Sameer Thakur is a Counsel with Peter & Kim. He practices out of the firm’s Seoul and Singapore offices. Sameer’s experience as counsel and Tribunal Secretary includes participation in over 20 international arbitrations (both commercial and investor-state) conducted under the auspices of all major arbitral institutions (ICC, ICSID, PCA, HKIAC, SIAC, KCAB, JCAA). He has acted as counsel in over 10 merits hearings, where he conducts his own advocacy and assists senior partners as second chair.
He has represented parties in disputes across industry sectors, including but not limited to construction projects, pharmaceuticals, gas-price disputes, disputes arising from the cryptocurrency industry, energy (including renewables and nuclear power), shipbuilding, and post-M&A disputes. In ISDS disputes, he has experience acting for both investors and states.
Sameer publishes widely in leading publications on international commercial law. He recently acted as Associate Editor for “Post-award Interest in the Asia Pacific”, a treatise with contributions from some of the world’s leading lawyers, and is currently developing the first commentary on the KCAB International Arbitration Rules (to be published by Kluwer).
Sameer is equally comfortable and familiar with common and civil law traditions, having trained and practiced law in Korea, Germany, India, the United States and Hong Kong. When in law school, Sameer finished as runners-up at the Vis (East) Moot in Hong Kong in 2017. He remains involved with the moot, acting as coach and arbitrator.
- Peter & Kim, Senior Associate (2025 – Present)
- Peter & Kim, Foreign Attorney (2021 – 2024)
- Bae, Kim & Lee, International Arbitration Team, Foreign Attorney (2020)
- Columbia Law School (LL.M., 2025)
- BA-LLB (Hons.) NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad, India
- Senior Secondary Education: The Air Force School (2015)
- Successfully represented a leading Korean manufacturer of plastic packaging goods in an ICC Arbitration against a British multinational corporation (seated in Singapore, Korean law governed).
- Acted as Counsel for a leading retailer of low-cost goods in a JCAA Arbitration against a major Japanese conglomerate where the value in dispute was over 1 billion USD. The dispute was settled with terms favourable for the client (seated in Seoul, Japanese law).
- Acted as Counsel for a Korean corporation in an investment treaty dispute against a North African state being administered by the PCA.
- Acting as Counsel for an East Asian state in an investment treaty dispute brought by a North American investor under the ICSID Convention.
- Acting as Counsel for a South Asian state in an investment treaty dispute, administered by ICSID, brought by Asian investors.
- Successfully acted as Counsel for a Korean corporation in a SIAC Arbitration arising from the development of a thermal power plant in the Philippines. This case involved one of the first instances where emergency relief was granted under the SIAC Rules in an arbitration clause involving mandatory pre-arbitral steps (seated in Singapore, New York law governed).
- Editor, India Newsletter, Court of Arbitration of the ICC
- Member, Steering Committee, Young-International Arbitration and Mediation Centre
- A Guide to KCAB Arbitration, with Sophie Oh, Forthcoming, Kluwer Law International
- Associate Editor, Post-Award Interest in the Asia Pacific, 2023, Kluwer Law International
- Republic of Korea chapter in Post-Award Interest in the Asia Pacific, with Mr. Mino Han, Kluwer Law International, 2023
- Buyer’s Obligation to Comply with Payment Regulations under Article 54 of the CISG, Vindobona Journal for International Commercial Law and Arbitration (Edition 21, November 2017)
- Commencement under the CAM-CCBC Rules: A case for clarity, Young Arbitration Review (Edition 28, January 2018)
- Appointment, Independence and Impartiality and Removal of Arbitrators under the BCDR Rules, as Research Assistant, Volume 4, Issue 2. (BCDR Arbitration Review)
- Nothing Changes if Nothing Changes: An Introduction to the 2021 ICC Rules of Arbitration with Mr. Abhinav Bhushan, Kluwer Arbitration Blog (October 27, 2020)