International law firm Simmons & Simmons has announced that Benson Lim has joined its multi-qualified, multilingual international arbitration practice in Singapore as a partner.
Benson is triple-qualified in Singapore, England and Wales, and New York. He is a Partner in JWS Asia Law Corporation (JWS) (the constituent Singapore law practice of Simmons & Simmons JWS Pte. Ltd.) whilst his concurrent partnership in Simmons & Simmons JWS Pte. Ltd. vis-à-vis his English and New York law arbitration matters is pending regulatory approval. Being fluent in English and Chinese, his practice in recent years has been focused on arbitration counsel work involving Southeast Asian and Greater China regions. Now with full rights of audience before Singapore courts through JWS, he is expanding his practice to take on arbitration-related litigation.
Benson previously practiced in Singapore, United States, and United Kingdom law practices with a concurrent in-house secondment with a cancer diagnostics company. He was also seconded to HKIAC and Fountain Court Chambers in London. Most of his work is as counsel but he has been appointed three times as a sole arbitrator by ICC and SIAC. His experience includes infrastructure, construction, energy and natural resources, corporate, merger and acquisition, disputes involving tech companies, life sciences, international trade, investment, and commodities disputes.
Commenting on Benson’s arrival, Philippe Cavalieros, International Co-Head of Simmons’ International Arbitration Practice said: “We have always placed great importance on our international arbitration and dispute resolution capabilities in Singapore. Given Benson’s ample experience in arbitration, we are confident that we can further cement our practice leading position.”
Mohammed Reza, Simmons’ dispute resolution partner in Singapore added: “We are very pleased to welcome Benson to the firm. With his expertise and diverse experience in the arbitration and dispute resolution space, we believe Benson will be an asset to our team and provide useful counsel to our clients.”
Benson is a CIArb Fellow. He is actively involved in several arbitration committees such as ICC Singapore Arbitration Group Thought Leadership Sub-Committee, YSIAC Committee, SIAC Users Council, and Maxwell Chambers Steering Committee. He was the co-chair of CIArb Singapore Young Members Group Committee. He led 3 teams of 8 Assistant Editors as Associate Editor at Kluwer Arbitration Blog. He has been named Rising Star – International Arbitration by The Legal 500 Asia Pacific for three consecutive years from 2020 to 2022. He is also listed in The Legal 500 Private Practice Arbitration Powerlist – Southeast Asia 2022.
On joining Simmons, Benson commented: “I strongly believe in Singapore’s role as a leading disputes hub for Greater China and Southeast Asia disputes. As a Singaporean lawyer who started practising here a decade ago, I am proud to be part of this Singapore success story and part of Simmons’ longstanding commitment to Singapore. It is never easy but I am quietly confident that Simmons will be the platform to bring my and my team’s practice to the next level.”