International arbitration veteran David MacArthur is moving from Tokyo to Seoul, joining the partnership at South Korean Big Six firm Yulchon as co-leader of the disputes practice. His move comes at a time when Yulchon has been aggressively bulking up its disputes offering.

UK law firm Simmons & Simmons has beefed up its partner strength in Asia by hiring Terence Seah in Singapore from Stephenson Harwood and Jeffrey Friedenberg as the head of its private funds practice in Hong Kong, and also relocating disputes partner Steven Kaye to Singapore from London.

The Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre has announced that Joanne Lau, currently a partner at Allen & Overy, will become its new secretary-general. She will commence her role on Feb. 26.

Lateral hiring dried up a little bit in December, but three Indian law firms still brought in partners. Dentons Link Legal landed its seventh of the year, while Lumiere Law Partners lost three more.

Beijing-headquartered law firm Jingtian & Gongcheng has hired arbitration specialist Kwan Chi Ho as a partner in its Hong Kong office from Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, where he was a counsel.

In recent years, the Japanese government has been enhancing the country's image as a preferred choice for international arbitration and dispute resolution. The latest steps include modernising the Arbitration Act to match international practice. Lawyers share how effective the legislation can be and what more the government should do to support Japan's arbitration ecosystem.      

Singapore-based arbitration specialists Simon Dunbar and Kevin Lim, who were most recently at Gateway Law Corporation, have established a new firm called Dunbar & Lim Chambers.

Singapore boutique Meritus Law has hired Ushan Premaratne as a director from Withers KhattarWong, where he was an equity partner.

Russians have been moving their business and dispute resolution to Asia for over a decade, but new sanctions following the invasion of Ukraine has significantly hastened that process. Dispute resolution hubs like Singapore, Hong Kong and Tokyo are increasingly attracting Russian businesses following the implementation of Western sanctions, and that trend is set to continue as the conflict drags on. 

In July, a court in France issued a verdict that was hailed by the Malaysian government as a “decisive victory” in its decades-long dispute with a group of alleged Filipino heirs of a 19th-century sultanate over claims to Malaysian state assets overseas.