Karen Fong is a specialist IP and commercial lawyer with over 20 years experience. A partner at Keystone Law, a leading UK law firm, she has practised in London, Hong Kong and Singapore. Karen has advised well-known brand owners as well as start-ups and creative individuals on all aspects of business issues including drafting commercial agreements and the protection and exploitation of IP rights in the UK and internationally in a broad range of industries. Karen has both a non-contentious as well as contentious practice. She is highly experienced in conducting litigation dealing with disputes at all court levels in the UK, particularly those involving trade marks, domain names, copyright, designs, database rights, confidentiality and trade secrets. With significant senior in-house experience, Karen engages effectively with business stakeholders and assesses legal issues in a commercial context. Karen is also skilled in the use of alternative approaches to dispute resolution including mediation and arbitration. She is a domain name panelist for the Asian Domain Name Dispute Resolution Centre (ADNDRC), Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC) and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), and is accredited as a mediator by the Centre of Dispute Resolution (CEDR).

Sarah Grimmer is Secretary-General of the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC). She was formerly Senior Legal Counsel at the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) where she acted as registrar in several inter-State arbitrations under the Law of the Sea Convention and served as tribunal secretary in multiple investment treaty arbitrations and contract-based claims.

Prior to joining the PCA, Sarah served as Assistant Counsel at the ICC International Court of Arbitration in Paris. She was also a member of the international arbitration group at Shearman & Sterling LLP in Paris, prior to which she worked in private practice in Auckland.

In 2015, Sarah was appointed to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon Disciplinary Board. She is a member of the ICCA-ASIL Task Force on Damages (2016), ICCA Publications Committee (2015), the IBA Investment Arbitration Subcommittee (2014), New Zealand ICC Arbitration Committee (2014), and the IBA Arb40 Steering Committee (2013).

Prof. Yun ZHAO is Henry Cheng Professor in International Law and Head of Department of Law at The University of Hong Kong; PhD (Erasmus University Rotterdam); LLM (Leiden University); LLM & LLB (China University of Political Science and Law). Prof. Zhao is currently the Representative of Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (ROAP) of the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH); Standing Council Member of the Chinese Society of International Law; Chair Professor at Xiamen University (2020-2023); Chair Professor at Tianjin University of Finance and Economics (2018-2021).