DE DAMNIS: HONG KONG 2026
Save the Date: Tuesday, 20 October 2026 | Hong Kong
Following the inaugural De Damnis: Lisbon in 2023, DELOS is delighted to bring this landmark damages event to Hong Kong this October for its second edition.
De Damnis 2026: Hong Kong will take place in the afternoon of Tuesday 20 October at the China Club. For those who have registered for the Kaplan Lecture, you will then be able to stay on through networking drinks and enjoy the lecture in the evening.
Building on the foundation of the Delos Damages MOOC, our self-paced training initiative, designed for counsel and arbitrators to build a practitioner-understanding of quantum, valuation, and financial analysis in international arbitration, De Damnis will bridge cutting-edge theory with real-world dispute practice.
The programme for the event is as follows:
3.20pm Registration
3.50-4.00pm Welcome & Introductions [10mn]
by Dianna Shao (Clifford Chance), James Nicholson (FTI), and Hafez Virjee (Delos Dispute Resolution)
4.00-4.50pm De Damnis Panel [50mn] Topic: Valuing Minority Shareholdings in Disputes: When Should Discounts Apply?
- Panellists: Matthew Hodgson (Linklaters), Paula Kay (Harneys), Arthur Ma (DaHui Lawyers)
- Moderator: Dianna Shao (Clifford Chance)
4.50-5.50pm De Damnis Debate [60mn] Motion: “This House believes that, in a DCF, risk should be accounted for in the cash flows rather than the discount rate“
- Debaters: Ronnie Barnes (Cornerstone), Lucas Bastin KC (Duxton Hill Chambers), Braden Billiet (FTI Consulting), Tsegaye Laurendeau (Signature Litigation)
- Jury: Alastair Henderson (Henderson Arbitration), Helen Tang (HSF Kramer), and Edward Taylor (A&O Shearman)
The event will be followed by cocktails.
You can read short bios of the speakers below.
Register here to attend this event, and for other DELOS news:
Meet the speakers
Click on a speaker to read their biography.
Welcome and introduction
Dianna ShaoClifford Chance · MC & Moderator
Dianna is of Counsel in Clifford Chance’s Litigation and Dispute Resolution practice in Hong Kong. She is admitted in Hong Kong and New South Wales, Australia.
She specialises in international commercial arbitration with a focus on corporate M&A and private equity disputes. She regularly represents leading private equity firms, financial institutions, and global corporations in multi-jurisdictional disputes, including arbitrations under the HKIAC, SIAC, CIETAC and UNCITRAL Rules.
Dianna is a contributor to the Arbitration and ADR Volume of Hong Kong Civil Procedure (or “White Book”).
James NicholsonFTI Consulting
James Nicholson has consulted for more than 25 years on matters of finance, strategy, and economics. Since 2005, James’ work has primarily involved acting as an expert witness on issues of the identification and quantification of lost profits and wasted costs, and the valuation of businesses and financial assets including shareholdings.
On 65 occasions he has testified before or been appointed as a neutral by the high courts of the Cayman Islands, Eastern Caribbean, England and Wales, Malaysia, and Singapore, and before the Singapore International Commercial Court and commercial and investment treaty arbitration tribunals (20 times).
James is co-chair of the Delos Damages MOOC launched in March 2023, is a member of the ICC Commission on Arbitration and ADR and the Executive Committee of the Foundation for International Arbitration Advocacy (FIAA), from 2014 to 2021 was President of the Standing Committee of the ICC’s International Centre for ADR, and has been cited on a point of valuation by the Swiss Federal Supreme Court.
Since 2015, James has been identified by Lexology (formerly Who’s Who Legal) as one of the five to ten ‘Most Highly Regarded Individuals’ and ‘Global Elite Thought Leaders’ in Asia and previously Europe in its listings of the leading expert witnesses active in international arbitration. Lexology’s 2025 edition quotes clients as saying: “James does stellar work“, and “He’s a hugely impressive operator”. Previous editions reported: “He displays great attention to detail and the ability to digest vast dockets and organise them in a tribunal-friendly manner“; and “His performance on the stand is exceptional“.
