2 S’poreans lauded as leaders in arbitration

The following article is taken from The Straits Times. Click here to go to the original article.

PUBLISHED JUL 6, 2017, 5:00 AM SGT

Lawyers among the 33 picked from around the world by publisher Who’s Who Legal

Two Singaporean lawyers – Drew & Napier’s Senior Counsel Cavinder Bull and WongPartnership’s SC Alvin Yeo – have been recognised as worldwide thought leaders in arbitration.

They made it to an inaugural list of 33, drawn up by London-based international legal publication, Who’s Who Legal.

Like others listed in the Who’s Who Legal: Thought Leaders – Arbitration 2017, the duo were picked through thousands of votes and nominations from market research, as “among the very best in the world in the arbitration field, without exception”.

Only those lawyers who obtained the biggest number of nominations from peers, corporate counsel and other market sources were considered, with less than half of those nominated making the cut, said the publication’s editor Robert Wilson.

The industry acclaimed publisher has been researching legal markets for about two decades and now covers 34 practice areas in over 100 countries, he added in an editorial to the book.

Lauding the lawyers on the list as “at the apogee of arbitration”, he added they draw special mention “due not only to their expertise and experience advising on some of the world’s cutting edge disputes but also their ability to innovate and inspire”.

With some 25 years of experience, SC Bull has acted in complex and big ticket cases for governments, multinational corporations and major business players.

His hearing venues have included Milan, Tokyo, New York, London, Paris and Singapore to argue against lawyers from multiple jurisdictions.

“Often these hearings have been before the very best arbitrators in the world,” SC Bull said in the publication.

SC Bull credited the growth of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) as a ” huge blessing” as it drew work here and led clients to look here for talent.

SC Yeo told The Straits Times yesterday: “The inclusion of Singapore counsel on the list is further evidence that Singapore is a significant player in the international arbitration space.

“This is due in no small part to the far-sighted policies of our Ministry of Law and the excellent reputation of our judiciary in fostering the growth of Singapore as an international arbitration hub.”

Among other things, SC Yeo, who is chairman and senior partner at WongPartnership, led a team to act for the Astro group of companies in an international arbitration case with claims involving more than US$1.75 billion (S$2.4 billion) across several jurisdictions.

SC Yeo’s upbeat tone comes at a time when SIAC’s feats have drawn keen interest.

The Global Arbitration Review (GAR) reported last week that Singapore’s success was analysed at an arbitration conference in London, which was organised by the International Chamber of Commerce UK and giant law firm Latham & Watkins.

Senior Minister of State for Law Indranee Rajah delivered a keynote address at the conference.

GAR reported that during question time when asked about Singapore’s success, Ms Indranee had said that “parties want a regime that holistically addresses their needs”, and she stressed that Singapore had developed an “entire ecosystem” to address arbitration party needs.

The “343 cases registered with SIAC in 2016 outnumbered the 303 at the London Court of International Arbitration”, GAR quoted a discussion panel as saying.

K.C. Vijayan Senior Law Correspondent