law’s Certificate of Merit in 2010. He is also the author of International Forum Selection and Arbitration Agreements: Drafting and Enforcing (Kluwer 2010), International Arbitration: Cases and Materials (Aspen 2011), and International Civil Litigation in United States Courts (Aspen 5th ed. 2011).

Mr. Born is an Honorary Professor of Law at St. Gallen University. He has taught law at Harvard Law School, Stanford Law School, St. Gallen University, Georgetown University Law Center, National University of Singapore, University of Virginia College of Law, University College London and the University of Arizona College of Law.

CHAN Leng Sun, S.C.
Baker & McKenzie.Wong & Leow

Leng Sun co-heads the Dispute Resolution practice of Baker & McKenzie. Wong & Leow. He is qualified in Malaysia, Singapore and England. Leng Sun was appointed Senior Counsel in January 2011.

Apart from being counsel, Leng Sun is an arbitrator and adjudicator on the panel of leading arbitral institutions such as SIAC, SCMA, ICDR, KLRCA, CIETAC and CMAC. He also sits in ICC, LMAA as well as ad hoc arbitrations. He serves on statutory tribunals such as the Income Tax Review Board and the Maintenance of Parents Tribunal. Leng Sun is Chairman of the Singapore Law Society ADR Committee and Vice-President of the Singapore Institute of Arbitrators (SIArb). He is on the Advisory Panel of the Singapore Maritime Foundation.

Leng Sun has lectured at the National University of Singapore Law Faculty and taught at the Singapore Management University. He has also served as a legal officer of the United Nations Compensation Commission in Geneva and was a SIAC-CIAC Observer to the UNCITRAL Working Group on Arbitration. His work with the Law Reform Sub-Committee contributed to the reform of Singapore’s arbitration laws in 2012.

Leng Sun has published widely in international journals and is the author of the book Singapore Law on Arbitral Awards, published by Academy Publishing. The book has been cited with approval by the High Court and Court of Appeal of Singapore.

Simon CHEONG
Brightoil Petroleum

Simon Cheong is currently General Counsel for Brightoil Petroleum’s international supply, trading and marine bunkering division. Brightoil Petroleum is a company listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. His responsibilities include overseeing legal and compliance support for Brightoil Petroleum’s supply, trading and marine bunkering offices worldwide including in Asia, Europe and North America and management of its legal teams. Simon has more than 10 years experience in the commodity and energy sector with a focus on international physical and derivatives commodities trading and compliance. Prior to pursuing a career in-house Simon spent several years with M/s Rajah & Tann’s commercial litigation department.

Muhammad Mustaqeem DE GAMA
Ministry of Trade & Industry, South Africa

Muhammad Mustaqeem De Gama is an extraordinary Professor at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. He holds a LLM (KU Leuven, Belgium) and LLD (University of Pretoria). He currently works for the Department of Trade and Industry in South Africa and heads the International Trade and Investment Directorate. He is responsible for international investment policy and is currently chief legal counsel for all investment disputes. Muhammad also represents the Government of South Africa at the OECD Investment Committee, UNCITRAL Working Group II, SADC Investment Committee and various other multilateral fora. In 2008 he assisted with the South African Bilateral Investment Treaty Review which culminated in various policy shifts in respect to the investment landscape and South Africa’s approach to bilateral investment treaties.

Professor Michael EWING-CHOW
Centre for International Law, National University of Singapore

Michael Ewing-Chow is an Associate Professor and WTO Chair at the Faculty of Law, NUS as well as the Head, Trade/Investment Law & Policy at CIL, NUS. He has been a Fellow at NYU. He has First Class Honours degree in law from NUS and a Masters from Harvard Law School. Michael worked in Allen & Gledhill before joining NUS. He then started the first World Trade Law course in Singapore and was involved in the negotiations for some of Singapore’s early FTAs. He has been a consultant to the Singapore Government, the ADB, ASEAN, UNCTAD, the World Bank and the WTO. Michael has advised government officials in Asia and Latin America on trade and investment law as well as corporate governance. He also assisted the Singapore Company Law Reform and Frameworks Committee in 2001 with a major overhaul of corporate law and in 2008 was appointed to a Working Group of the Steering Committee to review of the Companies Act. Michael also volunteers with NGOs and co-founded aidha, an NGO which provides financial education and microfinance opportunities for domestic migrant workers. For his work, he was the awarded the Social Entrepreneur of the Year 2007. He has received several Teaching Excellence Awards and was awarded the Inspiring Mentor Award in 2009.

Professor Mark FELDMAN
Peking University School of Transnational Law

Mark Feldman is Assistant Professor of Law at the Peking University School of Transnational Law. He previously served as Chief of NAFTA/CAFTA-DR Arbitration in the Office of the Legal Adviser at the U.S. Department of State. As Chief, Mark represented the United States as a Respondent or Non-Disputing Party in more than a dozen investor-State disputes and provided legal counsel supporting the negotiation of U.S. BITs and investment chapters of FTAs. Mark’s government experience also includes service as a law clerk to Judge Eric L. Clay on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Lesotho during South Africa’s transition to democracy. In the private sector, Mark practiced law for several years at Covington & Burling. Mark holds a B.A. from the University of Wisconsin, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and a J.D. from Columbia Law School, where he was a James Kent Scholar, Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar, and recipient of the Parker School Certificate in International and Comparative Law.