Before relocating to Singapore in 2019, James founded and led for 12 years FTI’s 20-strong Paris disputes team.
James is a CFA Charterholder and was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to study for a Master in Public Policy degree at the Harvard Kennedy School. James was awarded first class honours in his BA from Oxford University in Philosophy, Politics and Economics.
See also here, and follow on LinkedIn.
Hafez VirjeeDELOS
Hafez R. Virjee is the President and a co-Founder of Delos. Hafez also serves as an independent arbitrator at Virjee Arbitration, having acted for many years prior as counsel. The parties in his cases have spanned the range of listed companies, private equity firms, tech start-ups, industrial concerns, State entities and treaty organisations, in disputes across a wide range of sectors and relationships, including shareholder agreements, joint-ventures, agency, M&A, telecommunications, tech, energy, pharmaceutical, construction and defence. Hafez is a solicitor of England & Wales and also qualified in France. He was previously at Dechert in Paris (with a secondment to Dubai in 2015) and prior to that at Freshfields in London. He co-edits the Delos Guide to Arbitration Places (GAP) and regularly writes and speaks on international arbitration and legal risk management. He holds degrees from the University of Cambridge (M.A.), the Université Paris – Panthéon-Assas (Maîtrise) and the University of California – Berkeley (LL.M.). He is listed as an arbitration leader by Who’s Who Legal in multiple categories.
The De Damnis Panel
Matthew HodgsonLinklaters
Matthew is a Partner in Linklaters’ International Arbitration Group in London. He specialises in complex disputes arising from cross-border investments. He has appeared as counsel and advocate in high stakes commercial arbitrations under all major arbitral rules. He has also acted for investors and States in more than 20 investment treaty disputes under the ICSID and UNCITRAL Rules. He has sat as arbitrator in HKIAC, ICC, LCIA and SIAC claims.
Matthew represents clients in a broad range of sectors including energy and infrastructure, life sciences, oil & gas, mining, real estate, technology and telecommunications. He has acted for private equity and funds clients in numerous claims arising out of M&A transactions and joint venture / shareholder disputes.
He is a Solicitor Advocate, with Higher Rights of Audience before the Senior Courts of England & Wales and the Courts of Hong Kong, and a New York attorney. During 2014-2022 he was based in Hong Kong. He was named Dispute Resolution Lawyer of the Year in 2021 by Asian Legal Business.
Matthew is recognised as a leading arbitration practitioner by Chambers & Partners, Legal 500 and Who’s Who Legal, which also ranks him as a “Thought Leader”. Chambers has commented that “He has a real knack for taking a bird’s-eye view and thinking strategically and laterally about a problem, and has a way of making the academic practical.”
Paula KayHarneys
Paula Kay is a partner and the Head of Litigation in Hong Kong. Her practice focusses on high value, multi-jurisdictional shareholder disputes in offshore companies listed in Hong Kong or the US. Her practice includes unfair prejudice claims, funds/redemption disputes, contested probate disputes oppression claims and just & equitable windings up, as well as dissenting shareholder claims following “take-privates”. She regularly advises upon and attends contentious EGMs for both listed and non-listed companies and advises companies and buyer consortiums on litigation risk during M&A transactions. She also has particular expertise in obtaining freezing injunctions simultaneously across jurisdictions, working with large legal teams, often including multiple KCs.
Before joining Harneys, Paula gained extensive litigation experience working in litigation practices in international law firms in Australia and London for over nine years. She advised companies in the financial services industry in relation to proceedings against banks, directors and officers, accountants and other professionals. Paula is also admitted as a solicitor in the BVI, England and Wales and Queensland.
Arthur MaDaHui Lawyers
Biography to follow.
The De Damnis Debate
Ronnie BarnesCornerstone Research · For the motion
Ronnie Barnes heads Cornerstone Research’s international arbitration and litigation practice. He also coheads the firm’s valuation, M&A, and bankruptcy practice.
