Skrine actively participated in the Seoul ADR Festival 2022 (SAF) organised by the Korean Commercial Arbitration Board KCAB International held on 7-11 November 2022. SAF had various sessions (in-person, virtual and hybrid) addressing the process of dispute resolution from diverse perspectives. It provided a platform for legal professionals, academics, and users to gather and exchange ideas on how to accommodate better the growing demand for ADR services and develop dispute resolution practices around the world.
 
Highlights include our Dispute Resolution Partner Sharon Chong participating in the virtual session “Room for Debate: Six Leading Arbitration Practitioners Debate Three Controversial Propositions” hosted by Lee & Ko on 8 November 2022 where arbitration practitioners engaged in a series of one on one debates on controversial issues that are unavoidable in the world today. Sharon advocated against Benjamin Lissner (CMS) in opposition to the resolution “That virtual merits hearings should be the standard unless practical circumstances or an agreement of the parties require a hearing in-person”. The other two interesting debates were on resolution “That merits hearings should give greater priority to oral arguments from counsel than testimony from factual witnesses” (debated between Steven Lim (39 Essex Chambers) and Nikolaus Pitkowitz (Pitkowitz & Partners)) and resolution “That users would benefit if arbitration rules included a mandatory mediation stage” (debated between Dana Kim (Herbert Smith Freehills) and David Isidore Tan (Rajah & Tann)). The session was expertly moderated by Robert Wachter and Grace Yoon of Lee & Ko.
 
On 10 November 2022, our Foreign Lawyer Dr. Harald Sippel was a panel speaker together with Timothy Dickens (DR & AJU LLC) and David MacArthur (AMT) in the in-person event “Arbitration in Southeast Asia: What lies beyond Singapore? Practical experiences in Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam”, moderated by Leon Ryan (AMT). This event was jointly organised by Skrine, Anderson Mori & Tomotsune and DR & AJU LLC. The introductory remarks were given by Steve Kim, Secretary General of KCAB International. During the interactive session, the speakers discussed the basics of dispute resolution in Malaysia, Thailand in Vietnam, with a particular focus on international arbitration. Harald, who has been based in Malaysia for almost five years, shared among others about his experience gained when he was Head of Legal of Asian International Arbitration Centre (2018-2019). In addition to having previously worked at a Korean law firm for two years, Harald has also obtained a degree from Seoul National University. He speaks Korean fluently.