Victor P. Leginsky, Forum Chairman
International Arbitrator & Mediator, Arbitralis
Victor P. Leginsky, Canadian citizen, is an experienced international arbitrator and mediator resident in the United Arab Emirates since 2007. Victor has earned the internationally-recognized designations of Chartered Arbitrator and Fellow from the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and is appointed to the CIArb Panel of Arbitrators. Victor is a CEDR (Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution, London) accredited mediator and mediation experience as Chair, Manufactured Home Park Dispute Resolution Committee (Attorney General of British Columbia, Canada, appointment) and in mediations. Victor is appointed to the panels or lists of arbitrators in a number of international centres and is a committee member of the International Court of Arbitration (ICC) Canada. He has instructed and assessed in respect of Mediation though the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and the CIArb. He is the past Middle East Regional Director of the Association of International Energy Negotiators (AIEN). He is a member in good standing of the Law Society of British Columbia, Canada.
Biography
Colin Ong, Keynote Speaker
Prof. Dr. Colin Ong QC Queen’s Counsel and Chartered Arbitrator, 36 Stone; Counsel, Eldan Law LLP; Senior Partner, Dr Colin Ong Legal Services
Professor Dr Colin Ong QC is a Queen’s Counsel and Chartered Arbitrator at 36 Stone (London); Counsel, Eldan Law LLP (Singapore); and a Master of the Bench of the Inner Temple. He is an international arbitrator and lead counsel in diverse areas with broad experience in a few hundred arbitrations across the World. He is the current President, Arbitration Association Brunei Darussalam; International Advisory Board Chairman, Thailand Arbitration Center; Appointments Committee, Chinese European Arbitration Centre(Germany), Advisor, Badan Arbitrase Nasional Indonesia; and Co-Chair, IBA Asia-Pacific Arbitration Group. He sits on the China International Commercial Court International Expert Committee. Professor Colin Ong has over 28 years of experience as lead counsel and arbitrator. He actively regularly leads international law firm teams as well as sits as arbitrator in seats around the World. He is ranked as a top 30 global elite arbitration practitioner by biennial Expert Guides: Best-of-the-Best (2017/2019/2021) and listed as a Thought Leader by Who’s Who Legal in Arbitration/Construction and Litigation (2019-2021). He is the author of advocacy and arbitration publications with 2 books listed as End-note 1 reference books in CIArb Practice Guidelines (Costs and Interim Measures).
Biography
Christopher Bailey, Moderator - Grand Panel
Partner, Stephenson Harwood LLP
Chris is a highly ranked international arbitration partner with 20 years of leading private practice experience. He specialises in complex multi-jurisdictional disputes with an emphasis on international arbitration, commercial litigation and criminal and regulatory investigations. Chris represents clients in a wide variety of complex high-value cross-border commercial disputes which regularly include claims for in excess of a US$ billion and predominantly arise out of the energy, resource, transport, infrastructure, financial services, media and IT sectors, with Chris having a particular expertise in oil and gas, construction and investment treaty cases. He is a Solicitor Advocate, All Higher Courts of England & Wales, a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, a panel arbitrator of the JCAA, KCAB and SIAC institutions and a member of the JIDRC Operation Subcommittee, AIPN Japan Sub-Chapter Committee and SIAC Users Council. Chris has extensive regional experience from practicing in multiple jurisdictions across the Asia Pacific over the last 15 years, including Bangkok, Thailand from late 2011 to early 2013.
Biography
Olga Boltenko
Partner, Fangda Partners
Ms. Boltenko is an investment and trade lawyer with over ten years of experience in public international law and investor-State dispute resolution. She has acted as legal counsel in investor-state disputes under the auspices of the Permanent Court of Arbitration, the ICSID, the SCC, the ICC, the LCIA, and as tribunal secretary in dozens of commercial disputes in a wide array of industries including oil and gas, mining, infrastructure, construction, telecommunications and pharmaceuticals, across Asia and beyond. Ms. Boltenko teaches a master of laws degree in arbitration and ADR with a focus on Belt & Road investment law at The University of Hong Kong. She is also a professor of law at the Royal University of Law and Economics in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, where she teaches a course in investment law at the dual degree program with the Free University of Brussels. Ms. Boltenko is listed as an arbitrator on the panels of the HKIAC, SIAC, AIAC, CIETAC, AFSA (Arbitration Foundation of Southern Africa), XAAC (Xi’An Arbitration Commission) and RSPP (Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs).