Dr. Barnes is an expert in accounting, damages, and valuation. He specializes in cases that raise complex valuation issues, including the estimation of the cost of capital, the determination of country risk premia, and the valuation of complex financial instruments such as derivatives and structured finance products. Lexology Index (formerly Who’s Who Legal) has recognized Dr. Barnes as a leading expert witness in legal arbitration and a Global Leader in assessing the quantum of damages in the financial advisory and valuation field.
Dr. Barnes has provided written and oral testimony in a number of litigation and arbitration matters in the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, South Africa, and internationally. He has addressed such topics as the tax treatment of hire purchase contracts; the quantum of damages in commercial disputes; the economic equivalence of different financial derivatives; the cost of capital in the contexts of a competition enquiry and valuation disputes; the use of derivatives in alleged share price manipulation; and stock market efficiency in shareholder actions.
In addition to serving as a testifying expert, Dr. Barnes leads teams that support academic and practitioner experts. In this capacity, he has worked on numerous matters related to financial institutions and financial products. He has addressed issues related to the analysis of damages stemming from alleged misrepresentations and omissions in corporate disclosures, as well as other matters requiring sophisticated accounting, financial, and/or economic analysis.
Dr. Barnes has published research on a range of topics, notably cross-border valuation, valuation methodologies, damages, and the role of economic and econometric analyses in damages assessments. He has authored or coauthored multiple articles, as well as chapters in leading reference books on international arbitration.
A UK-qualified chartered accountant, Dr. Barnes previously held positions in accounting and investment banking firms, as well as a consulting firm and academia. He has more than a decade of experience teaching courses in corporate finance, accounting, and valuation, among other topics.
He is also a member of faculty for the Delos Damages MOOC.
Tsegaye LaurendeauSignature Litigation · For the motion
Tsegaye is a Partner at Signature’s London office specialising in international arbitration.
With over 15 years’ experience in international arbitrations as counsel, Tsegaye represents international corporates, States and State-owned entities in commercial and investment treaty arbitrations conducted pursuant to the arbitration rules of many of the major arbitration institutions including the LCIA, ICC, ICSID, CRCICA, HKIAC and UNCITRAL.
Tsegaye has a particular focus in disputes involving complex corporate structures, financial products, accounting and tax issues and matters relating to quantum. Tsegaye’s has significant experience in disputes concerning joint ventures, M&A, investment funds and international financing disputes. His expertise primarily lies in the energy sector (oil & gas, nuclear), commodities, infrastructure, mining, technology and telecoms industries.
Tsegaye is particularly known for his expertise in Africa although his experience over the years spans many geographical regions including MENA, South America and Eastern Europe (former Soviet Bloc).
While Tsegaye’s practice focuses exclusively on international arbitration, he began his career in the Project Finance group of a magic circle firm, acting for financial institutions and international corporates in relation to the financing and development of large energy and infrastructure projects in the MENA region and Sub-Saharan Africa.
In July 2024, Tsegaye was elected as a member of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Court for the 2024-2027 mandate. This prestigious role creates an important opportunity to collaborate with top professionals in the field of international arbitration and to contribute to the global business community alongside the ICC, one of the world’s leading arbitration institutions.
In January 2024, Tsegaye was appointed to the P.R.I.M.E. Finance Panel of experts/arbitrators. P.R.I.M.E. Finance stands for the Panel of Recognised International Market Experts in Finance, an innovative international collaborative organisation, which was launched in 2012 with the aim of assisting with the resolution of disputes concerning complex financial products and which has quickly gained recognition in the space of international arbitration. P.R.I.M.E. Finance launched bespoke Arbitration Rules for a wide range of financial disputes in 2022.
Tsegaye’s international arbitration practice increasingly includes appointments as arbitrator, both as sole and co-arbitrator.
Tsegaye is ranked in The Legal 500 UK 2026 Guide as a ‘Next Generation Partner’ for international arbitration, and is described as “truly outstanding”, with one commentator praising his “ability to analyse the key drivers in a disputes situation quickly and devise and implement an effective strategy.”
A previous Guide called him “a litigation powerhouse”, who is “commercial in his approach to problem solving” and “open and honest regarding the prospects of success in any case.”
