The global lockdown in many key economies has installed a new norm. Dispute resolution processes are not spared. While domestic courts race against time to structure online platforms for court-facilitated dispute resolution, arbitrations have long had the flexibility and the agility to proceed remotely on virtual platforms.
Up until now, virtual facilities have largely been an option in arbitrations. With much of the world now in lockdown, will these virtual facilities become the new norm? Are there lessons to be learnt even if economies and day-to-day life return to what we are accustomed?
Gan Partnership is privileged to host our guest speaker, Dr. Christopher To, who is at the forefront of international arbitrations and mediations. An accredited mediator, chartered arbitrator, chartered engineer, chartered information technology professional, barrister-at-law and a law professor, Dr. Christopher To will share with us his experiences on e-arbitrations and virtual hearings, and how we can embrace what may be the new norm in alternative dispute resolution.
SPEAKERS LINEUP
Dr. Christopher To is an independent mediator and arbitrator who is on the panels of various leading global alternative dispute resolution bodies. He has arbitrated a variety of international cases involving both ad-hoc and institutional arbitrations. Christopher has mediated many international and domestic cases and is representing clients in cases within the dispute resolution field.
He is an accredited mediator, chartered arbitrator, chartered engineer, chartered information technology professional, barrister-at-law and a law professor. In May 2018, Christopher was appointed by the Mayor of Weihai of the People’s Republic of China to be a member of its International Economic Advisory Council and is a highly sought-after speaker at various conferences domestically and internationally in areas of his expertise.
Christopher is an appointment Chairperson of the sub-committee on Mediator Accreditation of the Hong Kong Mediator Accreditation Association Limited (the body tasked with the accreditation of mediators in Hong Kong) and is a co-Chair of the International Chamber of Commerce Mediation Competition- Hong Kong. He was the Past-Chairperson of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (East Asia Branch) and is currently a Committee member of the East Asia Branch tasked with handling faculty member approvals in the region and training. He is also a member of the Education and Training Committee of the Institute in the United Kingdom and is actively contributing his services and time towards the training of future dispute resolution practitioners.
Other than the legal field, Christopher is actively involved with the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers as a vice-Chairperson of its Construction Dispute Resolution Committee and is the Chairperson of the Hong Kong Institute of Directors. As former Secretary-General of the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre, Dr. To managed to elevate Hong Kong’s status as the regional dispute resolution hub of Asia.
Foo Joon Liang is a partner at Gan Partnership based in Kuala Lumpur, a firm he co-founded in 2011. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb), United Kingdom and is presently the Chairman of the Malaysian Branch of CIArb. He sits on the panel of arbitrators and adjudicators of the Asian International Arbitration Centre (AIAC) and is one of the first 10 Malaysian appointees to the panel of arbitrators of the Hainan International Arbitration Court. He is listed as a Future Leader in Construction by Who’s Who Legal.
Since his admission to the Malaysian Bar in 2000, Joon Liang has held an active dispute resolution portfolio in litigation, arbitration, and adjudication. He regularly appears as a counsel at all levels of Malaysian courts as well as in domestic and international arbitrations.
In the past 10 years, his focus has largely been on construction dispute resolution and advisory. His forte is in complex engineering and geotechnical matters, particularly in engineering failures and collapses. He is also involved in disputes involving power plants and the full spectrum of other construction and infrastructure issues. His recent matters include the first Construction Industry Payment & Adjudication Act 2012 (CIPAA) decided at the Malaysian apex court, the highly publicised hill slope failure that led to a State Commission Inquiry, and a series of disputes arising from the collapse of a bridge which involved leading engineering experts from Europe and Asia.
To participate, please contact Knowledge Manager, Ms. Foo Yuen Wah at fyw@ganlaw.my by 27 April 2020 (Monday).
GAN PARTNERSHIP
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Gan Partnership
This article is authored by:
Foo Yuen Wah
Senior Associate
Gan Partnership
E: fyw@ganlaw.my
DISCLAIMER: This article is for general information only and should not be relied upon as legal advice. The position stated herein is as at the date of publication on 24th April 2020. For any enquiries on this article, please contact Foo Yuen Wah (fyw@ganlaw.my).