Philip FONG
Harry Elias Partnership LLP

Philip is the Managing Partner of Harry Elias Partnership LLP, and heads the Firm’s Civil and Commercial Litigation Practice Group and Regulatory Compliance and Commercial Fraud Practice Group.

Philip has extensive experience in corporate and commercial litigation and arbitration, ranging from contractual disputes, disputes involving shareholders and employees, to property disputes (including en bloc fights and trusts). He has also been involved in a number of high profile judicial review cases in the Supreme Court involving public bodies and government departments. He is consistently identified as a leading business crime lawyer in leading directories such as Who’s Who Legal and has successfully represented clients in securities and corruption cases.

Philip is a regular speaker at business forums and seminars on the subject of securities fraud, corruption, enforcement actions of government agencies and issues relating to directors’ duties and other white collar crimes.

Since joining the Firm, Philip also successfully defended several defendants charged for white collar offences. He has been highly recommended as a star name and leader in the legal circle by independent publications such as The Asia Pacific Legal 500, Who’s Who Legal, Asian Business Legal, The Straits Times, The Guide to Asia-Pacific’s Leading Law Firms, TODAY Paper, The Business Times and Channel News Asia. In the 2010/2011 edition of Asia Pacific Legal 500, he was described as ‘flexible and receptive’, ‘excellent service and value for money’ in the recent landmark cases.

In addition to a law degree from the University of London, Philip also graduated from the University of Adelaide with an Honours degree in Economics (majoring in Accounting). Philip was a Government scholar and was called to the Singapore Bar in 1995.

Patrick G. FOY, Q.C.
Borden Ladner Gervais LLP

Patrick G. Foy, Q.C., B.SC, LL.B., Senior Appellate Counsel and Partner, Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Mr. Foy’s practice includes appellate counsel work and investor-state arbitration. Mr. Foy assisted counsel to the Government of Mexico on the structure and content of the dispute settlement mechanisms of the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and in the conduct of the defence of a number of NAFTA Chapter Eleven investor-state arbitrations initiated against Mexico. He has participated in all of the Canadian judicial reviews of Chapter Eleven Arbitral Awards. Mr. Foy has been selected by peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in Canada, the Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory and Benchmark Canada. In 1998, Mr. Foy was appointed Queen’s Counsel and he is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers.

Bernard HANOTIAU
Hanotiau & van den Berg

Bernard Hanotiau is a member of the panel of arbitrators of, or receives appointments as arbitrator by, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC, Paris), the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA), ICSID, the American Arbitration Association (AAA), the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce, SIAC (Singapore), HKIAC (Hong Kong), CIETAC (Beijing), BAC (Beijing), the Japan Commercial Arbitration Association, KLRCA (Kuala Lumpur), KCAB (Seoul), the Permanent Court of International Arbitration (PCA, The Hague), WIPO (Geneva), Cepani (Belgium), the Nederlands Arbitrage Instituut (NAI), the Geneva Chamber of Commerce, the Dubai International Arbitration Center (DIAC), the Danish Institute of Arbitration, the Cairo Center of Arbitration, the French Arbitration Association, the French-German Chamber of Commerce (Paris), IATA (Geneva), the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS, Lausanne). He is also frequently appointed as arbitrator in Uncitral and other ad hoc arbitration cases.

Hilary HEILBRON, Q.C.
Brick Court Chambers

Hilary Heilbron is a barrister and Queen’s Counsel practising from Brick Court Chambers, London. She has extensive experience as counsel both in international arbitration and commercial litigation. She has appeared in numerous court cases and international arbitrations for a wide range of national and international clients from all corners of the world, including the House of Lords, Supreme Court and Privy Council. Recent cases include appearing as leading counsel in the Supreme Court in the important case on the New York Convention Dallah Real Estate and Tourism Holding Company v Ministry of Religious Affairs, Government of Pakistan and in SulAmerica Cia Nacional de Seguros & 5 others -v- (1) Enesa Engenharia S.A – Enesa (2) Energia Sustentavel do Brasil – ESBR (3) Construcoes e Comerica Camargo Correa[2012] EWHC 42 (Comm).

Her experience extends to many industry sectors, including banking and finance, insurance, energy, oil trading, telecommunications, international transport, joint ventures as well as a host of other major contractual issues.

She also sits regularly as an arbitrator, as chair, sole and party or institution appointed arbitrator, in ICC, LCIA, ICDR and ad hoc arbitrations and is a registered arbitrator trainer for the ICDR. She is on various other panels of arbitrators including SIAC; HKIAC and the Court of Arbitration to the Polish Chamber of Commerce. She is a Deputy High Court Judge and an accredited mediator.

