Tai-Heng Cheng > Sidley Austin LLP > Washington DC, United States > Lawyer Profile

Sidley Austin LLP remains active in both investor-state and commercial arbitrations, most notably in the energy, construction, financial services, mining and real estate sectors. In state representation, the firm has acted for the Republic of Peru in a series of cases, and also has successfully defended the Republic of Colombia. New York and Singapore-based partner Tai-Heng Cheng has represented a number of Asian clients in cases against Latin American states, while New York partner Simon Navarro handles a mix of commercial and investor-state work, particularly in representing Spanish and European clients in energy disputes against Latin American entities. Former (international arbitration) senior managing associate María Carolina Durán and counsel Courtney Hikawa left the firm in August and October 2023, respectively.

Sidley Austin has impressive capabilities across the region, with practitioners working in offices in Hong Kong and Singapore on high-value, cross-border mandates. The firm is particularly skilled at bringing in colleagues from other industry groups, including life sciences, restructuring and finance to act on complex multi-disciplinary arbitrations. Splitting his time between Singapore and New York, Tai-Heng Cheng is the co-head of the international arbitration and trade practice, frequently advising companies, boards, and governments on business-related disputes. Friven Yeoh leads the international arbitration practice in Asia, working out of the firm’s Hong Kong and Singapore offices, advising clients on high-value investment disputes. Also in Hong Kong, Desmond Ang and Yan Zhang are key names, with Jennifer Lim playing a key role in the Singapore team.

The practice at Sidley Austin LLP has ‘great experience in investment arbitrations‘, acting on high-value, cross-border mandates. Blue-chip clients, governments, and multinational corporations all rely on the expertise of the team in many industries, including life sciences, energy, technology, and shipping. The ‘extremely talented, charismatic, and brilliant‘ New York-qualified Tai-Heng Cheng leads the team, and is a ‘very effective advocate who reads the tribunal well‘. Jennifer Lim  and Meera Rajah  are other key names in the team.