Cameron Ford, Corporate Counsel, Rio Tinto
Cameron is presently corporate counsel with Rio Tinto in Singapore, practising in general corporate commercial law and disputes. He was a partner in a law firm and then a barrister at the independent Bar in Australia, practising in commercial and administrative litigation. He later became Head of Dispute Resolution for four States for National Australia Bank. He was later special counsel with Downer Group in Australia and in Singapore, managing a large construction arbitration under SIAC rules. In 2011 he was acting Head of Legal for Oyu Tolgoi LLC, a Rio Tinto company, in Mongolia for 6 months before returning to Singapore. In Mongolia he oversaw a team of 10 lawyers working on the construction of the world’s largest copper and gold mine and himself attended to large construction projects such as a $1bn power station in the Gobi desert.
Cameron obtained his Bachelor of Laws from the University of Queensland, his Master of Laws from the University of Melbourne and a Graduate Certificate in International Arbitration from NUS. For interest he completed a Master of Arts in Contemporary China at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore and is now dong his PhD at Monash University in Melbourne on security for cost in international arbitration. He has been the Editor-in-Chief of the Northern Territory Law Reports for over 10 years and the Executive Editor of the Northern Territory Law Journal since its inception in 2007. He was founding Editor-in-Chief of the Australian Capital Territory Law Reports, a State editor of both the Australian Insurance Law Bulletin and the seminal text Family Provision in Australia. He has had a number of articles published in law journals and regularly writes notes of all Northern Territory Supreme Court decisions for the Law Society magazine and the NTLJ. He has taught Civil Procedure at university and is a member of the Singapore Law Society’s Publications and ADR Committees.
Cameron has recently founded the Mongolian Academy of Law to train Mongolian lawyers in legal English, substantive legal subjects and professional skills for lawyers, and has established an international mentoring program linking Mongolian lawyers with lawyers in other countries.
Kent Phillips, Partner, Hogan Lovells
Kent has over 15 years experience as a dispute resolution lawyer, concentrating on international arbitration in both London and Singapore. Kent has conducted arbitrations under leading institutional rules in most major seats, under both civil and common applicable laws.
His extensive trial experience includes high value commercial disputes across a number of sectors and jurisdictions. He is routinely involved in disputes relating to services and infrastructure in the resources, energy and oil & gas sectors. These include construction and commodities matters and often involve South East Asia or India.
He conducts all stages of proceedings, from interim measures to advocacy at trial. He also holds full registration as a foreign lawyer to appear before the Singapore International Commercial Court.
Samantha Gershon, Partner, Withers
Samantha has over 20 years litigation experience and has worked on a number of high profile and complex cases in England and Hong Kong. In Hong Kong she has been involved in complex commercial litigation, public and administrative law and urgent interlocutory applications and remedies. She has successfully advised on multi-jurisdictional corporate issues and dealt with satellite litigation arising from matrimonial proceedings.
Samantha is now focusing on Family Law which has an increasing number of disputes which involve multi-jurisdiction and corporate asset structures. She assists in these disputes using her commercial litigation experience to provide a unique perspective to clients.
Stanley Park, Managing Director/Head Of Legal – Asia Pacific, Scotiabank
Stanley Park is Managing Director and Head of Legal - Asia Pacific Region for Scotiabank's Global Banking and Markets Division. He is based in Singapore and is responsible for all legal matters across the region, including China, Japan, Korea, India, Australia, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Singapore. Among other responsibilities, Stanley provides (i) transactional advice and support to the Bank's businesses related to capital markets, investment banking, commodities, corporate lending/trade finance and global transaction banking; (ii) regulatory advice and support re the Bank's businesses; (iii) management of litigation and disputes; (iv) advice and support to the Bank's internal or proprietary functions (including proprietary investments, HR matters, Finance); and (v) participation in corporate governance or oversight.
Prior to joining Scotiabank, Stanley was with Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton and Coudert Brothers in NYC, from 1992 - 2001; with Salomon Smith Barney and UBS Securities in Tokyo from 2001 - 2007; with DKR Oasis, as Chief Compliance Officer, in Hong Kong in 2008; with Barclays Global Investors, as General Counsel, in Tokyo from 2009 - 2010; and with Daiwa Capital Markets, as Senior Legal Counsel, in Singapore and Hong Kong from 2011 - 2014.
