On September 28, the leading dispute resolution practitioners from across the region gathered at Grand Hyatt in Hong Kong for the Asialaw Asia-Pacific Dispute Resolution Awards 2017.

On a night that recognised the leading dispute resolution advisers in Asia, Ian Cocking of Clyde & Co won the trophy for outstanding practitioner.

Mark Strachan AC, QC, was named as the winner of the lifetime achievement award, which was given to honour the individual on the basis of the impact of their work over the course of their career. 

International law firm of the year for dispute resolution was Herbert Smith Freehills and the boutique disputes firm was Tan Kok Quan Partnership. For arbitration, the international award went to Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and the domestic prize was taken by Rajah & Tann.

Other individual awards went to Liz Kyo-Hwa Chung of Kim & Chang as the rising star; Douglas Lam SC of Des Voeux Chambers as barrister of the year and Matthew Gearing of Allen & Overy, who was picked as arbitration practitioner of the year. 

The awards ceremony also honoured the top dispute resolution practitioner and national firm of the year of the year in 14 jurisdictions, the best firms of the year at resolving disputes in 11 practice areas, and matters of the year.

Remarks from Gabrielle Kirstein of Feeding HK preceded the awards ceremony. The charity was the beneficiary of a silent auction during the event. 

Asialaw’s editorial staff chose the winners and nominees after extensive research between April and August 2017.

All the winners are listed below.

Outstanding practitioner of the year

Ian Cocking, Clyde & Co

Lifetime achievement winner

Mark Strachan QC SC

International law firm of the year
Herbert Smith Freehills

National law firm of the year

Australia

Clayton Utz

China

King & Wood Mallesons 

Hong Kong

Gall

India

Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas

Indonesia

Assegaf Hamzah & Partners

Japan

Nishimura & Asahi

Malaysia

Skrine

New Zealand

Chapman Tripp

Philippines

SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan

Singapore

Allen & Gledhill

South Korea

Kim & Chang  

Taiwan

Lee and Li  

Thailand

Weerawong C&P

Vietnam

YKVN

Disputes star of the year

Australia

Crispian Lynch, Gilbert + Tobin

China

Honghuan Liu, JunHe

Hong Kong

Justin D'Agostino, Herbert Smith Freehills

India

Pallavi Shroff, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas

Indonesia
 Timur Sukirno, Hadiputranto Hadinoto & Partners

Japan

Norimitsu Arai, Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu

Malaysia

Ariff Rozhan, Ariff Rozhan & Co

New Zealand

Sarah Armstrong, Russell McVeagh

Philippines

Ben Dominic Yap, Gatmaytan Yap Patacsil Gutierrez & Protacio (C&G Law)

Singapore

Paul Seah, Tan Kok Quan Partnership

South Korea

Wu Cheol Song, Bae Kim & Lee

Taiwan

George Lin, Lin & Partners

Thailand

Chusert Supasitthumrong, Tilleke & Gibbins

Vietnam

Stephen Le, Le & Tran

Rising star

Liz Kyo-Hwa Chung, Kim & Chang

Arbitration practitioner of the year

Matthew Gearing QC, Allen & Overy

Barrister of the year

Douglas Lam SC, Des Voeux Chambers

Practice area firm winners

Best in banking and finance

Hogan Lovells

Best in compliance & regulatory

Allen & Overy

Best in construction & real estate

Berwin Leighton Paisner

Best in energy & natural resources

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

Best in insolvency

Kirkland & Ellis

Best in insurance

Ince & Co

Best in IP

Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan

Best in TMT

Herbert Smith Freehills

Best in labour & employment

Rajah & Tann

Best in shipping & maritime

Holman Fenwick Willan

Best in tax          

Yulchon

Best domestic arbitration firm of the year

Rajah & Tann

Best international arbitration firm of the year

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

Matters of the year

In the matter of the Listed Securities of CITIC Limited (formerly known as CITIC Pacific Limited) and others, Market Misconduct Tribunal

Hogan Lovells, King & Wood Mallesons, Davis Polk

Pacific Andes Resources Development Ltd and other matters 

WongPartnership, Drew & Napier, Rajah & Tann, TSMP Law Corporation


POSCO v Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation   

Yulchon, Kim & Chang

Public Prosecutor v Lam Leng Hung and others

WongPartnership, Allen & Gledhill, Tan Kok Quan Partnership

Disputes boutique of the year

Tan Kok Quan Partnership