Leon Chung
Leon is an experienced and highly regarded litigator and arbitrator.
Leon is a partner in the Disputes Group and Co-head of the firm’s Australian Corporate Crime & Investigations practice. He is an experienced and highly regarded litigator and arbitrator. His practice encompasses commercial disputes, regulatory investigations and inquiries, international arbitration and disputes and providing crisis and risk management and strategic advice to Boards. Leon has advised and acted across a number of industries for global clients.
Leon is consistently ranked as a leading commercial litigator and arbitrator. Most recently he was recognised by Chambers in Dispute Resolution in Australia, listed in Best Lawyers Australia as a leading commercial litigator, a leader in alternative dispute resolution and a leader in regulatory practice and in Doyle’s Guide as a Pre-Eminent Arbitration Lawyer.
Leon helps leading Australian and international companies and their boards and senior executives manage key commercial and regulatory risks and resolve their most complex disputes. He has extensive experience acting and advising for companies and individuals in regulatory investigations and prosecutions as well as inter-company disputes.
He has specialist expertise in international transactions and disputes including international arbitration, international investments and cross-border transactions including FTAs and investment treaties; and in corporate responsibility compliance with anti-foreign corruption and sanction regimes. Leon is a director of the Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration and a Councillor of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators Australia, Australia's leading international dispute resolution bodies.
Background
Leon holds a Bachelor of Commerce and a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) degree from the University of Sydney.
He is admitted to practise as a solicitor of the Supreme Court of NSW, the Federal Court of Australia and the High Court of Australia.
In 2004 and 2005, Leon was seconded as a Visiting Attorney to Hughes, Hubbard & Reed LLP, a New York based law firm.
He is a Councillor of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and a Director of ACICA.
Experience & expertise
Selected matters
- acting for a leading international resources company and advising the Board in relation to crisis management issues arising from operational and mine failures resulting in the loss of significant mine capacity
- acting for an infrastructure owner and operator in relation to administrative, constitutional and investment treaty law challenges arising from State government legislation of infrastructure facilities
- acting for a global mining company in relation to government expropriation of licences and land and administrative, constitutional and investment treaty challenges
- acting for multiple ASX listed and global companies in significant contractual disputes with key suppliers, vendors and customers
- acting for National Australia Bank in relation to Financial Services and Banking Royal Commission;
- advising the Telstra Board in relation to the NBN Project and its negotiations with the Federal Government
- acting for a leading global energy and resources company in multiple and concurrent international arbitration proceedings relating to significant resources contracts with its customers.
- acting for a global engineering company in multi-jurisdictional ICC international arbitration proceedings
- acting in a shareholder dispute between members of a private capital fund
- acting for the Carlyle Group in relation to attempts by Pioneer to prevent the Carlyle Group from enforcing its rights as lender
- acting for Qantas in relation to multiple proceedings arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic
- acting for Google in relation to the Australian Government’s digital news media code
- acting for a global gas company in relation to investments in Asia and Eastern Europe including in relation to due diligence for foreign corrupt practices and sanctions and export controls issues
- acting in coronial inquests involving large corporations.
- advising and acting for major energy and resources companies on foreign corruption practices and sanctions regimes.
- acting for the Board of a healthcare company in relation to a bribery and corruption investigation in relation to its senior executives
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