Joel QUEK is a Partner in the Commercial & Corporate Disputes, International Arbitration and Vietnam Practices. 

Joel has an active practice in court litigation before the Singapore Courts and international arbitration, often in notable disputes which are high-value and legally significant. His clients include States, State-owned enterprises, multinational corporations, and high net-worth individuals, across sectors ranging from investment, finance, commodities, gaming, media, transport, construction and healthcare. He has substantial experience in arbitration-related court proceedings and an active investment treaty arbitration practice.

Joel’s contributions and expertise have been acknowledged by clients and publications such as the Legal 500. He is described as “highly intelligent, a first-rate strategist and an adept communicator”, “always available to provide input and support on an urgent basis”, "being responsive and sophisticated in provision of advice”, having an “exceptional approach to navigating complex international disputes”, “show[ing] a great mastery of the law, both substantively and from a procedural process perspective”, that “[h]is cross-examination was sharp, incisive and to the point” and his “attention to detail in reviewing contracts be[ing] first class, often pointing out problems that other top Singaporean law firms missed”.

Prior to entering private practice, Joel served as a Justices' Law Clerk to the Chief Justice and Judges of the Singapore Supreme Court. His experience also includes a placement with Fountain Court Chambers in London where he worked with barristers and King's Counsel on a variety of matters in the English commercial courts. In 2019, Joel was appointed amicus curiae to assist the Singapore High Court on issues concerning the imposition of penalties under s 94A of the Income Tax Act.

Active in the international arbitration space, he is appointed to the steering committee of the International Bar Association (IBA) Arb40. Joel also regularly contributes to legal journals and publications, mainly in the areas of arbitration, civil procedure and commercial law. He speaks regularly at dispute resolution events in various jurisdictions, including for organisations such as the IBA, Permanent Court of Arbitration, Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC), Vietnam International Arbitration Centre, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, Singapore Institute of Arbitrators, International Law Association and Global Arbitration Review.

Joel is currently a tutor for trial advocacy in the National University of Singapore (NUS), as well as an instructor for the SIAC and Institutional Arbitration module conducted by the SIAC in NUS and the Singapore Management University (SMU). Joel also previously taught commercial conflict of laws in SMU. 

Joel graduated with First Class Honours from University College London. He holds a Master of Law from the University of Cambridge, and is a member of Wolfson College. Joel is admitted to the Singapore Bar.
 

Matters of significance in which Joel has been involved in include acting for the following:

  • In various investor treaty arbitrations and court proceedings both for and against States, including for the Independent State of Papua New Guinea in an ICSID arbitration with the Digicel group over tax claims of US$100 million, against Laos PDR in investment treaty claims concerning the expropriation of a cement production enterprise serving China’s Belt and Road initiative, against the Republic of India for Deutsche Telekom AG in the enforcement of an award in excess of US$150 million arising from an UNCITRAL investment treaty arbitration which has resulted in various ground-breaking decisions of arbitration and international law by the Singapore Court of Appeal, and for an East Asian state in setting aside an arbitral award arising from an investment treaty claim under a bilateral free trade agreement. 
  • In various complex and high value commercial disputes before the Singapore Courts, including for the Independent State of Papua New Guinea in proceedings concerning the management of US$1.5 billion of assets, the founder of Mustafa Centre, an iconic retail and tourist landmark in Singapore, in multiple minority oppression suits in relation to the operation and management of the business' holding company, the former CEO of Noble Group Limited for unpaid benefits in excess of S$48 million, which gave rise to novel and complex issues on penalties and the exercise of contractually agreed decision-making powers by employers, and for a petrochemical wholesale company which acted as an intermediary in credit sleeve arrangements over the enforceability of circular chain transactions and alleged sham contracts.
  • In various international commercial arbitrations, including for a listed Korean engineering and construction company in an SIAC arbitration against a Korean engineering conglomerate in a dispute concerning the construction of gas turbine power plants in Iraq, for a Vietnamese individual in an SIAC arbitration against a BVI-incorporated real estate investment company headquartered in Hong Kong in defending a claim in excess of US$53 million for breach of representations and warranties arising out of a sale and purchase agreement, for a Vietnamese individual as a respondent in an SIAC arbitration for a claim in excess of US$50 million concerning an investment in an office building in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, in an SIAC arbitration for a Singapore-incorporated start-up in the Web3 industry that to help businesses monetise their Web3 rights against a Malaysian esports agency, and in an SIAC arbitration for a listed Canada-based lithium producer against a major multi-national commodities trader.
  • Obtaining and resisting injunctive and other interim relief, including for a leading consumer bank against a multinational information technology infrastructure services provider in relation to threatened termination of critical information technology infrastructure services, a Singapore listed company against a global financial services firm in relation to an alleged event of default of financing in the region of US$100 million, and a Singapore headquartered group in the FMCG industry against a minority shareholder in relation to a multi-million dollar merger with a company listed on the Australian stock exchange.
  • In various arbitration-related court proceedings, including for a NASDAQ-listed travel company to set aside and resist enforcement of multimillion-dollar SIAC arbitral awards, an Uzbekistan oil and gas company to set aside a multimillion-dollar ICC arbitral award arising from the termination of a communications project along a 2,000km gas pipeline, and a Hong Kong glass products manufacturer to resist setting aside of an ICC arbitral award.

