Wendy LIN is the Deputy Head of the Commercial & Corporate Disputes Practice, and a Partner in the International Arbitration Practice.
Wendy has an active and leading practice spanning a wide array of high-value, multijurisdictional and complex commercial, fraud and asset recovery disputes before the Singapore Courts, as well as in arbitrations conducted under various arbitral rules. Wendy is widely recognised as one of the top enforcement / asset recovery practitioners in Singapore; she is one of two ranked Global Elite Thought Leaders (reserved for 5% of those ranked across the world by Who’s Who Legal) in Asset Recovery in Singapore. Wendy has also been at the forefront of numerous landmark arbitration-related Court decisions given her unique combination of expertise in litigation, enforcement and arbitration work.
In addition to her busy practice as counsel, Wendy also sits as an arbitrator in cases administered by the Singapore International Arbitration Centre, the International Chamber of Commerce and the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre. Wendy is a member of the Singapore Academy of Law's Law Reform Committee, and served as the Co-Chair of YSIAC from 2019 to 2024.
Wendy has consistently been recommended in legal publications for her dispute resolution work; with sources noting she is "phenomenal for judgment and enforcement work"; "a masterful advocate and tactician"; "an absolute star on top of her game"; "a formidable cross-examiner"; "a phenomenal and utterly compelling advocate who is in a class of her own"; "a first-class advocate, with the unparalleled ability to cut through numerous complex facts and legal arguments, extract the winning arguments, and to convey them effectively, with absolute charm and ease", "an extremely knowledgeable and a highly-strategic thinker unfazed by the pressures of high stakes litigation"; "a very good strategist who always thinks several steps ahead"; and the “complete package. She has the killer instinct, advocacy skills, determination and drive, and the ability to marshal copious amounts of facts and law as well.”
Matters of significance which Wendy has been involved in includes advising/acting for the following:
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Three-related ICC arbitrations and related Singapore Court proceedings arising out of the sale and purchase of one of South East Asia's leading renewable energy companies based in Thailand involving claims of over US$1 billion. In the related court proceedings, Wendy achieved an unprecedented setting-aside of an award worth over US$525 million.
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Successfully acting for J&F Investimentos S.A. ("J&F"), Brazil's largest private economic group, as well as its ultimate shareholders in a complex multi-party purported derivative action arising from the proposed issuance of bonds in the amount of US$500 million in Singapore by Eldorado Intl. Finance GmbH, one of J&F's subsidiaries. The parties to the dispute are also involved in various related proceedings including proceedings in Brazil and the United States of America, as well as an ongoing ICC arbitration.
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Acting for one of the world’s largest commodities groups in relation to a large-scale metal financing fraud perpetrated against the group, with concurrent parallel proceedings taken out in England, Singapore, Malaysia and the Cayman Islands. Successfully secured an urgent freezing order over the assets of four defendants in Singapore up to the value of US$625 million, a proprietary injunction against funds totalling over US$189 million that were transferred to two of the defendants into their bank accounts in Singapore, and Norwich Pharmacal / Bankers Trust orders to facilitate asset tracing and policing of the said proprietary funds.
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Following the non-performance of an arbitral award obtained by the Raffles Education Group against the Educomp Group, successfully obtained judgment (both at trial and on appeal before the Appellate Division of the High Court) in tort claims against individuals / directors connected with the Educomp Group who were found to have been involved in the breaches of the underlying transaction documents and non-performance of the award.
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Successfully acting for the subsidiary of a leading Asian healthcare investment firm in an SIAC arbitration against a Canadian listed biotechnology company, in establishing fraudulent misrepresentation and inducement relating to an in-licensing agreement (governed by New York law) worth over US$100 million for the development and commercialization of a novel drug, and rescinding the said agreement.
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The liquidator of one of the largest steel manufacturers in South East Asia in a dispute with Indian purchasers involving claims of over US$600 million governed by Philippine law, and achieving a rare setting-aside of the arbitral award of over US$100 million, which gave rise to novel and complex issues as to the implications of this setting-aside (decided for the first time by the Court of Appeal).