Abhinav Bhushan, Director, South Asia, ICC Arbitration & ADR, International Chamber of Commerce
As Director, Abhinav focuses on helping companies, investors, and attorneys in the Region understand how they can efficiently resolve international commercial disputes by raising their awareness on the ICC's Dispute Resolution Services and its commitment to international arbitration, the procedure, and thought leadership.
He is also an avid promoter of arbitration-related training opportunities for law students and young attorneys. Additionally, Mr Bhushan is the co-chair of ICC Young Arbitrators Forum (YAF), Asia Chapter. Prior to serving as Regional Director, he was the first Indian Deputy Counsel of the Court, where he gained first-hand experience working on arbitrations arising out of common law jurisdictions, in particular working with parties from India, Singapore and other regions of Asia. Mr. Bhushan is a regular contributor to the Kluwer Arbitration Blog on developments in Indian arbitration law.
Michael D. Lee, Vice President, American Arbitration Association/ICDR
Michael is the Head of ICDR/AAA’s Asia office in Singapore, Mr. Lee is in charge of the Association’s Asia region operation including China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, India, Malaysia, Vietnam, and many more. Primarily, Michael oversees the entire operation of the Association’s Asia office and leads the Association’s efforts in cultivating ties and developing business opportunities.
He is also in charge of many ICDR/AAA educational programs for the corporate counsel, the Association’s international panel of neutrals, and practicing attorneys in Asia region. For the corporate counsel, Mr. Lee regularly speaks on educational programs such as conferences, seminars and workshops to share findings on different research projects on dispute management and business negotiation and to explain the Association’s comprehensive rules and process.
John K Arthur, FCIArb, Barrister and Member of the Victorian Bar
John is a barrister at the Victorian Bar of over 27 years standing. An experienced advocate, his principal area of practice is general commercial litigation, including contract, sale of land, property, equity, professional negligence, corporations, insolvency, and wills and probate. John is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) and ACICA, and a National Councillor and company secretary of CIArb (Australia). He is empanelled with KLRCA as arbitrator, adjudicator and mediator and is a member of The Malaysian Institute of Arbitrators.
He has published and presented many papers both in Australia and internationally on topics in varied areas of law and practice, including equity, sale of land, professional conduct, practice and procedure, ADR and international arbitration. John is a co-author of Civil Procedure Victoria, Lexis Nexis and Australian Uniform Evidence, Lexis Nexis. He is a member of the IBA, Law Institute of Victoria, Asialink Chairman's Club, and the Asian Australian Lawyers Association.
Mary Thomson, Chartered Arbitrator FCIArb FHKIArb, Barrister, Arbitrator, Adjudicator & Mediator, Associate Member, St Philips Stone Chambers London & Singapore
Mary qualified as a barrister before moving to industry (shipping and insurance) and then requalified as a solicitor in London. She moved to Hong Kong in 1992 where she practised as a solicitor, including as partner at Hong Kong and international law firms, the last being SNR Dentons. In 2013, she joined the Hong Kong Bar and rejoined the English Bar to focus on her Arbitrator and Mediator practice.
Mary specialises in commercial dispute resolution in the financial, insurance, transport, energy, commodities and manufacturing sectors. Mary's arbitration practice is predominantly international. She has been appointed arbitrator since 1996 including pursuant to "commercial man” clauses. She sits as arbitrator on arbitrations seated in Hong Kong, Singapore, London and elsewhere, and is on the panel of a number of arbitration centres and institutions including SIAC, HKIAC, LCIA, CIETAC, KCAB, CIArb, CAA, APRAG and an aspiring full member of LMAA. She is also on a number of mediator panels and has mediated large international commercial disputes in London, Singapore and Hong Kong.
N. Jansen Calamita, Head, Investment Treaty Law & Policy, Principal Research Fellow, Research Associate Professor, Centre for International Law, National University of Singapore
N. Jansen Calamita is Principle Research Fellow, Centre for International Law, and Research Associate Professor (CIL), Faculty of Law, at the National University of Singapore. He is head of the Centre’s programme on Investment Law and Policy. He was previously Director of the Investment Treaty Forum and Senior Research Fellow at the British Institute of International and Comparative Law in London. He has previously held posts on the law faculties of the University of Oxford and the University of Birmingham, and been a visiting fellow of Institute of European and Comparative Law (University of Oxford) and the University of Vienna.