 

Related Practices

  • Commercial & Corporate Disputes
  • International Arbitration
  • Vietnam
     

 

  • Preventing Further Bites of the Cherry in Challenging Arbitral Awards, [2024] SAL Practitioner 9 
  • The Proposed Reforms to the English Arbitration Act 1996: A Singapore Perspective, Singapore Arbitration Journal (2023) Vol 2 
  • Global Arbitration Review (GAR) The Guide to Investment Treaty Protection and Enforcement (2nd Edition) – Accessing Investment Treaty Protection: The Investor's Perspective
  • CDR Essential Intelligence – Fraud, Asset Tracing & Recovery 2024 – Singapore Chapter
  • International Comparative Legal Guide – Investor-State Arbitration 2024 (7th Edition) – Singapore chapter
  • The Legal 500: Enforcement of Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters Comparative Guide (2nd Edition) – Singapore chapter
  • Global Legal Post Arbitration Guide, Singapore Chapter
  • Atkin's Court Forms (Singapore), Defamation
  • Atkin’s Court Forms (Singapore), Admissions
  • Shift Towards International Practice? Key Takeaways from Arbitrations Involving Chinese Parties, WongPartnership LLP Knowledge & Insights February 2024
  • “Objective Intended Purpose” Test to Determine Whether Third Party Payments to Tort Victims are Exempt from Rule Against Double Recovery, Court of Appeal Rules, WongPartnership LLP CaseWatch September 2024
  • Court of Appeal Rules that Transnational Issue Estoppel Applies in Context of Resisting Enforcement of Arbitral Awards and Opines on Awarding Primacy to Decisions of Seat Court, WongPartnership LLP CaseWatch January 2024
  • No Privacy Orders for Court Proceedings if Confidentiality of Arbitration Lost, Singapore Court of Appeal Rules, WongPartnership LLP CaseWatch June 2023
  • Arbitral Tribunal Rules on Scope of Arbitral Consent under PRC-Singapore BIT, WongPartnership LLP CaseWatch March 2023 
  • Foreign States Have Additional Time To Apply To Set Aside Orders For Leave to Enforce Arbitral Awards, Singapore High Court Rules, WongPartnership LLP CaseWatch April 2022 
  • Singapore Court of Appeal Provides Important Guidance On Claims In Unjust Enrichment, WongPartnership LLP LawWatch March 2022 
  • Singapore Court of Appeal Clarifies Law on "No Reflective Loss" Principle, WongPartnership LLP LawWatch December 2021 
  • Singapore Court of Appeal Affirms Wide Ambit of Rule that Costs of Prior Proceedings Cannot Be Recovered in Subsequent Claims, WongPartnership LLP LawWatch September 2021 
  • Singapore Court of Appeal Clarifies Tests for Grant of Post-judgment Mareva Injunctions and Release of Plaintiff’s Undertakings Relating to Post-judgment Mareva Injunctions, WongPartnership LLP LawWatch June 2021 
  • Singapore High Court Clarifies Law on Credit Sleeve Providers and Sham Transactions, WongPartnership LLP CaseWatch June 2021 
  • Singapore Court of Appeal Clarifies Employers’ Duties in Exercising Contractually Agreed Decision-making Powers vis-à-vis Employees and Extent of Review by Courts, WongPartnership LLP CaseWatch June 2020 
  • ‘Our brain "Kant" tell us? – A Kantian perspective of how neuroscience challenges our notion of moral responsibility and the legal implications’ (2012) 1(1) UCL Journal of Law and Jurisprudence 22
  • ‘A View From Across the Water: Why the UK Needs to Sign, Ratify, and Incorporate Protocol 12 to the ECHR’, (2011) 11 U.C. Dublin L. Rev. 10
     

Contact Details

Qualifications

University College London (LL.B., Hons.)

University of Cambridge (LL.M.)

Singapore Bar

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