Related Practices
- Commercial & Corporate Disputes
- International Arbitration
- Philippines
- Thailand
- Chambers Global Practice Guide - Litigation, 2023 & 2024
- CDR - Essential Intelligence: Fraud, Asset Tracing & Recovery, 2023 & 2024
- The International Comparative Legal Guide to: Enforcement of Foreign Judgments, 2024
- The Global Legal Post Law Over Borders Comparative Guides - Arbitration, 2023
- The Legal 500 Country Comparative Guide Singapore: Enforcement of Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters, 2023
- ABLI-SAL Cryptoassets Series on Cryptoassets and Civil Procedure Law (Singapore edition), 2023
- Cryptoassets Are Property and Can Be the Subject of a Trust — But Can They Be Enforced Against? (CaseWatch, 2023)
- Fraud and Asset Recovery: Cryptoassets (LegisWatch, 2022)
- Singapore High Court Issues First Reported Decision in Dispute Arising from Circuit Breaker Measures (CaseWatch, 2021)
- Singapore Court of Appeal Partially Sets Aside Arbitral Awards and Provides Key Observations on Important Costs and Consequential Issues (CaseWatch, 2021)
- Indian Supreme Court Recognises Emergency Arbitration Under SIAC Rules (CaseWatch, 2021)
- Singapore Court of Appeal, in Landmark Decision, Modifies Scope of Law of Confidence to Provide Greater Protection for Confidential Information (CaseWatch, 2020)
- Contributing Editor of the Singapore "White Book" (Singapore Civil Procedure) as well as to the Annotated Acts for the International Arbitration Act (Chapter 143A) and Arbitration Act (Chapter 10)
- Enforcement of Arbitral Awards in Singapore - Pitfalls and Strategies, 2019
- SFO v ENRC (Part 2): Litigation Privilege in Internal Investigations Clarified (CaseWatch, 2018)
- Court of Appeal Gives Guidance on Bringing of Shareholder Oppression Action (CaseWatch, 2018)
- Brand New Possibilities - Opening Up Third-Party Funding for International Arbitration in Singapore (LegisWatch, 2017)
Wendy has earned the rare distinction since 2020 of being selected as a Global Leader by Who's Who Legal in three practice areas: Litigation, Arbitration and Asset Recovery, and as a Global Elite Thought Leader in Asset Recovery and a Thought Leader in Commercial Litigation and Arbitration since 2022. This built on her achievement of being named as one of the four most highly regarded litigation partners in Asia Pacific under the age of 45 in the 2018 inaugural edition of Who's Who Legal: Litigation – Future Leaders.
Wendy was also recognised as an “Up and Coming” lawyer by The Legal 500: Asia Pacific – The Guide to Asia's Commercial Law Firms and a "Leading Individual" by The Legal 500: Asia Pacific – The Guide to Asia's Commercial Law Firms and in Chambers Asia-Pacific – Asia Pacific's Leading Lawyers for Business. She was awarded "Rising Star: Litigation" at the Euromoney Legal Media Group Asia Women in Business Law Awards, 2019 and was also the exclusive winner of the "Arbitration & Alternative Dispute Resolution" category for Singapore at the Client Choice Awards 2019.
Additionally, Wendy has been consistently recommended for her dispute resolution work in various legal publications, where she has received compliments such as being "a masterful advocate and strategist, with outstanding judgement, technical skills and ability to command copious documents without losing sight of what is at the heart of the case." She is an "absolute star on top of her game. It is clear she has the respect and ear of the arbitrators, the court and her opponents". Clients have also praised her for being "at the forefront of market leading work; a compelling blend of innovation and rigour" and "a highly distinguished litigator who understands and is able to manoeuvre comfortably in commercial aspects that are highly technical and complex". She has "a first-class legal mind with an outstanding sense of litigation strategy".
Contact Details
- d+65 6416 8181
- f+65 6532 5722
- ewendy.lin@wongpartnership.com
Career & Qualifications
National University of Singapore (LL.B., Hons.)