Biography
Julian Cohen
Arbitrator & Barrister, Resolution Chambers International
Julian has 30 years of specialist experience of heavyweight international, and domestic, disputes. Sums in dispute in his cases vary from small to in excess of USD 2 billion. In addition to acting as counsel, he also regularly sits as an arbitrator. Julian has over 10 years’ experience in the MENA region, including 2 years based full time in Dubai, and an ongoing long-term commitment to the region. Julian has been involved in projects and disputes in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Qatar, Oman, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Benin, Sierra Leone and Mali. Julian was called to the Bar in England & Wales in 1990. He was with Pinsent Masons’ Construction Disputes practice in London and Hong Kong from 1993 to 2009. He left Pinsent Masons as a partner in 2009, and was called to the Bar in Hong Kong in 2010. Julian is particularly well known for his heavy weight practice in relation to the Construction and Engineering sectors, the Energy, Oil and Gas sectors and International and domestic arbitrations.
Biography
Noppramart Thammateeradaycho
Counsel, Tilleke & Gibbins
Noppramart Thammateeradaycho is an experienced litigator with over 20 years’ experience of trial and appellate advocacy at all levels of the Thai courts. She also has substantial experience with international litigation and arbitration gained from numerous cases in Singapore, Australia, Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos. She is particularly sought after for her experience in arbitration, and is known for her skilled navigation of both international rules (particularly UNCITRAL, SIAC, ICC, HKIAC and GAFTA rules) and domestic rules, including those of the Indonesian National Arbitration Institute (BANI), NCAC (Cambodia), Thai Arbitration Institute (TAI), and Thailand Arbitration Center (THAC). Her general practice covers various industries, including construction, insurance and reinsurance, telecommunication, and media and technology.
Biography
Yuankai Lin
Partner, Premier Law
Specialising in complex and high-stakes cross-border litigation and arbitration, Yuankai Lin has considerable experience advising clients embroiled in shareholder disputes spanning across industry sectors such as Technology, Communications and Media; Retail, Food & Beverage, Entertainment & Sport; Healthcare, Oil and Gas, as well as Aviation. An experienced dispute resolution lawyer, Yuankai frequently does his own advocacy in both litigation and arbitration matters. He has a very international practice having acted in disputes involving a wide range of jurisdictions including Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, Thailand, China, Russia, South Korea, Bangladesh, India and the United States. He has acted for clients at all levels of the Singapore Courts as well as in arbitrations administered by the SIAC, ICC, KLRCA (now AIAC), LCIA and UNCITRAL Rules. Yuankai is a Fellow of the Singapore Institute of Arbitrators and is on the Panel of Arbitrators for various arbitral institutions. He is also an accredited mediator with the Singapore Mediation Centre and has mediated disputes at the Supreme Court and State Courts of Singapore.
Biography
Arvin Lee
Partner, Wee Swee Teow LLP
Arvin Lee is a Partner of Wee Swee Teow LLP, a 109-year-old Singapore law firm. He is an Arbitrator of the Korean Commercial Arbitration Board, the Beijing Arbitration Commission, the Chinese Arbitration Association (International), and an Adjudicator of the Financial Institutions Dispute Resolution Centre (Singapore). He focuses on energy-related disputes (conventional and renewables). He has a track record of securing arbitral awards that have been enforced outside Singapore, such as in China of an SIAC award he successfully obtained for a Singapore-listed company for specific performance. Recent work includes acting as lead counsel in wind and solar disputes, and oil and gas hedging disputes, before the SIAC and the ICC; acting as co-lead counsel for a Pertamina subsidiary against a major European bank in relation to an LC dispute in excess of US$23m before the Singapore International Commercial Court; advising a third party funder in relation to a US$103m claim, and a private equity fund with an AUM in excess of US$500m on a 8-figure USD claim against a major international bank for various economic torts (including a novel one under Singapore law). He also regularly co-counsels with foreign lawyers on their Singapore-seated arbitrations, and also gets instructed by them to conduct Singapore High Court proceedings in relation to arbitral award setting aside proceedings. His varied publications include a piece in the Law Gazette published by the Law Society of Singapore, on how to maintain good and happy co-counsel relationships with foreign counsel. He has experience acting in 3 arbitral award setting aside applications, the first (instructed by South Korean counsel) against a major US automotive parts manufacturer before the High Court of Singapore, the second against a Big 5 global commodities house before the General Division of the High Court of Singapore and then the Singapore Court of Appeal, and the last (instructed by Hong Kong counsel) against two PRC state-owned oil companies before the Singapore International Commercial Court (SICC). Arvin is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (UK) and the International Dispute Resolution Academy (HK). He holds a certificate in Hedging and Management of Energy Price Risk (2021) from the SMU Academy. He holds law degrees from Harvard (LL.M.) and the LSE (LL.B., Hons. 1st).
