Jonathan Lim is a triple-qualified English solicitor, Singapore advocate, and New York lawyer with a focus on complex international disputes. He has a broad practice representing clients in all types of commercial and investment treaty arbitrations seated in common law and civil law jurisdictions worldwide, including England, New York, Singapore, Hong Kong, France, Brazil, The Netherlands, and Switzerland. His experience also includes ad hoc and institutional arbitrations under the rules of the HKIAC, ICC, ICDR, LCIA, PCA, SIAC, UNCITRAL, and others. He has represented both private sector and government clients in the aerospace, construction, energy, financial services, insurance, telecommunications, technology, and retail sectors, among others. Mr Lim has also worked on WTO dispute settlement matters and advised international organisations and governments in Africa and Asia on public international law issues.
One hallmark of Mr. Lim’s practice is advising global companies, boards, and high net worth individuals on a broad array of China-related matters. Fluent in Mandarin, Mr. Lim has handled multiple arbitrations — both as counsel and as arbitrator — under PRC and Hong Kong law, as well as arbitrations conducted bilingually in English and Mandarin. He has also handled outbound arbitration disputes for numerous Chinese clients arising out of their global investments. In addition, Mr. Lim regularly provides strategic counsel and crisis management advice to global companies in relation to business-critical issues arising out of their China and Hong Kong businesses. He has also acted in investment treaty disputes both for Chinese investors and against the People’s Republic of China, as well as WTO disputes involving China.
As part of an engagement by the ADB, Mr. Lim advised Palau, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, and Timor Leste on their accessions to the New York Convention. Mr Lim also worked closely with the ADB and UNCITRAL to advise governments in the South Pacific on the drafting of legislation, and he played a key role in the drafting of the 2017 Fiji International Arbitration Act, the 2020 Tonga International Arbitration Act, as well as related subsidiary legislation. He continues to be engaged by the ADB to advise on legislation drafting in Palau, Papua New Guinea, and Timor Leste. Mr. Lim also previously assisted with the drafting of freedom of information and fisheries legislation in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and Somalia, and he is one of the founding members of a task force formed to assist with Somalia’s accessions to the New York Convention and the World Trade Organization.