David Ashley Southern
Year of Call
2014 Barrister (Hong Kong)
2011 Solicitor (Hong Kong)
Practice Areas
Arbitration
Commercial Litigation
Criminal Law
Employment Law
Family Law
Contact Information
A: 3102, Tower Two, Lippo Centre,
89 Queensway, Admiralty, Hong Kong
E: davidsouthern@qedchambers.com
P: +852 2950 6991
F: +852 2406 9366
Background
David has held positions both in private practice and in-house as General Counsel of a multinational business. He qualified as a solicitor in Hong Kong at an international law firm, worked at several international law firms in South-East Asia and joined the bar to focus on advocacy.
Details
Academic Qualifications
2022 Oxford Diploma in International Commercial Arbitration (CIArb)
2009 Chinese University of Hong Kong, Post Graduate Certificate of Laws (PCLL)
2005 Cardiff University, Master of Laws, Shipping Law (LL.M.)
2003 University of Liverpool, Bachelor of Laws (LL.B. (Hons))
Judicial, Statutory Body, and/or Other Appointments
2024 Member of the East Asia branch of Chartered Institute of Arbitrators
2022 Thailand Arbitration Centre Panel of Arbitrators
Memberships & Accreditation
2023 Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb)
Languages Spoken
English
Notable Cases
INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION
Construction (On Shore and Off Shore)
Advised, negotiated, and represented on all matters about the securing of the delivery of a gas drilling rig (topside module) to a contractor based in Dubai from a contractee based in Thailand in a dispute concerning circa US$100 million.
Represented a client based in Saudi Arabia who is the CEO of a construction company in a dispute with a Korean contractee on a multi-million-dollar construction project in Saudi Arabia.
Fintech
Represented a cryptocurrency marketing company, specializing in crowd sale and ICO events, in a cross-border dispute over a failure to a digital asset exchange in the EU.
International Trade Disputes
Lawyer for the Claimant from Dubai in an international trade dispute in international arbitration proceedings at THAC under Thai law in a claim against a trading company for breach of contract.
Lawyer for the Claimant on an ICC arbitration Case, seated in California and governed under Californian law, in a multi-million US dollar international sales of goods arbitration. Represented the Claimant which was a Middle Eastern trading company in a claim for over 1.3 million US Dollars for breach of an international sales of goods contract by a Thai manufacturing company.
Arbitration Lawyer for a Singapore ad-hoc arbitration for breach of a multi-million US Dollar international sale of goods arbitration for the Claimant Offshore Construction Disputes.
Renewable Energy Disputes
Advised on a billion-baht dispute involving a renewable energy power plant under TAI arbitration.
M&A Disputes
Advised on a contractual dispute arising over the breach of a 15 million USD Term Sheet to purchase a renewable power plan in Vietnam with choice of law for Singapore law and arbitration at SIAC.
Media & Content Companies
Negotiating a high-stake multimillion-dollar dispute between a major global broadcasting and a content company under a HKIAC arbitration agreement.
Shipping
Represented a Thai company in an international dispute with a shipping company that refused to release goods worth over US$1.2 million, shipped from Hong Kong to a destination port in Turkey, to the true notify party, in a case involving fraudulent agents.
CROSS-BORDER LITIGATION
Intellectual Property Disputes
Represented a UK client, which is a high-profile tech company, in a trademark dispute against a competitor company.
Banking & Finance Disputes
Represented and advised a Dominican-registered offshore bank in negotiating the settlement of a multi-million-dollar dispute by investors against it.
Publications
A list of David’s publications can found in his LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidasouthern/
He has published articles and added to textbook commentaries for the following jurisdictions and topics:
HONG KONG
Company Law
Crime
Employment
Insolvency
Securities
Shipping
THAILAND
Arbitration
Data Protection
Fintech
Medical Cannabis
