Joel Lee Appointed as Professor of Professional Practice

NUS Law is pleased to announce that Joel Lee has been appointed Professor of Professional Practice. He is the most highly-decorated teacher at NUS Law and an acknowledged leader, nationally and internationally, in the field of alternative dispute resolution.

An LL.B. graduate of Victoria University of Wellington, and earning an LL.M. from Harvard Law School, he pioneered the teaching of negotiation and mediation in Singapore and has played a significant role in furthering the development of mediation in Singapore in education as well as in practice. At the national level, he has taken on leadership roles in the Singapore International Mediation Institute (of which he was founding chair of the board), the Singapore Institute of Legal Education, and the Singapore Mediation Centre. Internationally, he has been a vital link to the International Mediation Institute and serves as general editor of the Asian Journal on Mediation.

Joel is the co-editor of the book An Asian Perspective on Mediation, which has been acknowledged internationally as an “important contribution to the development of East-West Mediation”. His chapter on “Culture and Its Importance in Mediation” has also received Honourable Mention at the 33rd Annual Academic Awards of the International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution (CPR).

In addition to his position at NUS Law, Joel is an associate partner with CMPartners, a principal mediator with and the Training Director of the Singapore Mediation Centre, and an adjudicator with the Financial Industry Disputes Resolution Centre. He was previously a member of the International Mediation Institute’s Independent Standards Commission and Intercultural Taskforce, and a key member of the Ministry of Law’s Working Group on International Commercial Mediation.

In 2011, Joel was awarded the Outstanding Educator Award, which is the National University of Singapore’s highest teaching award. His teaching includes overseas visits to the University of Copenhagen (Denmark), University of Law, Economics and Science of Aix‐Marseille (Aix-en-Provence France), and Anglia Law School (UK).

Other contributions include extensive activities in executive education as well as developing and coaching new competitions that expose NUS students to negotiation and alternative dispute resolution competitions. All of this has served to distinguish NUS Law nationally and regionally as the leading Asian centre for dispute resolution.

Joel has also taken on multiple leadership roles within the Faculty, including his time as Vice Dean (Student Affairs). He played key roles setting up the student advisor scheme, defining the new portfolio of student affairs, and led a review of students admissions to NUS Law.

NUS Law congratulates Professor Joel Lee on this well-deserved recognition of his many achievements and contributions to the faculty and the wider academic and professional communities!