Shaun Leong > Withers KhattarWong LLP > Singapore, Singapore > Lawyer Profile

Withers KhattarWong LLP
18 Cross Street,
#14-01
Singapore 048423
Singapore

Work Department

Litigation and arbitration

Position

Partner, Litigation and arbitration

Career

Shaun Leong, FCIArb, is an international arbitration specialist with more than a decade of experience in complex cross border commercial disputes across a myriad of sectors including technology, life sciences, infrastructure and energy sectors. He focuses on developing and employing successful strategies to achieve clients’ objectives in cross jurisdictional disputes, and is ranked as Singapore’s most influential, youngest international arbitration specialist from an international firm, by the Singapore Business Review.

Upon graduating with First Class Honours from the National University of Singapore, Shaun served in a judicial capacity as a Magistrate and Assistant Registrar of the Supreme Court for five years, where he published several notable written judgments on international arbitration law. The decisions include Firstlink Investments v GT Payment on the applicable law governing an arbitration agreement as endorsed by the English Court of Appeal, and Titan Unity, endorsed by the Singapore Court of Appeal, on the threshold to determine the existence of a valid arbitration agreement. He was the Head of the Court of Appeal Section of the Supreme Court Registry, and was involved in the establishment of the Singapore International Commercial Court (SICC) as Secretariat of the SICC committee.

Shaun is the first Singaporean to be appointed an Arbitrator of the Tashkent International Arbitration Centre, a strategic Belt & Road pivot, and holds other Arbitrator appointments with premier international arbitration centres in India, China and ASEAN.

Shaun also helps organisations develops and implements an effective crisis management program. His defining experience in this area was in his representation of a global healthcare company in a crisis management case in South Korea, where he was substantially engaged in all aspects of legal and strategic work around the case; including work on mass class action civil claims filed by victims, mediation, settlement and compensation, forensic investigations work in cooperation with Korean authorities, criminal defence work in relation to charged individuals, and strategic, legal advice regarding communications with media and political stakeholders.

Languages

English, Mandarin

Memberships

Member, Singapore Academy of Law
Member, Singapore Law Society

Education

First Class Honours, National University of Singapore, Bachelor of Laws

Lawyer Rankings

Singapore > International arbitration

(Firms to watch)

The arbitration team at Withers KhattarWong LLP acts on major disputes across a range of sectors, with particular expertise in cryptocurrency, AI and blockchain disputes. Deborah Barker SC  is head of the practice, while Shaun Leong  is another key team member.

Singapore > Dispute resolution: local firms

Withers KhattarWong LLP has dispute resolution at the heart of its Singapore practice, with Deborah Barker SC, a senior counsel since 2001, at the helm. The Singapore office has a major focus on private capital, resulting in a steady pipeline of commercial and personal disputes engagements. The team is also rated for employment, white-collar crime and tax cases. Moreover, it is building its standing in tech, crypto and blockchain-related disputes. Chenthil Kumarasingam is an experienced commercial litigation and arbitration specialist, with Shaun Leong providing further senior-level arbitration expertise. Ushan Premaratne departed the practice in September 2023 to join Meritus Law LLC.