Biography
Monique Wan
Associate, Wee Swee Teow LLP
Monique Wan is a Disputes Associate focusing on energy-related litigation and arbitration in Wee Swee Teow LLP, a 109-year-old Singapore law firm. She recently acted in 2 setting aside applications of institutional arbitration awards, for an oil and gas exploration and production company against a major PRC state-owned oil company with disputed sum in excess of US$35 million, and for an established Taiwan petrochemical trader against a major global oil company in appeal before the Singapore Court of Appeal. Her current work includes acting for a Pertamina subsidiary against a major European bank in relation to an LC dispute in excess of US$23 million before the Singapore International Commercial Court (SICC), for a senior fund executive in the oil sector regarding a claim on a guarantee in an SIAC arbitration, and for an MNC in a solar power construction dispute in ICC arbitration. Monique has acted for clients in all levels of the Singapore Courts. For international arbitration, she has acted as counsel in SIAC and ICC arbitrations, and assisted the Sole Arbitrator in a Beijing Arbitration Commission (BAC) arbitration in bilingual (English and Chinese) proceedings. She holds a certificate in Hedging and Management of Energy Price Risk (2021) from the SMU Academy and a certificate in SIAC and Institutional Arbitration (2022) from the SMU Law Academy. She graduated with LL.B. (Hons.) from the University of Leeds, United Kingdom.
Biography
Leon Tay
Associate, Wee Swee Teow LLP
Leon Tay is a Disputes Associate focusing on energy-related disputes in Wee Swee Teow LLP, a 109-year-old Singapore law firm. He has recently acted in 2 arbitral award setting aside applications, one against a Big 5 global commodities house before the General Division of the High Court of Singapore and the Singapore Court of Appeal, and another (instructed by Hong Kong counsel) against two PRC state-owned oil companies before the Singapore International Commercial Court (SICC). He is hence very conversant with the current comparative jurisprudence, as well as strategies and tactics, in relation to setting aside and refusal of enforcement. On the first set of proceedings, Leon argued in Reply in the High Court, against a well-respected Senior Counsel. His other work includes acting for a Pertamina subsidiary against a major European bank in relation to an LC dispute in excess of US$23m before the SICC, and being second chair on an international institutional arbitration for a senior fund executive in the oil sector in relation to a claim on a guarantee, and for an MNC in a solar power construction dispute in ICC arbitration. He has also assisted in: (i) advising a third party funder in relation to a US$103m claim, (ii) advising a private equity fund with an AUM in excess of US$500m on a 8-figure USD claim against a major international bank for various economic torts (including a novel one under Singapore law); (iii) acting for an Australian upstream oil and gas company in its dispute against floating production services provider including an SIAC arbitration in relation to a US$7m parent company guarantee, and another SIAC arbitration (including preliminary Emergency Arbitration) in relation to a charterparty with amount in dispute (claims and counterclaims) in excess of US$10m. Last year, Leon was a trainer in a client training webinar for PetroChina on various trading issues. He also holds a certificate in Hedging and Management of Energy Price Risk (2020) from the SMU Academy and a certificate in SIAC and Institutional Arbitration (2022) from the SMU Law Academy. He graduated with an LL.B. (Hons.) from the National University of Singapore.
