The Japan In-House Lawyers Association (JILA) teamed up with the Singapore International Arbitration Centre recently for a seminar entitled “Arbitration for In-house Counsel: Protect the Company, Keep Control, Get the Best Results and Save Money” at the offices of Anderson Mori & Tomotsune in Tokyo.
The SIAC is one of the top three arbitral institutions in the world, and it says Japanese parties are increasingly using the centre to resolve their cross-border disputes. The evening seminar, held on 6 June, discussed case studies illustrating key steps in the arbitral process, and provided an inside look at international arbitration from the perspective of an arbitral institution.
The evening featured a welcome address by Masako Takahata, chair of JILA’s international arbitration committee, and general counsel at Eurus Energy Holdings Corporation. SIAC speakers included CEO Lim Seok-hui, and Michele Park Sonen, SIAC’s head (Northeast Asia).
Commenting on the event, JILA opined: “In-house counsel can feel that managing a dispute is like trying to control a bolting horse.
“When an arbitration starts, processes take over and costs escalate quickly.
“Control can seem to slip through the fingers of in-house counsel not as familiar with arbitration as external disputes lawyers.
“Knowledge is power, and this seminar aims to return more control to companies by better equipping in-house counsel with the knowledge to critically assess and meaningfully participate in discussions of strategy.”