She has spoken and written extensively on international arbitration and cross-border litigation and is the author of “A Practical Guide to International Arbitration in London” and the chapter on Damages in the Second Edition of “The Leading Arbitrators’ Guide to International Arbitration”.

Michael HWANG, S.C.
Michael Hwang Chambers

Michael Hwang was educated at undergraduate and postgraduate levels at Oxford University, where he was a College Scholar. On graduation in 1968, he taught law at the University of Sydney. In 1966, he commenced private practice at Allen & Gledhill (presently Singapore’s largest law practice) where his areas of practice included litigation, corporate and banking law as well as conveyancing.

In 1991, he was appointed a Judicial Commissioner of the Supreme Court of Singapore and served for 19 months in that capacity before returning to Allen & Gledhill at the end of 1992. He then focused on litigation and arbitration, and was among the first cohort of 12 Senior Counsel appointed by the Supreme Court of Singapore in 1997.

In 2003, he took early retirement from Allen & Gledhill to start his own boutique disputes practice as a Barrister and Arbitrator. In his litigation practice, he has focused on a range of practice areas including financial, property and general commercial law. In his arbitration practice, he has arbitrated disputes under the rules of all the major international arbitration institutions, and his disputes have extended over nearly 30 countries.

His past appointments include being Vice Chair of the International Court of Arbitration of the ICC, Vice President of the International Council of Commercial Arbitration (ICCA), Vice Chair of the IBA’s Arbitration Committee, and a member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration. In 2001-2003 he served on the United Nations Compensation Commission assessing claims against Iraq arising from the First Gulf War. Between 2008 and 2010 he served as President of the Law Society of Singapore

He is presently Singapore’s Non-Resident Ambassador to Switzerland as well as an Adjunct Professor at the National University of Singapore.

In 2010 he was appointed as the Chief Justice of the Dubai International Financial Centre Courts, having served as Deputy Chief Justice since 2005.

Philip JEYARETNAM, S.C.
Chairman, Maxwell Chambers

Philip Jeyaretnam, SC is managing partner of Rodyk & Davidson LLP. Philip graduated from Cambridge University and was a visiting Fulbright Fellow at Harvard Law School. He was admitted to the Singapore Bar in 1988, and was appointed Senior Counsel in January 2003. Philip was President of the Law Society of Singapore from January 2004 to December 2007. He was the founding chairman of the Society of Construction Law, Singapore. Philip is named as a leading individual for dispute resolution in both Chambers Asia Pacific 2012 and Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2012. He is a member of the Public Service Commission, the constitutional body that oversees the public service in Singapore.

Professor Gabrielle KAUFMANN-KOHLER
Levy Kaufmann Kohler, University of Geneva

Professor, Geneva University Law School (since 1997) (Director, Private International Law Department); Director, Geneva LLM in International Dispute Settlement (MIDS), a joint program of the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies and Geneva Law Faculty (launched in 2008). Partner, Lévy Kaufmann-Kohler, Geneva. Formerly, assistant professor (private international law), University of Geneva Law School, (1993-1997); partner Schellenberg Wittmer (1996-2007), and partner (1985-95) and associate (1981-85), Baker & McKenzie, Geneva and New York. After studies at the University of Geneva (law degree 1974) and a doctorate from the University of Basle (summa cum laude, 1979), she was admitted to both the Geneva (1976) and the New York State Bar (1982).

Teaches classes in international arbitration, mediation. Present research project on “Conflicts of norms in international arbitration”. Past projects include “Fundamental and legal theoretical aspects of international arbitration”, “Arbitration & … economics, philosophy, sociology”, “Transnational arbitration in China”, and multidisciplinary research (IT – law) on online dispute resolution. Numerous publications in the area of her specialization (list available on www.lk-k.com).

Practices in international commercial, investment and sports arbitration. Handled about 180 international arbitrations, mainly as arbitrator. Appears on numerous institutional arbitration panels (including ICC, ICSID and AAA) and conducts arbitrations under the rules of all major institutions. Chaired the ad hoc Division at the Olympic Games from 1996 until 2000. Regularly ranked among the top ten arbitrators worldwide.

Honorary President of the Swiss Arbitration Association and President from 2001 to 2005. Member of ICCA, LCIA, AAA Board, HKIAC Advisory Board, President of FIAA (Foundation for International Arbitration Advocacy).

English, French, German, Spanish, reading knowledge of Italian.

Makhdoom Ali KHAN
Fazle Ghani, Karachi, Pakistan

Makhdhoom Ali Khan was the Attorney General of Pakistan from 2001 to 2007, during which time, he advised the Government of Pakistan on all the international arbitrations in which it was involved, including ICC and ICSID cases. He is the co-author of the Recognition and Enforcement (Arbitration Agreements and Foreign Arbitral Awards) Ordinance, 2005, by which the New York Convention was incorporated into the laws of Pakistan. He also authored the Arbitration (International Investment Disputes) Ordinance, 2007, to implement the ICSID Convention. Makhdoom headed a sub-committee on adopting and adapting the UNCITRAL Model Law, with emphasis on adequate safeguards against inappropriate judicial intervention. He is a former member of the Law Reforms Commission of Pakistan and former Chairman of the Pakistan Bar Council. On May 9th, 2008 Makhdoom Ali Khan was appointed to the London Court of International Arbitration for a five year term. He is on the SIAC panel of arbitrators and also on the panel of ICSID arbitrators nominated by the President of The World Bank.

