Expert resume of Michael Hwang S.C.

Senior Counsel and Arbitrator at Michael Hwang Chambers Singapore and Essex Court Chambers London

Dr Michael Hwang received his legal education at Oxford University (both at undergraduate and postgraduate levels) where he was a College Scholar and Prizewinner.  He then took up a teaching appointment at the Faculty of Law at the University of Sydney before returning to Singapore to commence private practice in 1968 with Allen & Gledhill, where he served as a partner for more than 30 years.

In 1991 Dr Hwang was appointed a Judicial Commissioner of the Supreme Court (a full time post equivalent to the office of a contract High Court Judge) for a fixed term which expired at the end of 1992.  During his term of office, Dr Hwang dealt with a full caseload across the whole range of civil litigation.  15 of his judgments are reported in the Singapore Law Reports, and several of these have been referred to with approval by other courts and academic commentators.  He returned to private practice at the beginning of 1993 as Head of Litigation at Allen & Gledhill (currently Singapore’s largest law practice).

Over the span of his career, he has specialized in financial and commercial transactions, both as a litigator and transactional lawyer as well as an arbitrator.  His areas of practice have included banking and other financial transactions, real property and intellectual property, insolvency, company law, mergers and acquisitions, and joint ventures and general commercial law.

In 1997 Dr Hwang was appointed one of the first 12 Senior Counsel (“S.C.”) of the Supreme Court of Singapore (an appointment equivalent to that of Queen's Counsel in England).

In 1999 he served as a Visiting Professor to the National University of Singapore teaching advocacy and commercial arbitration and between 2005 and 2013 as an Adjunct Professor at the same University.

In 2003, he established an independent boutique practice as a Barrister and Chartered Arbitrator.

From 2000 to 2003 Dr Hwang served as a Commissioner of the United Nations Compensation Commission (“UNCC”) based in Geneva, a body set up under the Security Council to adjudicate upon claims against Iraq arising from the Gulf War. Between 2004 and 2013, he served as Singapore’s Non-Resident Ambassador to Switzerland.

Between 2008 and 2010, he served as the President of the Law Society of Singapore, having served as its Vice President in 2007.

In 2009 he was appointed as a member of the Special Judicial Tribunal to oversee the Restructuring of Dubai World and its Subsidiaries.

In 2010, he was appointed the Chief Justice of the Courts of the Dubai International Financial Centre ( “DIFC”), having served as Deputy Chief Justice since 2005. In 2014, he was appointed as Head of the Dispute Resolution Authority of the DIFC, having jurisdiction over all forms of dispute resolution in the DIFC

In 2014 he was conferred an Honorary Doctor of Laws (LLD) degree by the University of Sydney.