Jonathan 

LIM

Jonathan Lim is a Partner in WilmerHale’s International Arbitration Practice Group. He is a triple-qualified English solicitor, Singapore advocate and New York lawyer with a broad practice covering all types of commercial and investment treaty arbitrations seated in common law and civil law jurisdictions worldwide, including England, New York, Singapore, Hong Kong, France, Brazil, The Netherlands, Switzerland, and Sao Paolo.  His experience also includes ad hoc and institutional arbitrations under the rules of the HKIAC, ICC, ICDR, LCIA, PCA, SIAC, UNCITRAL, and others.  He has represented both private sector and government clients in the aerospace, construction, energy, financial services, insurance, telecommunications, technology, and retail sectors, among others.  Mr Lim has also worked on WTO dispute settlement matters and advised international organisations and governments in Africa and Asia on public international law issues.  Notable ongoing representations include acting for a British national in one of the first reported PCA investment arbitrations against the People’s Republic of China, with over US$300 million in dispute, and representing a group of Chinese investors in a PCA arbitration against Ukraine arising out of the blocked takeover of a leading aerospace manufacturer, with over US$4.5 billion in dispute.  He is also lead counsel for an Asian group of companies in three US-seated AAA and ICDR arbitrations regarding the termination of a suite of over 140 distribution and franchise contracts across East and Southeast Asia.

As part of a broader engagement by the Asian Development Bank, Mr. Lim advised Palau, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, and Timor Leste on their accessions to the New York Convention.  Mr Lim also worked closely with the ADB and UNCITRAL to advise governments in the South Pacific on the drafting of legislation, and he played a key role in the drafting of the 2017 Fiji International Arbitration Act, the 2020 Tonga International Arbitration Act, as well as related subsidiary legislation.  He continues to be engaged by the ADB to advise on legislation drafting in Palau, Papua New Guinea, and Timor Leste.  Mr Lim also previously assisted with the drafting of freedom of information and fisheries legislation in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and Somalia, and he is part of a task force formed to assist with Somalia’s accessions to the New York Convention and the World Trade Organization.

Mr Lim regularly sits as arbitrator and has received appointments as sole and party-appointed arbitrator in multiple proceedings seated in Europe and Asia.  These include Chinese language arbitrations, bilingual English-Chinese arbitrations, as well as arbitrations governed by Chinese law, English law, German law, Singapore law and the CISG.  Mr Lim was recently Secretary to the Drafting Committee for the AFSA International Arbitration Rules, and played a significant role in the drafting of the revised rules, which came into effect on 1 June 2021. Mr Lim also assisted the SIAC Rules Revision Executive Committee, then chaired by Gary Born, in the most recent revision of the SIAC Rules in 2016.

Mr Lim is Co-Chair of the Asia-Pacific Forum for International Arbitration, a Committee Member of the ICC Singapore Regional Projects Sub-Committee, and a member of the SIAC Users Council. He is an Associate Editor of the African Journal of International Arbitration. He has lectured on international arbitration at the China University of Political Science and Law, King’s College London, the London School of Economics, the National Law School of India University, and the Singapore Management University. He also publishes and speaks regularly on international arbitration and financial regulation.

Mr Lim is listed for his expertise in Who’s Who Legal and Euromoney’s Rising Stars.  In 2022-2023, he was ranked by Who’s Who Legal as a Global Elite Thought Leader, a select category reserved for those lawyers receiving the highest number of peer and client nominations globally.  In 2021-2022, he was ranked by Who’s Who Legal as one of 13 “most highly regarded” future leaders (non-partners) in Europe, the Middle Ease, and Africa. Clients and peers describe him as “a very smart all-round lawyer with a strong work ethic” who “provides top-of-the-class legal and strategic advice,” “highly intelligent, articulate and very professional,” “extremely capable and hardworking,” and “a sure bet as a future global leader.”