Dr. Sabine KONRAD
McDermott Will & Emery LLP

Dr. Sabine Konrad is a partner in the law firm of McDermott Will & Emery LLP and is based in the Firm’s Frankfurt office. She focuses her practice on international dispute resolution, with an emphasis on commercial international arbitration and public international law.

Sabine has advised investors and governments in matters of investment protection. She also has experience representing clients in a broad range of industries, including energy and infrastructure.

In 2007, Sabine was designated by the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany to the Panel of Arbitrators of the World Bank’s International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). She also founded the Frankfurt International Arbitration Moot Court, the leading moot court internally in the investment treaty field. In 2005, Sabine was involved in setting up the Frankfurt International Arbitration Center, a cooperation facility of ICSID for investment treaty arbitrations in Germany.

Sabine is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, a member of the American Society of International Law, the British Institute of International and Comparative Law, the International Law Association, the Working Group on Investment Protection Law of the German Branch of the ILA, the London Court of International Arbitration, the Swiss Arbitration Association, the Austrian Arbitration Association and is a member of the Steering Committee of the Alumni and Friends of School of International Arbitration of the University of London.

Sabine is admitted to the Landgericht/Amtsgericht Frankfurt Bar.

Professor Jürgen KURTZ
University of Melbourne Law School

Jürgen Kurtz is an Associate Professor and Director of the International Investment Law Research Programme of the Institute for International Law and the Humanities at the University of Melbourne, Australia. Jürgen researches and teaches in the various strands of international economic law, including the jurisprudence of the World Trade Organization and that of investor-state arbitral tribunals. He has held research fellowships at the Jean Monnet Center for International and Regional Economic Law and Justice at New York University (as an Emile Noël Fellow), the University of Michigan Law School (as Grotius Fellow) and at the Academy of International Law in The Hague. He is the convenor of the General Course on International Investment Law at the Academy of International Trade and Investment Law in Macau. In 2010, Jürgen joined the Global Faculty at the Centre for Transnational Legal Studies in London, Universidade Católica Portuguesa in Lisbon, Bocconi University in Milan and was appointed Fernand Braudel Senior Fellow at the European University Institute in Florence.

Veronica LAI
Starhub Ltd

Veronica embarked on her career with StarHub in 1999, as part of the team establishing the legal structure to support StarHub in its official launch in April 2000 and thereafter in the merger of StarHub and Singapore Cable Vision in 2002, and StarHub Ltd’s IPO in 2004.

Veronica’s responsibilities include the management of the Legal department of the StarHub Group. In addition, she serves as Company Secretary for the StarHub Group.

Under her leadership, the StarHub Legal team was recognised with various awards, including the Best Domestic Equity Deal in Singapore and Best Deal for Singapore in 2005 for their role in the StarHub IPO by Asia Legal Business; and the IT/Telco In-house Team of the Year Award in 2007 at the ALB Southeast Asia Law Awards. Veronica received the 2007 AsiaLaw Singapore In-house Counsel Award by Asia Law and Practice, and was named by Asia Legal Business as one of the Top 25 in-house Counsels in Asia in 2010. Prior to joining StarHub, Veronica spent six years in practice with M/s Rajah and Tann, specializing in banking, finance, corporate and commercial transactions.

Christopher LAU, S.C.
Three Verulam Building Chambers

Christopher Lau SC is recognized as “one of Singapore’s leading arbitrators on major domestic and international arbitrations” (AsiaLaw). With more than 30 years of experience, Christopher has an in-depth understanding and knowledge of Asian legal culture and market dynamics. His arbitration practice encompasses BIT and investment as well as all aspects of commercial disputes including maritime, construction, energy, corporate and insurance disputes involving the laws of various jurisdictions including those of Singapore, India, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Korea, Thailand, China, Denmark, England and New York. Christopher is a past Chairman of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (Singapore) Limited and is a member of the ICC Commission on Arbitration. He is an independent non‑executive director of the Board of Directors of Neptune Orient Lines Limited, serving as Chairman of its Audit Committee and as a member of its Enterprise Risk Management Committee.

Andrew LIM
Shell Eastern Petroleum (Pte) Ltd

Andrew graduated in 1992 from the National University of Singapore, and started his legal career as a Deputy Registrar/Magistrate in the Subordinate Courts of Singapore where he was later appointed as a District Judge. During his seven years stint in the judiciary, he presided over a wide variety of civil and criminal cases as well as interlocutory matters. Prior to joining Shell in 2004, he was a partner in Kelvin Chia Partnership and played an active role in helping the firm grow its regional practice. Andrew is now the Associate General Counsel – South East Asia (Downstream Manufacturing & Marketing) for Shell, and is at the same time also the Head of Legal in Shell Singapore. Prior to his current roles, he was the Managing Counsel for M&A Projects (East) where he successfully developed and grew a regional team of in-house legal counsel specialising in M&A projects. In that role, he has had the opportunity to work closely and partner with a variety of local and international law firms in helping the company achieve its portfolio aspirations through the delivery of more than 20 projects in the region over five years. Having moved from the bench to the bar and now in an in-house role, Andrew brings with him a diverse experience and a broad perspective, and is well placed to share a practical view of What Clients Expect of their Legal Counsel.