Biography
Tejus Chauhan
Regional Director for South Asia, ICC Arbitration & ADR, ICC International Court of Arbitration
As the Regional Director for South Asia based in Singapore, Tejus focuses on assisting companies, counsels, and investors the region understand how they can resolve commercial disputes by raising their awareness about ICC’s Dispute Resolution Services. Tejus is responsible for advising on arbitration proceeding protocol, especially ICC Arbitration, organizing capacity building and informative events, promoting ICC’s internationally recognised services concerning domestic and international disputes and connecting with regional players to forge relationships that connect ICC with users and businesses. Tejus is also an avid promoter of opportunities for young practitioners and leads ICC’s Young Arbitration Forum (YAF) in South Asia. Tejus earned his law degree from Symbiosis International University in India. Upon graduation, Tejus worked as an associate with a law firm in India. Prior to joining ICC in Singapore, Tejus has also worked as the Deputy Director - Arbitration for ICC in India and was most recently a part of the forensic and dispute advisory services at PricewaterhouseCoopers in India.
Biography
Roderick Cordara QC
Barrister, New Chambers
Roderick Cordara is a Leading Counsel (‘Silk’) in the UK and Australia and has an international practice, both in commercial and investor-state arbitration. He has substantial experience sitting as sole, chair and co-arbitrator internationally. He can appear before the Courts of the United Kingdom, the European Court of Justice, the Singapore International Commercial Court, and the State and Federal Courts of Australia. Roderick’s arbitration practice focuses in particular on disputes – both private law and treaty-based – relating to the oil & gas, power generation and renewables sectors, principally in Asia, UK offshore, and East and West Africa. He has acted in energy-related disputes (e.g. production sharing, or insurance-related) in relation to fields in Central Asia, India, Africa, the Far East, and UK Offshore. He has also great experience in shipping and ship construction disputes, involving shipyards from Asia to Europe, and vessels from super luxury yachts and warships, to bulk carriers.
Biography
Anita Natalia
Senior Associate, Skrine
Anita is a commercial litigator and her work focuses on commercial litigation and arbitration. Her portfolio of dispute resolution work involves a wide variety of commercial and corporate disputes and litigation including domestic and international arbitrations. Anita has worked closely with clients from United Kingdom, United States, UAE, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Australia, Italy and Singapore in their cross-border disputes. She has appeared at all tiers of the Malaysian Courts. She acts for clients in various industries in a broad range of commercial disputes involving company law and shareholders’ disputes, joint venture disputes, minority oppression actions, construction, and insolvency matters. She also has a broad civil litigation experience in land law, reinsurance, securities, trusts and partnership disputes. She also has an active arbitration practice. Anita is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and a Fellow of the Malaysian Institute of Arbitrators. She is on the panel of arbitrators of the Asian International Arbitration Centre. Anita is also the Regional Ambassador for Malaysia and Member of HK45, Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre. She is also a panel member of Counsel acting for the Malaysian Bar Advocates & Solicitors Disciplinary Board.
Biography
Daniel Chia
Partner, Asia Head of Disputes, Morgan Lewis Bockius LLP
Daniel Chia is the leader of Morgan Lewis’ disputes practice in Asia. Daniel has over 15 years of experience as a corporate and commercial trial and appellate litigator representing clients in complex, cross-border, and multidisciplinary disputes in court hearings, international arbitrations, and other dispute resolution forums. Daniel often acts as counsel for clients in high-stakes international commercial arbitrations and is sought for his experience in devising and executing strategies for disputes relating to commercial crime, white collar proceedings, professional indemnity insurance, shareholder litigations, insolvency claims, and securities and regulatory enforcement in Asia. He also sits as arbitrator under the SIAC Rules and was appointed to the MLAW COVID-19 Panel of Adjudicator to review cases involving COVID-19 pandemic. Daniel was recognized by Asian Legal Business in its inaugural Asia Super 50 Disputes Lawyers list, which recognizes the top arbitration and litigation practitioners based in Asia. Daniel is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and was recently mentioned in the 2022 edition of Global Arbitration Review (GAR) 100 for his work in the arbitration space.
