Philip Kim

Philip is an international arbitration Partner with expertise in post M&A, energy and public international disputes.

Philip specialises in international arbitration and has expertise in the resolution of corporate (post M&A, shareholder and joint ventures), energy (construction and shipbuilding) and public international law disputes with nexus to East and Central Asia.

He is in high demand for the most complex, high-value and novel cases, given his extensive experience and outstanding track record in landmark cases. Philip is often engaged as an additional co-counsel to work with other international law firms in significant cases.

Notably, the American Lawyer magazine featured two of Philip’s cases as the ‘Top 10 Defense Wins’ in the arbitration field internationally, which are leading authorities in public international law. He also acted for the Government of Korea in the first arbitration under the US-Korea Free Trade Agreement, which was successful at an early stage.

In recent years, Philip advised on the most significant post M&A, commercial and investment disputes for Korea based clients, in particular London, Hong Kong or Singapore seated arbitrations (ad hoc, LCIA, SIAC, ICDR, ICC and HKIAC) and English High Court litigation.

He has a unique client base in North and Central Asia and acts as a relationship partner to Asian conglomerates, technology (in particular IT and automobiles) and healthcare companies, who entrust him with a wide range of work relating to Europe, China and Southeast Asia. As a result, Philip’s practice covers non-contentious and bespoke matters, such as international restructurings and office launches, data privacy, intellectual property licensing, ESG and incentives.

The directories have consistently recognised his expertise in international arbitration and dispute resolution. He is listed as an ‘Arbitration Future Leader’ by Who’s Who Legal 2023 (Arbitration, United Kingdom) as well as one of the ’30 Super Lawyers’ in South Korea by Asian Legal Business.

In addition, he is named a ‘Rising Star’ by Legal 500 in the International Arbitration, South Korea category. His Chambers and Partners, Global and Asia Pacific ranking states that he “advises clients in commercial and investment treaty arbitrations and has particular expertise in disputes relating to Korea and Kazakhstan. One source enthuses ‘He is brilliant and he is really making waves. He is one of the best…I’ve seen’”.