Lawrence H. MARTIN
Foley Hoag LLP

Lawrence Martin is a partner in Foley Hoag LLP’s Washington office and a member of its international litigation and arbitration practice group.

Larry concentrates his practice in international disputes, typically involving foreign sovereign governments and/or their agencies and instrumentalities. Larry represents foreign sovereign interests in proceedings before the world’s leading dispute resolution fora, including the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS). He has particular experience in international environmental cases and disputes relating to the Law of the Sea. Larry also frequently represents foreign sovereigns in litigation before the courts of the United States. Reflecting his capabilities at representing clients in high-profile disputes, he has been named one of Washington, D.C.’s top lawyers by Washingtonian magazine and identified in Chambers Global 2011 Guide in its rankings of the top international law practitioners.

In addition, Larry has considerable experience in general civil litigation matters before United States courts, including insurance industry controversies, copyright disputes and product liability lawsuits.

Mark McNEILL
Shearman & Sterling LLP

Mark McNeill is a partner in Shearman & Sterling’s International Arbitration Group in Paris. He specializes in international investment arbitration and international commercial arbitration. He has advised corporate clients and governments in dozens of international arbitrations before the ICSID, the ICC and other arbitral institutions, as well as in ad hoc arbitrations under the UNCITRAL Rules, with a focus on investment, construction, joint venture and intellectual property disputes. Prior to joining Shearman & Sterling in Paris, Mark spent four years at the U.S. State Department where he represented the United States in investor-State arbitrations under the investment chapter of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and participated in the drafting of the United States’ bilateral investment treaties and investment chapters of free trade agreements. Mark is admitted to the New York and Paris bars. He is currently Co-Chair of the International Investment and Development Committee of the American Bar Association’s Section of International Law, and has served as the Vice-Chair of the Section’s International Arbitration Committee. He was an Adjunct Professor at the American University Washington College of Law, teaching International Investment Law and Arbitration. Mark speaks English, Japanese and French. He holds a J.D. from New York University School of Law an M.A. from the School of Advanced International Studies of Johns Hopkins University (with a specialization in international law), and a B.A. from Colgate University.

Professor Andrew NEWCOMBE
University of Victoria

Andrew Newcombe is Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada and teaches international arbitration, international investment law, international trade law and commercial law. Prior to joining the Faculty in 2002, he worked in the International Arbitration and Public International Law groups of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in Paris. His research focuses on investment treaty law and arbitration. He is the co-author of Law and Practice of Investment Treaties: Standards of Treatment (Kluwer, 2009) and co-editor of Sustainable Development in World Investment Law (Kluwer, 2011). He created and operates ita (italaw.com), a research website focused on investment treaty arbitration. Andrew is Associate Editor (Case & Comment) for the ICSID Review—Foreign Investment Law Journal. In addition to his academic work, Professor Newcombe acts as counsel and arbitrator in international arbitrations.

Hugo PEREZCANO
Former Head of the Unit of International Trade Practices, Ministry of Economy, Mexico

Mr. Perezcano is an independent consultant in areas of international arbitration, international trade regulation, international law and corporate and transactional law. He is also very knowledgeable and experienced on trade remedies.

He worked for the Mexican Government for nearly 20 years: He headed Mexico’s Trade Remedy Authority from January 2007 through October 2011. He was General Counsel for International Trade Negotiations at the Ministry of Economy from December 1994 to December 2006. In such capacity, he was the principal legal advisor for the Government on international trade negotiations and foreign trade and investment matters arising under the WTO, NAFTA and other free trade and bilateral investment agreements. He was lead counsel for Mexico in State-State dispute settlement proceedings initiated under the WTO and NAFTA, as well as in disputes brought by investors under the NAFTA and bilateral investment agreements. Prior to being appointed General Counsel for Trade Negotiations, Mr. Perezcano was part of the Mexico’s legal team during the NAFTA and Uruguay Round Negotiations and was designated lead counsel for Mexico in trade negotiations with several Latin American countries.

He has broad experience as a professor of law and numerous specialized publications.

Professor Ivan PNG
NUS Business School

Dr Png is the Lim Kim San Professor in the School of Business, and Professor of Economics and Information Systems at the National University of Singapore. In the academic year 2011-12, he is a Visiting Professor at the Tuck School of Business, Dartmouth College, USA.

Previously, he was a faculty member at the Anderson School, University of California, Los Angeles (1985-96) and the Hong Kong University of Science & Technology (1993-96).

