News

Singapore, 10 January 2022 – We are pleased to announce that our Commercial and Corporate Disputes and International Arbitration Practice Partner Koh Swee Yen has been appointed as Senior Counsel. This was announced by Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon at the opening of the legal year on 10 January 2022. The Senior Counsel appointment is reserved for an elite group of advocates who have top-tier advocacy skills, professional integrity and are learned in law.

Swee Yen's appointment strengthens the Firm's Litigation & Dispute Resolution team. With her appointment, the Firm boasts four Senior Counsel, one of the largest across law firms. WongPartnership's Senior Counsel team includes Wong Meng Meng, Founder-Consultant, Alvin Yeo, Chairman & Senior Partner and Tan Chee Meng, Deputy Chairman of the Firm.

"We are extremely proud of Swee Yen's appointment as Senior Counsel. At a personal level, the appointment is a testament to her commitment to excellence and her outstanding legal abilities. From the Firm’s perspective, this appointment showcases the depth of the Firm's Litigation & Dispute Resolution team and their ability to nurture outstanding talent amongst our younger lawyers," said Ng Wai King, Managing Partner of WongPartnership.

As the Firm's youngest Senior Counsel, Swee Yen is well-regarded for her legal excellence in managing complex, high-value and cross-border disputes across a wide spectrum of matters from commercial, energy, international sales, trade, transport, technology to investment. She has acted for and against States in various investment treaty arbitrations, including securing a ground-breaking victory on the applicability of PRC bilateral investment treaties to Macau SAR based on state succession principles and successfully defeating an ICSID claim brought against the Independent State of Papua New Guinea for expropriation of mining assets; in various commercial and corporate disputes, including for the founder of Mustafa Centre, an iconic retail and tourist landmark in Singapore, in multiple purported minority oppression suits, for individual shareholders in representative action and related proceedings in relation to the distribution and management of the proceeds of sale of a hotel in excess of S$100 million; and in various energy as well as technology-related disputes.

Said Swee Yen, “I am truly honoured to receive this appointment. I am immensely grateful for the continued support from my family, colleagues, clients and friends over all these years. Special thanks to my team who has worked tirelessly to assist me and for their dedication and commitment. I believe that “Law is a calling”. It is a privilege to be able to practise as a lawyer, and one must be devoted to doing this to the best of one’s ability. I certainly hope that my passion and commitment to the practice of law will inspire and motivate others, and I will continue doing my best to contribute to the Firm and to give back to the community.”

Swee Yen has held various leadership positions in international arbitral organisations, including as the Vice-Chair of the IBA Arbitration Committee, and is the incoming Co-Chair of the IPBA Dispute Resolution and Arbitration Committee. She is a member of the Rules of Court Working Party and has been since 2005. She is also a member of the Civil Justice Commission which seeks to effect transformative change to the litigation process in Singapore.

Listed as one of the world’s leading arbitration and litigation practitioners in various legal publications, including The Legal 500, Chambers Asia-Pacific, Chambers Global, Who’s Who Legal: Arbitration; Who’s Who Legal: Commercial Litigation, Swee Yen was recently awarded Woman Lawyer of the Year at the ALB South-East Asia Law Awards 2021.

A keen believer in the teaching of advocacy, Swee Yen has taught advocacy and civil litigation courses at the National University of Singapore, Singapore Management University and Singapore Institute of Legal Education. She is currently on the Executive Committee, Foundation of International Arbitration Advocacy, and is the Faculty Co-Chair of the Remote Oral Advocacy Programme, run by DELOS. Swee Yen is often invited to speak at key litigation and arbitration conferences, and publishes widely in various areas in investment arbitration, commercial law and civil procedure.

Swee Yen graduated with First Class Honours from the National University of Singapore. She was awarded the Singapore Academy of Law prize for being the top student in her final year, and won subject prizes for Evidence and Procedure and Intellectual Property Law. Swee Yen served as a Justices' Law Clerk to the Chief Justice of Singapore before joining WongPartnership in February 2006, and was made partner in 2010. During her time in practice, she received appointments as Law Clerk to assist the Competition Appeal Board in the first and subsequent appeals lodged against the Competition Commission of Singapore's Infringement Decisions relating to price fixing matters, and was also on the Supreme Court’s Young Amicus Curiae scheme in 2010.

View Swee Yen's full bio here.

About WongPartnership

Headquartered in Singapore, WongPartnership is an award-winning law firm and one of the largest in the country. As a leading provider of legal services, we offer our clients access to our offices in China and Myanmar, and in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, through the member firms of WPG, a regional law network. Together, WPG offers the expertise of over 400 professionals to meet the needs of our clients throughout the region.

About WPG, a regional law network

WongPartnership brings together a group of five prominent law firms across seven countries in a collaboration to provide clients with legal services in ASEAN, China and the Middle East. The WPG law network comprises WongPartnership and its member firms Al Aidarous Advocates and Legal Consultants (Middle East), Foong & Partners (Malaysia), Makes & Partners (Indonesia) and ZGLaw (Philippines). Doing business together is not only better, it is now easier.

WPG. Winning Partnerships. Leading Excellence.

For media enquiries, please contact:

Jarrod Ng
Chief Operating Officer
DID: +65 6416 8095
Email: jarrod.ng@wongpartnership.com

Debbie Ng
Associate Director – Marketing & Communications
DID: +65 6416 8066
Email: debbie.ng@wongpartnership.com