Shahla Ali, FCIArb, is Professor of Law and Associate Dean (International) at the University of Hong Kong Faculty of Law and Director of the LLM Program in Arbitration and Dispute Resolution. Her work centres on questions of governance, sustainable development and cross-border dispute resolution in the Asia Pacific region. She serves as a bilingual arbitrator (English/Chinese) with the UN Funds and Programs, HKIAC, KCAB, THAC, CIETAC and SIAC, and community mediator with the IFC/World Bank and HKMAAL.

Before joining HKU, Shahla worked as an attorney in the international trade group with Baker & McKenzie in its San Francisco office. She holds a BA from Stanford University in International Relations and Chinese language, and a JD and PhD in Jurisprudence and Social Policy from the University of California at Berkeley. She has held visiting academic positions with the National University of Singapore, NYU, UCLA, Renmin University, Duke, UC Berkeley and Stanford.

Timothy Hughes is an independent lawyer and arbitrator based in Calgary, Alberta. Qualified to practice in New York, California, Alberta, and Ontario, Tim acts for clients in commercial and public international law disputes. He has practiced commercial, investor-state, and inter-state arbitration in the New York and Hong Kong offices of Herbert Smith Freehills, and was previously an associate in the Washington D.C. office of Crowell & Moring LLP. He launched his independent practice in 2022 after three years as the full-time caregiver to his two young children. In addition to advising private clients, Tim acts pro bono as a volunteer with Calgary Legal Guidance and is a member of the City of Calgary's Subdivision and Development Appeal Board.

Joe Liu is an independent arbitrator and domain name panellist with significant experience in international dispute resolution spanning international trade, banking & finance, corporate, investment, energy and technology disputes. He has been described as “a treasure chest of proven skills, talent and experience” and “an impressive practitioner on many levels”.

Joe has experience in major arbitral institutions and an international law firm. He served in multiple senior roles including the Acting Secretary-General and the Deputy Secretary-General at the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC) and worked as Assistant Counsel at the Singapore International Arbitration Centre. He was a member of Allen & Overy’s Global Arbitration Group based in Hong Kong, representing parties in multiple high-value and complex disputes under major arbitration rules.

Joe has been appointed as arbitrator and tribunal secretary in several international arbitrations under various governing laws and procedural rules, with the total amount in dispute up to US$3.5 billion.

Joe obtained his LLB at Wuhan University and LLMs at the London School of Economics and Political Science and New York University. Fluent in English, Mandarin and Cantonese, Joe has spoken and published extensively on international dispute resolution, including A Guide to the HKIAC Arbitration Rules, Arbitration in Hong Kong: A Practical Guide and The Hong Kong Arbitration Ordinance: Commentary and Annotations.

Emily Tillett is a Vice President at Burford with responsibility for leading its investment activity and operations in Hong Kong. A Hong Kong, Australian and New Zealand qualified lawyer, Ms. Tillett has multijurisdictional expertise in complex commercial disputes.

Prior to joining Burford, Ms. Tillett was Of Counsel at Allen & Overy in Hong Kong, where she focused on representing clients in litigation, regulatory investigations and arbitration, including contentious insolvency and fraud matters. She began her career with Minter Ellison lawyers and has since advised and acted for corporate and individual clients, including corporations, investment banks, financial services and brokerage firms and professional service providers, on high value, complex disputes in a variety of sectors.

Ms. Tillett earned her law degree with first class honors together with her degree in Arts (Psychology) from the University of Otago in New Zealand.

Joanne Lau is a Partner in Allen & Overy’s Global Arbitration Group based in Hong Kong. She represents clients in both international commercial arbitrations and investment treaty arbitrations, including as an advocate. She has extensive experience acting in arbitrations under major institutional rules, including HKIAC, ICC, SIAC and UNCITRAL Rules, involving various jurisdictions such as Hong Kong, England, India, Taiwan, Singapore and Mainland China. She also regularly advises on arbitration-related court matters. She has experience in a range of complex cross-border disputes, including disputes relating to post-M&A matters, joint ventures, private equity, complex financial products, shareholder disputes and disputes in the energy and infrastructure sectors. Joanne served as the co-chair of the HK45 for its 2020-2022 term and is an Executive Committee Member of the Rising Arbitrators Initiative.

Murphy is a senior associate in the International Arbitration Team of Herbert Smith Freehills. He is qualified in both England and Wales and Australia (New South Wales). Murphy regularly advises major Chinese and international companies on high value, cross-border infrastructure and construction disputes and projects across Asia, Middle East, Europe, Africa, Australia and South America, with a focus on the power, oil and gas and transport sectors.

Murphy has experience in handling international arbitration under various institutional rules (including HKIAC, SIAC, ICC and VIAC), and has acted as counsel and advocate. He is qualified as Tribunal Secretary at the HKIAC and has been appointed as such. Before relocating to Hong Kong in 2018, Murphy practised in Beijing, Shanghai and London.

Jessica van der Kamp is a senior associate in the Litigation & Dispute Resolution practice of Mayer Brown's Hong Kong office practicing arbitration and litigation, with a focus on construction, town planning, environmental regulation and general commercial disputes. She has represented clients in Hong Kong, Singapore and elsewhere across Asia, Africa and the Middle East in arbitrations relating to mega-infrastructure projects, large-scale development and refurbishment projects, and high-value commercial distribution agreements. Jessica has also acted for clients in arbitration-related court proceedings, including set-aside applications, injunctions, and consolidation proceedings.