Dr Png attended the Anglo-Chinese School, Singapore, and graduated with first class honours in economics from the University of Cambridge (1978) and a PhD from the Stanford Graduate School of Business (1985).

His research focuses on the economics of innovation and pricing. He has recently published in Management Science and the Journal of Management Information Systems.

He is the author of Managerial Economics, which has been published in multiple editions and adapted into Chinese (traditional and simplified characters) and Korean. He received the NUS-UCLA Executive MBA Teaching Excellence Award in 2008 as well as 2011.

Dr Png was a nominated MP (10th Parliament of Singapore), 2005-06, member of the Trustworthy Computing Academic Advisory Board, Microsoft Corporation, 2006-10, and an independent director of Hyflux Water Trust Management Pte Ltd, 2007-2011, and Healthway Medical Corporation Ltd, 2008-2011.

Daniel M. PRICE
Daniel M. Price PLLC

Daniel M. Price serves as arbitrator and counsel in major international treaty and commercial disputes. He has spent more than 30 years in private law practice and government service. He has extensive experience in disputes arising under bilateral investment treaties and free trade agreements, including NAFTA and the WTO. He has served as counsel for both company and government parties as well as arbitrator. He has also negotiated both inter-governmental and commercial agreements. He was a partner with Sidley Austin LLP, having founded and chaired the firm’s 60-member International Trade & Dispute Resolution group. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the American Arbitration Association and, by Presidential appointment, on the Panel of Arbitrators of the World Bank’s International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).

Professor Michael C. PRYLES
Chairman, Singapore International Arbitration Centre

Michael Pryles is a well known arbitrator with an extensive practice in commercial and investment arbitrations. He regularly sits in Asia, Europe and North America and has offices in Melbourne, Singapore and London. Michael has heard arbitrations under the rules of all major centres as well as ad hoc arbitrations involving sums claimed of up to USD 6 billion. Currently he is Chairman of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre. Formerly he was President of the Australian Centre of International Commercial Arbitration, a court member of LCIA, Chairman of ICC Australia and a member of the Board of Trustees of the Dubai International Arbitration Centre. Before becoming a full time international arbitrator he was a partner in a leading Australian law firm and before that he held a named chair in Australia’s largest law school. He has served as a Commissioner of the United Nations Compensation Commission and Commissioner of the Australian Law Reform Commission. He has published widely.

Chelva RAJAH, S.C.
Tan Rajah & Cheah

Chelva R. Rajah SC helms the litigation and dispute resolution team at Tan Rajah & Cheah (“TRC”), a Singapore law firm with more than 30 lawyers. He has practised law in Singapore for 40 years, principally in the areas of litigation and arbitration, particularly in substantial commercial disputes, property-related matters and insolvency. His arbitration experience is both that of counsel and arbitrator.

His professional experience and appointments include being : President of the Law Society of Singapore from 1990 to 1992; Vice-President of the Singapore Academy of Law from April 1991 to July 1993; a Member of the Military Court of Appeal in Singapore from 1992 to June 1995; a Judicial Commissioner of the High Court of Singapore from July 1995 to June 1997; Senior Counsel since January 1998; Chairman of the Singapore National Committee of the Asean Law Association from 2005 to 2006; a Member of the ICC International Court of Arbitration; a Judge of the Qatar Financial Centre Civil and Commercial Court; a member of the Commonwealth Secretariat Arbitral Tribunal and an Arbitrator in more than 80 domestic and/or international arbitrations.

 

Professor Catherine A. ROGERS
Penn State Law

Catherine Rogers is a Professor of Law at Penn State University, Dickinson School of Law, where she teaches international arbitration and professional ethics, and writes on topics at the intersection of the two areas. Professor Rogers has taught, lectured and published extensively on these topics around the world, including as an invited participant at two Stanford-Yale Junior Faculty Fora. Her forthcoming book, Ethics in International Arbitration, will be published in 2013 by Oxford University Press.

Professor Rogers is an Associate Reporter for the American Law Institute’s new Restatement of the Law (Third) of International Commercial Arbitration, and has served as an expert on topics of international arbitration for various international organizations, including the OECD, UNCITRAL, the American Society of International Law, and the International Bar Association’s Task Force on Counsel Conduct. She serves on the Board of Directors of the International Judicial Academy, is a member of the Academic Council of the Institute of Transnational Arbitration, and works extensively with the ICC Palestine in capacity-building initiatives to enable Palestinian lawyers and business professionals to participate in international arbitration.

Before entering academia, Professor Rogers practiced international litigation and arbitration in New York, Hong Kong, and San Francisco. Professor Rogers was formerly on the law faculties of Università Commerciale Luigi Bocconi in Milan, Italy, and Louisiana State University Law Center.

Harish SALVE
Harish Salve

Started work as a Chartered Accountant, doing exclusively taxation work. Joined J.B. Dadachanji & Co. as a trainee, and then as an associate.

Shifted to counsel practice and joined the Chamber of Mr. Soli Sorabjee (former Attorney General of India) in 1980. Set up independent chambers in 1986. Designated a Senior Advocate in 1992.

