Simon Powell is an independent arbitrator in full time practice in Asia, operating under the banner of Powell Arbitration. Prior to establishing his own, independent arbitrator practice he was a senior partner in a number of leading global law firms, including most recently Latham & Watkins LLP, where he managed the Hong Kong office for a number of years and built and then led the disputes and arbitration practice across Asia. He also held a number of other senior management roles whilst a partner with Latham.

Simon has spent the last 27 years of his life as an arbitration and dispute resolution lawyer in Asia, focusing on complex commercial and corporate disputes. Prior to his practice in Asia, and qualification in Hong Kong, Simon worked in (and was admitted to the bars of) England and Wales and Australia. He is also admitted to the New York bar. Over the years he has consistently been recognised as a leader in his field, being feted as “a top quality lawyer” by Chambers and as “one of the region’s leading disputes lawyers” by Legal500, as well as garnering many accolades and words of praise from his clients, colleagues and peers.

Simon has extensive experience acting as arbitrator and counsel. He is serving, or has served, as chair, party-appointed arbitrator and sole arbitrator in arbitrations, and has acted as counsel in numerous arbitrations in various jurisdictions across the globe, including Hong Kong, Singapore, China and Korea, conducted under a number of different rules, including those of SIAC, the ICC, the HKIAC, CIETAC and UNCITRAL.

Simon is also is a Solicitor-Advocate, with full rights of audience before all the Hong Kong civil courts, a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb), and a CEDR accredited mediator. He currently Chairs the ICC Nominations Committee in Hong Kong, and is a member of the Law Society’s Arbitration Appointments Committee.