Lim Tat

His wide spectrum of practice includes conflict and dispute management, de-escalation and resolution. He adopts a multifaceted approach and utilises varied dispute resolution modes to obtain optimal outcomes for clients.

He has over three decades of extensive experience in dispute resolution and has appeared as lead counsel in all levels of the Singapore courts and in international arbitrations. His practice includes representing local and international clients in high value cases involving multiple jurisdictions and spanning across a wide range of industries, including energy, recycling, entertainment, construction, manufacturing and real estate.

He has received appointments as an expert in Singapore law for foreign court proceedings, and as arbitrator in institutional arbitrations. He is an IMI-certified mediation advocate and an IMI-certified mediator and has extensive experience as mediation counsel and mediator in complex cross-jurisdictional disputes.

He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, a Distinguished Fellow of the International Academy of Mediators and a Weinstein JAMS International Fellow. He is on the international panels of many distinguished arbitration and mediation institutions, including the SIMC and AAA-ICDR. He is a regional consultant and mediator of the CAO, IFC, World Bank Group and a member of the Global Mediation Panel of the Office of the Ombudsman for the United Nations Funds and Programmes.

He has been ranked for his dispute resolution practice in The Legal500 and received recognition by Who’sWhoLegal:Mediation since 2016.

Write Up

• Contributor, “Singapore Civil Procedure” (Thomson Reuters Sweet & Maxwell)
• Contributor, “Mediation in Singapore: A Practical Guide” (Thomson Reuters Sweet & Maxwell)
• Contributor, “Mediation Practice – 8 Cultures, 16 Cases, 128 Creative Solutions” (ICC)
• Contributor, “Stories Mediators Tell: World Edition” (ABA)
• Contributor, “Study of the Existing Commercial Mediation Legal and Institutional Frameworks and Best Practices in the Balkan Region and Selected Countries) (EBRD / IDLO)
• Contributor, “Chambers Data Protection and Privacy 2020 Guide” (Chambers and Partners)
• Author, “Arbitration Global Guide – Singapore” (Practical Law, Thomson Reuters)
• Author, “Litigation and enforcement in Singapore: overview” (Practical Law, Thomson Reuters)
• Author, “Lexis Practical Guidance – Dispute Resolution” (LexisNexis)

Notable Cases

Matters of significance in which Tat has been involved in include the following:

• Acting for a NASDAQ listed company in ICC arbitration brought by an IDX listed company.
• Acting for a TSE listed company in JCAA arbitration against a company based in Pakistan.
• Acting for an US company in SIAC arbitration against a NYSE listed company.
• Acting for SGX listed developers and contractors in suits commenced in the Singapore High Court.
• Acting for an oil and gas company in defending claims brought by ship owners.
• Acting for management corporations in suits commenced in the Singapore High Court against developers, contractors, sub-contractors and consultants.
• Acting for management corporations in matters relating to breaches of duties and compliance with statutory obligations.
• Successfully resolving complex employment dispute involving allegations of gender-based discrimination.
• Successfully resolving cross-border parental child abduction case.
• Successfully resolving a dispute brought under the UNCITRAL Conciliation Rules.

Memberships & Appointments

• Advocate & Solicitor, Supreme Court of Singapore
• Solicitor, Supreme Court of England & Wales
• Fellow, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators
• Distinguished Fellow, International Academy of Mediators
• Co-Chair, Mediation Committee, Law Society of Singapore
• Chairperson, Society of Mediation Professionals (Singapore)
• Board of Directors, Singapore Mediation Centre
• Board of Governors, International Academy of Mediators
• Chair, National Anti-Doping Disciplinary Committee, MCCY, Singapore
• Independent Advisory Committee, International Mediation Institute (IMI)
• Member, Mediation Committee Advisory Board, International Bar Association (IBA)
• Inquiry Panel, Law Society of Singapore
• Complaints Panel, Singapore Medical Council
• Member, Continental Results Management Panel (Asia / Oceania), WADA
• Member, National Anti-Doping Disciplinary Committee, MCCY, Singapore
• Member, Law Society of Singapore
• Member, Singapore Academy of Law
• Editorial Board, Dispute Resolution International (IBA)
• Editorial Board, Fórum Publisher from Belo Horizonte/MG in partnership with the Brazilian Center of Arbitration and Mediation (CBMA)
• Commissioner for Oaths, Singapore
• Notary Public, Singapore

Areas of Practice:

Counsel

• Lead counsel in mediation, tribunal, adjudication, court and arbitration proceedings, including hearings, trials andappeals at Strata Titles Boards, State Courts, High Court and Court of Appeal of Singapore, and arbitration proceedings at ICC, SIAC and JCAA.

Neutral

• Appointments as arbitrator by SIAC and Law Society of Singapore.
• Appointments as mediator in several hundred institutional and ad hoc mediations, including commercial mediation of cross border / international disputes involving multiple parties of various nationalities from multiple
• jurisdictions.
• Appointments as consultant / mediator by Compliance Advisory Ombudsman (CAO), World Bank Group in cases involving complex multiparty disputes in Myanmar and Indonesia.
• Appointments as chair or member of inquiry and disciplinary tribunals by National Anti-Doping Disciplinary Committee (Minister of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY), Singapore), Inquiry Panel (Law Society of Singapore), Disciplinary Tribunal (Chief Justice of Singapore), and Singapore Medical Council’s Complaints
• Panel (President, Singapore Medical Council).

Expert

• Appointments as expert (in Singapore law) in Hong Kong court proceedings, and in SIAC proceedings.