Practice mostly in the Supreme Court of India and Delhi High Court. Appeared in almost all High Courts of India. Became the Solicitor General of India in 1999 – youngest ever Solicitor General at the age of 43 years.

Returned to private practice in November 2002.

Philippe SANDS, Q.C.
Matrix Chambers

Philippe Sands QC is Professor of Law and Director of the Centre for International Courts and Tribunals at University College London. He is a practising barrister and co-founder of Matrix Chambers, acting in cases before the English courts and international courts and tribunals, including the International Court of Justice. He sits as an arbitrator at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes and the Permanent Court of Arbitration. He is the author of Lawless World (2005) and Torture Team (2008), has written several academic books on international law, and contributes regularly to the New York Review of Books, Vanity Fair and The Guardian. He is a vice president of the Hay Festival, a member of the board of the Tricycle Theatre, and a member of the advisory board of Wilton Park and of the appeal board Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law.

David SAUNDERS
Navigant Consulting LLP

David Saunders is a Managing Director in the Disputes & Investigations practice in London and has worked on numerous engagements in a number of different jurisdictions, industries and forums, including the UK courts and international arbitrations. David has particular expertise in the quantification of damages and has given evidence in both the UK courts and in international arbitrations. His cases have covered a variety of business sectors, including oil & gas, commodity trading, construction, property, manufacturing, hotels, retail, entertainment and financial services. David has been appointed on a number of occasions to prepare business interruption and other insurance claims.

John SAVAGE
King & Spalding LLP

John Savage is a partner in King & Spalding’s International Arbitration group, and leads the firm’s arbitration practice in Asia. He has represented governments, corporations and high-net-worth individuals in over 120 international arbitrations around the world, including many corporate, construction, energy and investment treaty disputes. In addition to his work as counsel, Mr. Savage has been appointed chairman of the tribunal, sole arbitrator and co-arbitrator in around 20 international arbitrations. He is a director of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre and a member of its Executive Committee. He serves as the expert adviser to the Singapore Government Delegation to the UNCITRAL Working Group on Arbitration. Mr. Savage is the co-editor of “Fouchard, Gaillard, Goldman on International Commercial Arbitration” (Kluwer 1999), and the co-author of “International Arbitration and Mediation: A Practical Guide” (Kluwer 2010). He is the author of many other articles and publications and a frequent speaker on international arbitration. Most recently, Mr. Savage was ranked in the first tier of international arbitration practitioners by both Chambers Asia-Pacific 2012 and Chambers Singapore 2012. Who’s Who Legal, Commercial Arbitration, 2012 recognised him as “one of the finest practitioners in Asia”. He is admitted to practice law in England & Wales and in Paris, France.

Professor M SORNARAJAH
Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore

M Sornarajah LLB (Ceylon), LLM (Yale), LLM, PhD, LLD (London) is CJ Koh Professor at the Faculty of Law of the National University of Singapore. He was the Tunku Abdul Rahman Professor of International Law at the University of Malaya at Kuala Lumpur. He was,previously, Head of the Law School of the University of Tasmania, Australia. He studied law at the University of Ceylon, the London School of Economics, King’s College, London and the Yale Law School. He was Research Fellow at the Centre for International Law, Cambridge and at the Max Planck Institut fur Offentliches Auslandisches Recht at Heidelburg, Germany. He was International Law Fellow and Visiting Professor at American University at Washington DC. He was Professorial Fellow at the Centre for Petroleum and Natural Resources Law at the University of Dundee, Scotland. He was a Visiting Professor at the Osgoode Hall Law School, Toronto (where he delivered the Pierre Genest Distinguished Lecture), Carleton University, Ottawa (where he delivered the Simon Reisman Lecture), the University of Malaya (where he delivered the Tun Suffian Lecture) the World Trade Institute of the Universities of Berne and Neuchatel, Switzerland, Kyushu University, Japan, the Xiamen Academy of International Law, China, Fundacio Gerulaitis Vargas Law School, Sao Paolo, Brazil and at the Georgetown Centre for Transnational Legal Studies, London. He has lectured at the Supreme Court Judges Retreat at the National Judicial Institute, Bhopal, India. He is the author of The Pursuit of Nationalized Property (Martinus Nijhoff, The Hague, 1986); International Commercial Arbitration (Longman, 1992); The Law of International Joint Ventures (Longman, 1994); The International Law on Foreign Investment (Cambridge University Press, 1996, 2nd ed.,2004, third edition 2010) and The Settlement of Foreign Investment Disputes (Kluwer, The Hague,2001). He is joint editor of China, India and the International Economic Law(Cambridge University Press,2010 ). He was the Director of the UNCTAD/WTO Programme on Investment Treaties, Pretoria and New Delhi. He is a Fellow of the Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration and is on the Regional Panel of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre. He has been arbitrator or counsel in several leading investment arbitrations. He has published extensively in the areas of international commercial arbitration, public international law and international investment law. He is an Advocate of the Supreme Court of Ceylon, an Advocate and Solicitor of the High Court of Singapore and a Solicitor of the High Court of England and Wales. He is an Honorary Member of the Indian Society of International Law.