Biography
Timothy Cooke
Partner, ReedSmith
Timothy is an international arbitration barrister. He represents clients in investment disputes across jurisdictions in Asia such as Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, India and China. He has particular experience in complex joint venture and shareholder disputes, and cases involving energy and natural resources, projects and infrastructure, and transportation. Timothy is also frequently appointed as arbitrator. He is the author of the leading Singapore arbitration book, International Arbitration in Singapore: Legislation and Materials (Sweet & Maxwell, 2018), which has been cited with approval by the Singapore Courts and is independently reviewed as “an impressive comprehensive guide to the law and practice of international arbitration in Singapore”, and “learned, succinct, and absolutely to the point”. Timothy appears in all the leading legal directories, most recently The Legal 500 Asia Pacific (2022), where he is decribed as “a pleasure to work with. Wide and deep experience in many sectors. Over-arching expertise in arbitration, particularly in the region, but also more widely.” He is “a superb international arbitrator.”
Biography
Oliver Watts
Managing Director, FTI Consulting
Oliver Watts is a Managing Director at FTI Consulting. He is part of the Economic & Financial Consulting segment and is based in Singapore. He has over 10 years experience performing economic and financial analysis and business valuations in a variety of contexts; including post-acquisition disputes, shareholder disputes, patent infringements and contractual breaches. Oliver has been appointed as an expert witness on matters before the AIAC, SIAC, the Singapore High Court and the Hong Kong High Court and testified before SIAC and the Singapore High Court. He has been identified by Who’s Who Legal as a “Future Leader” in its listings of the leading expert witnesses active in international arbitration.
Biography
Visit Sriwattanapanya
Counsel, Thailand Arbitration Center (THAC)
Prior joining THAC, Mr. Visit was an associate in a law firm in Bangkok, primarily involved in construction and labor particularly focused construction project. His responsibilities were not only preparing/reviewing construction document and contract but extended to litigation of the construction disputes. He is experiences in various types of disputes as he currently is a counsel at Thailand Arbitration Center (THAC) which his role is to manage all of the cases, including arbitration, mediation and other cases which are needed to be resolved through other kind of alternative dispute resolutions, which comes to the Center. Visit graduated in Bachelor of Laws from Chulalongkorn University and also holds certificates in Principle and Management of construction contract, Principle of stock investment, and derivative product.
Biography
Anuwat Ngamprasertkul
Partner & Head of Litigation & Co-head of TMT, Blumenthal Richter & Sumet
Anuwat Ngamprasertkul, Partner and Head of Litigation and Dispute Resolution as well as Co-Head of Tech-Media-Telecoms at Blumenthal Richter & Sumet, has more than 18 years’ experience in legal practice across various areas. He has in-depth experience in arbitrations and court proceedings including claims and defenses in civil, criminal, labor, white-collar crime and shareholder disputes. Anuwat is regularly sought after by clients to work on fraud prevention mechanisms, including the preparation and implementation of whistleblowing policies, and he represents clients in fraud and white-collar crime cases including counterclaims. He is experienced in developing constructive strategies for crisis management and mitigation plans to minimize legal exposure. Anuwat is a qualified arbitrator at the Thai Arbitration Center (THAC) and Thai Arbitration Institute (TAI), and is the representative for Commercial Arbitration in Thailand in IR Global, one of the world’s largest professional services networks. Anuwat is recognized in The Legal 500 and ranked as a Litigation Star in Benchmark Litigation.
Biography
Michael Ramirez
Senior Counsel, Tilleke & Gibbins
Michael Ramirez is a senior counsel in Tilleke & Gibbins’ dispute resolution group. Widely regarded as one of the most experienced foreign disputes attorneys in the region, he is a leading expert in regional trade and customs disputes and leads the firm’s trade and customs disputes practice. Michael regularly assists major international clients in a range of domestic and international disputes, including high-value commercial and construction claims, complex labor disputes, and transportation and logistics matters. In addition, he serves as a client advisor on the strategic aspects of claims management for cross-jurisdictional disputes, white-collar criminal disputes, and compliance with regional and foreign anticorruption laws. Supplementing Michael’s practice is his representation of clients in arbitration and mediation. This experience includes representing clients in regional enforcement proceedings, acting as an international arbitrator, and leading teams of litigators in domestic and international claim resolution. Michael has authored and coauthored numerous published articles on topics including customs practice, anticorruption, foreign investment, and civil and criminal liability. He is a regular presenter on dispute resolution and commercial practice topics and has received the American Bar Association’s Rule of Law Award on attorney ethics.
Biography