Prior to entering academics, Mr. Calamita served in the Office of the Legal Adviser in the U.S Department of State (International Claims and Investment Disputes Division) and as a member of the UNCITRAL Secretariat. He began his career in private practice in New York. He holds Juris Doctor magna cum laude (Boston) and a Bachelor of Civil Law (Oxford). He is a Consultative Expert to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and a member of the editorial board of the Yearbook of International Law and Policy (Oxford University Press). He continues to advise governments on matters relating to international investment and international dispute resolution.
David Bateson, International Arbitrator, 39 Essex Chambers
David Bateson is a leading international arbitrator who has been involved in over 90 arbitrations in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and South America. He has acted as Chairman, party-appointed arbitrator, or sole arbitrator in arbitrations under the rules of the AAA, CIETAC, HKIAC, ICC, KLRCA, LCIA, PCA, SIAC and VIAC, or in ad hoc arbitrations. He has extensive experience in disputes in a variety of industry sectors including, construction, resources, commodities, insurance, joint ventures, shareholder agreements, shipping and telecommunications.
Before joining 39 Essex Chambers in Singapore, David was a partner of Mallesons Stephen Jaques and King & Wood Mallesons, based in Hong Kong. He has over 36 years of legal experience and is a specialist in all forms of dispute resolution including arbitration, litigation and alternative dispute resolution. He has been resident in Asia since 1980.
Julian Cohen, Barrister and Arbitrator, Gilt Chambers, Hong Kong
Julian has over 25 years of specialist experience of heavyweight international arbitration in Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Europe. In addition to acting as counsel, he also acts sits regularly as an arbitrator. His areas of practice include a wide range of company and commercial, disputes as well as construction and engineering arbitrations.
He was called to the Bar in England in 1990, became a solicitor in 1993, and moved to Hong Kong in 1998. He was a Partner in the Construction and Engineering Disputes practice of Pinsent Masons before moving to the Hong Kong Bar in 2010. Julian lectures and writes regularly on arbitration related topics.
Eunice Chua, Assistant Professor, School of Law, Singapore Management University,
Ex-Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Singapore International Mediation Centre
Eunice is currently Assistant Professor at the Singapore Management University which she joined recently. She was previously Deputy CEO of SIMC and a member of the Singapore Legal Service. After graduating with a First Class Honours law degree from the National University of Singapore, she served as a Justices’ Law Clerk to the Chief Justice and the Judges of Appeal in the Singapore Supreme Court. She subsequently obtained a Masters of Law from Harvard. On her return, and before joining SIMC, she was appointed an Assistant Registrar of the Singapore Supreme Court, a Magistrate of the Singapore State Courts and Assistant Director of the Singapore Mediation Centre (SMC). Eunice is qualified as an Advocate and Solicitor in Singapore and an Associate Mediator of SMC.
Chung-Yoon Yang, Counsel, General Manager, Seoul International Dispute Resolution Center
Chung-Yoon Yang is the Counsel and General Manager of the Seoul International Dispute Resolution Center (Seoul IDRC). Chung-Yoon is responsible for overseeing daily operation of the Secretariat and is in charge of supporting internal management committees. She also oversees the domestic and international promotion projects, organization of various international conferences and seminars hosted by the Seoul IDRC. She is a member of the Korean Bar Association.
Jelita Pandjaitan, Partner, Linklaters
Jelita leads Linklaters’ Southeast Asia disputes practice, with a focus on complex, high value cross-border disputes and investigations for major international banks and corporations, particularly in the financial, energy and resources sectors. After serving as a judicial clerk to the Chief Justice of New South Wales and then a Justice of the High Court of Australia, Jelita has spent 10 years acting for the firm’s key financial institution and corporate clients in Hong Kong, Singapore and throughout the Asian region in contentious regulatory, litigation, arbitration and mediation matters.
Jelita specialises in financial and energy and resource arbitration in the major Asian seats and using all the major institutions and rules (SIAC, HKIAC, ICC, UNCITRAL) including obtaining interim injunctive relief and enforcing arbitral awards in regional courts. Jelita regularly speaks at arbitration conferences and seminars and has published several articles on arbitration developments. Jelita also has extensive experience in local and foreign regulatory investigations, as well as advising on the contentious aspects of cross-border corporate transactions. Jelita is admitted in Hong Kong and Australia and is fluent in English and Bahasa Indonesia.