Christopher THOMAS, Q.C.
Centre for International Law, National University of Singapore

Mr Thomas has acted as counsel or legal advisor in GATT, Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement, WTO, and NAFTA disputes, having acted both for private industry interested in the outcome of a particular dispute, and directly for governments (both as complainants and as respondents). He has acted as a Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement panelist, a GATT panelist, and argued the first State-to-State dispute to arise under the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement. He has appeared in proceedings before NAFTA and WTO Panels and the WTO Appellate Body.

Mr Thomas has appeared as counsel in fourteen investor-State disputes, four judicial review applications involving investor-State arbitration awards, and has acted as an arbitrator or is currently acting as an arbitrator in many investment treaty claims. He has also acted as an arbitrator, including as presiding arbitrator, in various other arbitral fora, ranging from LCIA commercial arbitration to dispute settlement proceedings under Canada’s Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT).

In respect of the negotiation and drafting of international treaties, Mr. Thomas has advised a number of States on such negotiations (including the Canada-U.S. free trade negotiations, the Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations, the NAFTA negotiations, and other treaty negotiations).

After graduating from law school, he clerked at the British Columbia Court of Appeal and articled at Ladner Downs, Barristers and Solicitors. Thereafter, he taught at two Canadian law schools (the University of Ottawa (1984-86) and the University of British Columbia (1987-1989)), and worked for the Government of Canada (Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade) as Senior Policy Advisor to the Minister for International Trade during the Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement negotiations (1986-87). He then rejoined Ladner Downs, becoming a partner, until he formed Thomas & Associates (later Thomas & Partners) in 1993. In June 2008, the partners and associates of Thomas & Partners became partners and associates of Borden Ladner Gervais LLP (BLG) and while carrying on his practice separately from that firm, Mr Thomas agreed to act as a consultant to BLG until 31 December 2012.

He has lectured in academic and professional contexts in Canada (the Vancouver Institute, the Canadian Council on International Law, the Canadian Bar Association and at various universities) and abroad (meetings of the American Society of International Law and various continuing legal education and skills development seminars at U.S. universities, the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law Research, the British Institute of International and Comparative Law, the Canadian Institute for Advanced Legal Studies Conferences at Queen’s College, Cambridge, the Keidan-ran, the Singapore International Arbitration Forum, and at various International Bar Association conferences). He has also lectured at the National University of Singapore.

Peter TURNER
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP

Peter brings more than 15 years’ experience and wide-ranging expertise to international arbitration. He has acted as counsel and sat as arbitrator in more than 100 international arbitrations, under both ad hoc and institutional rules. He also takes part in ADR (alternative dispute resolution) proceedings. In the past ten years Peter has specialised in investor-state arbitrations. His expertise, analytical skills and attention to detail have earned him key mandates from clients in sectors ranging from energy and investment banking, to mining and agro-industry. He excels at getting to know his clients’ businesses, and as a result has a good understanding of their issues and concerns. Peter is a consummate advocate and has represented clients in more than 20 witness hearings before arbitral tribunals.

V.V. VEEDER, Q.C.
Essex Court Chambers

V.V.Veeder QC is an international arbitrator practising from Essex Court Chambers in London, United Kingdom. He is a Visiting Professor on Investor-State Arbitration at the Dickson Poon School of Law at King’s College, University of London; a Vice-President of the LCIA, a member of the ICCA Governing Council and a member of the Council of ICC Institute of World Business Law.

Ariel YE
King & Wood Mallesons

Ms. Ye is a seasoned litigator with more than 20 years of experience. She is currently the head of King & Wood’s Cross-border Dispute Resolution Practice and a recognized expert on PRC-related dispute resolution in the Asia Pacific region.

Ms. Ye has a deep understanding in the resolution of complex PRC disputes. She handles PRC court litigation for domestic and international clients. In addition, she also has extensive experience in handling arbitration cases for and on behalf of international clients before CIETAC, HKIAC, ICC, and other international arbitration institutions. Her clients include multinational corporations, international financial institutions, large-scale domestic enterprises, and foreign-invested companies etc. International clients’ comments include: “rich local knowledge with world-class excellence”, “easy to work with and accessible”, “quick turn-around, and would highly recommend her to others”.

Ms. Ye joined King & Wood in 2004 as a partner. Before this she worked for Clifford Chance as a consultant. She also worked at China Global Law Office and Beijing C & M Law Firm.

Ms. Ye is a panel arbitrator of CIETAC. She has been frequently invited to speak at international or regional professional conferences as China legal expert. Ms. Ye is also frequently recognized as a leading counsel by Chambers Global and Asian Legal Business (China) etc.

Ms. Ye received her LL.B. from Peking University Law School, and her LL.M. from Law School of China Academy of Social Sciences. Her second LL.M. was received from Harvard Law School. She was admitted to practice in PRC and New York State in 1988 and 1999, respectively. She was the one of the Top Ten Outstanding Chinese Women selected during the World Women Conference in 1994.