Cameron Sim

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Singapore Sydney Partner

Cameron Sim has extensive global experience as counsel for corporates and sovereigns in commercial and investment arbitrations and related court proceedings. He is admitted in Australia, England & Wales, Hong Kong, and New York, and is a Registered Foreign Lawyer in the Singapore International Commercial Court.

Cameron represents clients across a range of industries, including banking and finance, energy and mining, insurance, pharmaceuticals, private equity, retail, sports, and telecommunications. He has acted in proceedings under all leading arbitration rules in key arbitral seats.

Cameron is recommended for international arbitration in leading directories. He is commended as a “superb arbitration lawyer”, “truly formidable”, and “a stand-out star”, who “combines outstanding technical ability with being commercially savvy”, is “very efficient”, “understand[s] the needs of clients and the weaknesses of the other party very accurately”, and has “intellectual prowess combined with a strategic mindset which make him an asset to any matter” (Legal 500 Asia-Pacific (2023 — 2025)). He is also described as “a superb and unrelenting advocate” and “a force to be reckoned with”, with “outstanding skills of coordination, especially in cross-border matters”, and “excellent academic background and intuition” (Who’s Who Legal (2022 — 2025)).

Cameron sits as arbitrator and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. He has been appointed as arbitrator in both institutional and ad hoc arbitrations. Cameron is also a member of the Proceedings Committee of the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC).

Cameron’s legal publications have been cited with approval by courts and commentators. He is the author of Emergency Arbitration (Oxford University Press 2021), the first-ever treatise on the procedure.

Prior to his arbitration career, Cameron clerked for the President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom and in the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.

Career details
  • Partner, Peter & Kim, Sydney (2025 to Present)
  • Counsel, Debevoise & Plimpton, Hong Kong (2021 – 2025)
  • Associate, Debevoise & Plimpton, London and Hong Kong (2015 – 2021)
  • Associate, Baker Botts, London (2013 – 2015)
  • Judicial Assistant to the President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (2012 – 2013)
  • Trainee Solicitor and Associate, Linklaters, London (2009 – 2011)
Education details
  • Bachelor of Civil Law (Distinction), University of Oxford (2012)
  • Bachelor of Laws (First Class Honours), University of Melbourne (2009)
  • Bachelor of Arts, University of Melbourne (2009)
Experience

Cameron has acted as counsel for clients in commercial and investment disputes across various sectors. His key experience includes representing:

Banking & Finance
  • A Dutch SPV in an HKIAC arbitration concerning breaches of an investment management agreement.
  • A Russian bank in parallel LCIA arbitrations concerning breaches of Cyprus law guarantees.
  • An asset management group in shareholder disputes and related litigation in the German courts.
Energy & Resources
  • A Russian state-owned gas company in an SCC arbitration concerning disputes with foreign investors relating to carbon credits under the Kyoto Protocol.
  • An Asian steel manufacturer in an HKIAC arbitration and ancillary Hong Kong litigation concerning the alleged wrongful termination of a joint venture agreement.
  • A Central Asian state-owned gas company in cost recovery claims under a long-term production sharing agreement.
  • An international construction company on remedies available under bilateral investment treaties in respect of measures taken against the operation of LNG plants.
Pharmaceuticals & Biotech
  • An international pharmaceutical company in an ICC arbitration (including an emergency arbitration) concerning various JV disputes.
  • A Dutch life sciences company in an ICC arbitration concerning a contractual dispute with an advisory firm.
Private Equity
  • An asset management firm in a private equity dispute in HKIAC and parallel ICC arbitrations (Hong Kong) and DIS arbitration (Frankfurt) concerning disputed private equity investments in German, Israeli, and US portfolio companies, with ancillary court proceedings in the Cayman Islands, Hong Kong, Mainland China, the Netherlands, and St Kitts & Nevis.
  • A Dutch SPV in parallel LCIA arbitrations concerning breaches of covenants agreed as part of the sale of a portfolio investment.
  • A private equity fund in an ICC arbitration concerning disputed put and tag-along rights in a shareholders agreement.
  • The general partner in a Cayman Islands fund and its director in parallel HKIAC arbitrations concerning alleged breaches of a limited partnership agreement, with ancillary Hong Kong court proceedings.
Retail & Technology
  • An international retail company in the settlement of claims concerning the termination of a joint venture for the distribution and manufacture of products in Argentina and Brazil.
  • A PRC retailer in the settlement of claims concerning an equity transfer agreement.
Technology & Telecommunications
  • A bitcoin mining company in a dispute concerning breaches of shareholder agreements.
  • A private equity fund in an ICC arbitration arising from a telecoms dispute based in Africa.
  • A private equity fund in an ICC arbitration arising from a shareholder dispute based in Africa and ancillary litigation in Angola, the British Virgin Islands, France, and the Netherlands.
Professional Affiliations
  • Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, Fellow
  • HKIAC List of Arbitrators, Member
  • HKIAC Proceedings Committee, Member
  • ACICA Diversity Committee, Member
  • Past North Asia Regional Representative for the International Chamber of Commerce Young Arbitrators Forum
  • Past Asia Chair for the Young ITA
Publications
  • Emergency Arbitration (Oxford University Press 2021)
  • The Pursuit of Investment Treaty Arbitration by Asia-Pacific Investors (2024) Global Arbitration Review (co-author)
  • Protecting and Disputing Confidentiality in Arbitration (2023) Asian Dispute Review
  • Emergency Arbitration Meets The Courts (2023) Stockholm Arbitration Yearbook
  • The State of Play of Investment Treaty Arbitration in the Asia-Pacific (2023) Asia-Pacific Arbitration Review (co-author)
  • The Role of the Courts Outside the Seat of Arbitration: Achieving the Proper Balance Between Support and Interference (2022) Asian Dispute Review
  • Investment Treaty Arbitration in the Asia-Pacific: the Impact of the CPTPP and the RCEP (2021) Asia-Pacific Arbitration Review (co-author)
  • The Application of Transparency, chapter in Transparency in International Investment Arbitration: A Guide to the UNCITRAL Rules on Transparency in Treaty-Based Investor-State Arbitration (Cambridge University Press 2015) (co-author)
  • Choice of Law and Anti-Suit Injunctions: Relocating Comity (2013) International & Comparative Law Quarterly
  • Expert Witness Immunity After Jones v Kaney (2011) Torts Law Journal
  • Non-Justiciability in Australian Private International Law: A Lack of ‘Judicial Restraint’? (2009) Melbourne Journal of International Law
Accolades/rankings
  • Legal 500 Arbitration Powerlist: Hong Kong
  • The Legal 500 Asia Pacific – Greater China (2024 – 2025)
  • The Legal 500 Asia Pacific (2023)
  • Who’s Who Legal (2022 – 2025): national leader for arbitration in Mainland China and Hong Kong and global future leader
  • IFLR Asia-Pacific Awards (2022): rising star for commercial arbitration
  • Euromoney Legal Media Group (2022): rising star for commercial arbitration
Speaking Engagements
  • Incompatibility of Arbitration Clauses and Consolidation Risks, Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (March 2025)
  • Private Equity Disputes, Korean Commercial Arbitration Board (October 2024)
  • Summary Proceedings in Arbitration, Australian Arbitration Week (October 2024)
  • Navigating Procedural Issues in International Arbitration, The Centre for American and International Law (February 2024)
  • Emergency Arbitration: When Are Urgent Measures Necessary, Japan Arbitration Club (November 2023)
  • Exploring the Promise of Efficiency in Arbitration, Australian Arbitration Week (October 2023)
  • Common Countermeasures in Overseas Project Contracting, Shanghai International Arbitration Center (September 2023)
  • ESG in International Dispute Settlement, Shanghai Arbitration Commission (June 2023)
  • Interim Measures from Mainland Chinese Courts in Support of Hong Kong-seated Arbitrations, New York International Arbitration Center (November 2022)
  • Emergency Arbitration or Court Litigation: When is There a Choice? Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration (May 2022)
  • Appointment of Arbitrators in Multi-Party Arbitration: To Appoint or Not to Appoint? Asian International Arbitration Centre (March 2022)
  • Fraud in Arbitration: Overcoming Limitations on Tribunal Powers, Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (October 2021)
  • The Best Forum for Resolving Corporate Disputes: To Arbitrate or to Litigate? Australian Arbitration Week (October 2021)
  • Evidence in International Arbitration, ICC YAAF Global Forum (September 2021)
  • Document Production – Agreeing to Procedural Rules and Implementing Best Practices, Institute for Transnational Arbitration (June 2021)
  • Enforcing Judgments and Obtaining Interim Measures: Increased Co-operation Between Hong Kong and Mainland China, Zhong Lun Law Firm, Shanghai (November 2019)