Home / Asia-Pacific / Singapore / Dispute Resolution

Dispute Resolution

The Dispute Resolution team offers the full range of integrated support, sector and commercial experience and a world-class service to respond quickly to you - a true 360° approach, from long-term planning and deployment of case strategy to emergency response, injunctions and applications and expedited procedures.

In Singapore, we operate as CMS Holborn Asia, a Formal Law Alliance between CMS and Singapore law practice, Holborn Law LLC. The Formal Law Alliance allows the two firms to provide the broadest range of Singapore and international legal services from one platform, with Singapore law expertise and litigation representation provided by Holborn Law LLC. 

We can handle all your risk and dispute interactions from regulators to reporters, on issues from data breaches to disputes, in arenas from cyberspace to the c-suite. Whatever your risks, you need to deal with them in ways that build your resilience and protect your reputation. We will be there around the clock and around the world, whenever and wherever you need us.

Our team is experienced in all forms of dispute resolution, including commercial litigation, corporate crime, regulatory and internal investigations; international arbitration, mediation and alternative dispute resolution, judicial review and reputation management.

Members of our team regularly appear as advocates in courts and arbitration.

Litigation

At CMS, we have thought more about Your World. You do not want to litigate. You want to avoid disputes and when they do arise, be with the right team to resolve them.

Our Litigation practice is global and is one of the largest disputes practices in the world. We work with our clients to navigate the most complex matters and embrace a range of technologies, project management expertise and resource to deliver value for them.

Where your dispute cannot be resolved in any other way, we will deploy our expertise and resources to fight your corner to the end.

We are proud that since our merger on 1 May 2017 we have been recognised as follows:

  • Highest number of cases profiled, The Lawyer Top 20 Cases to Watch, 2019
  • Top 50 Global Litigation Firm, The Lawyer Global Litigation Top 50, 2018
  • Top 3 London Litigation Firm, The Lawyer Global Litigation Top 50, 2018
  • Highest year on year growth in Litigation Lawyers, The Lawyer Global Top 50, 2018
  • Highest number of Disputes clients, The Lawyer FTSE 250 Report 2018
  • Highest number of Disputes clients, The Lawyer FTSE 100 Report 2017
  • Firm of the Year Reputation Management The Legal 500 Awards 2018
  • UK Firm of the Year for Dispute Resolution The Legal 500 Awards 2017

Arbitration

Recognised as one of the world’s leading arbitration practices by Global Arbitration Review (GAR 30), our International Arbitration team is one of the largest of any law firm and spans the globe. It is made up of a diverse range of specialists, and our sector-led approach carries with it a huge depth of experience especially in construction, energy, insurance, technology, media and telecommunications sectors.

Our cross-jurisdictional Asia Pacific practice comprises over 100 partners and 400 fee-earners conducting multi-billion dollar commercial and investor-state arbitrations. Other than Singapore, a major centre for international dispute resolution, we have offices operating from all the major venues for international arbitration including London, Paris, Madrid, Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai as well as across Central and Eastern Europe, Africa and Latin America, and we represent clients under the rules of the world’s leading arbitral institutions including:

  • SIAC
  • HKIAC
  • KCAB 
  • ICC 
  • LCIA
  • CIETAC
  • ICSID
  • WIPO

Many of our partners are regularly appointed as arbitrators and we speak and write regularly on matters of interest in the arbitration world. In the majority of cases, we will conduct advocacy in arbitrations ourselves.

24/10/2023
International arbitration trends - What the data says
CMS conducted a data-driven project to assess whether the number of arbitrations is decreasing and if there are trends that can be identified in this type of dispute resolution. We are publishing our findings in a series of five data-driven articles.
Singapore International Arbitration Blog

Feed

03/12/2024
International arbitration law and rules in Singapore
In 2020 the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) set a new record with 1080 new case filings, more than doubling its case load from the previous year. This is the first time in history that...
26/11/2024
Technology Transformation: Drive innovation, mitigate the risks
Expectations and reality of tech-related risks
27/08/2024
Reading the Arbitration Tea Leaves: A Fireside Chat with Leading Asia-Pacific...
Join us at 1880 Members Club for an exclusive Fireside Chat with prominent Asia-Pacific arbitrators, Sapna Jhangiani KC and Professor Benjamin Hughes, moderated by Dr. Mariel Dimsey, Partner at CMS Hong Kong and former Sec­ret­ary-Gen­er­al of the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC). We'll explore first-hand accounts, dissect pivotal emerging trends, and spotlight the crucial role of diversity and inclusion in this ever-evolving field. The fireside chat will be followed by networking drinks and light canapes. Limited seats are avail­able. Please RSVP as soon as possible to secure a spot. 
05/08/2024
English and Singapore High Courts address the correct date for assessing...
In both England and Singapore, the purpose of an award for breach of contract is to compensate the injured party.  The award is generally meant to place the claimant in the same position as if the contract...
22/07/2024
The role of arbitrators in the settlement process
In any dispute, parties are free to settle at any time. In order to avoid the time, cost and risk associated with pursuing or defending arbitration proceedings to their conclusion, it is generally in...
29/05/2024
The SIAC Annual Report 2023 – key takeaways in year of growth and record...
In April 2024, the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (“SIAC”) published its Annual Report 2023, recording another year of high caseload and usage of the institution’s services across a...
07/05/2024
Energy and climate change: The most significant climate change litigation...
In Verein KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz and Others v. Switzerland (application no. 53600/20), the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) issued arguably the most impactful and far-reaching ruling on climate...
27/02/2024
Singapore High Court clarifies the lodgement period of adjudication applications
HP Construction & Engineering Pte Ltd v Mega Team Engineering Pte Ltd [2024] SGHC(A) 5The Appellate Division of the Singapore High Court has clarified when an adjudication application under the Building...
14/02/2024
Recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments in Singapore
1. Is there an exequatur procedure? Yes. There are both common law and statutory means by which foreign judgments can be enforced in Singapore. Under the common law, a foreign judgment may be recognised...
09/02/2024
Oil & Gas: English court restrains foreign JOA proceedings in breach of...
In The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited v Sunlink Energies and Resources Limited [2023] EWHC 3135 (Comm), the English Commercial Court demonstrated its willingness to ensure that...
16/01/2024
Singapore High Court denies stay on crypto class action against blockchain...
In Julian Moreno Beltran, Douglas Gan Yi Dong v Terraform Labs Pte Ltd and others [2023] SGHC 340 (the “Terraform Case”), a case involving the collapsed TerraUSD (“UST”) stablecoin, the Singapore...
08/01/2024
Justice in the Digital Age: Exploring AI’s Role in International Arbitration
IntroductionThe use of artificial intelligence (“AI”) in international arbitration has been a topic of debate and discussion long before the launch of chatbot ChatGPT in late November 2022.  Indisputably...