Tsegaye also features in The Legal 500 International Arbitration Powerlist UK, which showcases the UK’s leading arbitration practitioners.
Tsegaye is Recommended for arbitration in the Lexology Index. Peers and clients say he is “one of the best arbitration lawyers of his generation.”
Prior to joining Signature Litigation, Tsegaye was a partner at international arbitration boutique law firm Gaillard Banifatemi Shelbaya Disputes, and before that he was a member of Shearman & Sterling’s international arbitration group where he practiced for over ten years, first in Paris, then in London from 2015.
Tsegaye is admitted as a solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales and to the Paris Bar.
He is a fluent English speaker and a native speaker of Amharic and French. He is also conversant in Spanish.
Lucas Bastin KCDuxton Hill Chambers · Against the motion
Lucas Bastin KC is a leading silk in international arbitration and State immunity and Award enforcement litigation. He has led dozens of investment and commercial arbitrations, and is a regularly-instructed silk in Award enforcement proceedings involving sovereigns in English courts, including several cases before the UK Supreme Court. He has a particular specialism in damages and quantification of loss, having led very large quantum exercises in investment arbitrations, commercial arbitrations and court litigation. He also sits as arbitrator and serves on the SIAC Court of Arbitration and the ICSID Panel of Arbitrators, among others.
Braden BillietFTI Consulting · Against the motion
Braden Billiet is a Senior Managing Director at FTI Consulting. He leads FTI’s Economic & Financial Consulting practice in Korea, where he has spent the last 9 years. From November, he will be based in Hong Kong.
Braden specializes in valuation and the assessment of complex damages in cases of litigation and international arbitration. He has been appointed as an expert in M&A, joint venture, business interruption, expropriation, manufacturing and distribution and licensing disputes, and he has given oral testimony in investment treaty, commercial arbitration and court proceedings. In addition, he has managed valuations and prepared reports for a range of other matters, contentious and non-contentious.
Braden has been recognized as a leading expert witness in Who’s Who Legal: Arbitration each year since 2019, in which he has also been selected as a Thought Leader. He was also recognized with a Lexology Client Choice awards for excellent client care and quality of service.
Braden has worked across a wide range of industries, including automobiles, banking, chemicals, computer games, construction, consumer goods, energy and power, hospitality, infrastructure, insurance, oil and gas, pharmaceuticals, telecoms and tobacco in cases before the courts of Bahrain, Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, Singapore and the UK, as well as in CIETAC, HKIAC, ICC, ICSID, JCAA, KCAB, PCA, SIAC, UNCITRAL and VIAC arbitrations and in mediations.
Braden holds a B.A. in Economics with a minor in International Relations from Cornell University and an M.Phil. in Finance from the University of Cambridge. He is a CFA Charterholder, a CAIA Charterholder, a CVA Charterholder and a Member of CIArb.
Jury
Alastair HendersonHenderson Arbitration
Alastair Henderson is an independent arbitrator based in Singapore, with more than 30 years of experience in complex international dispute resolution.
He is widely recognised as a ‘top-notch and efficient arbitrator’ and a member of the ‘international arbitration hall of fame’. He currently serves on the Singapore International Arbitration Centre’s Court of Arbitration and is regarded as one of the region’s ‘arbitration elite’.
Previously a partner at Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer, Alastair led the firm’s arbitration practice across Southeast Asia. He now practices independently as an arbitrator, while continuing as a consultant to the firm. His appointments are conducted separately from the firm to ensure independence and avoid conflicts.
He works on cases around the world, with particular experience across South and Southeast Asia. He is familiar with civil and common law systems and is experienced under major international arbitral rules. He also works regularly with the main regional arbitration institutions in Southeast Asia and in ad hoc arbitrations.
Alastair understands that parties value efficiency, clarity, and thoughtful engagement from the tribunal. He is committed to being available, responsive, and fully engaged throughout every stage of the case.
Helen TangHSF Kramer
Helen Tang advises Chinese state-owned and privately owned enterprises, multinational corporations, financial institutions and PE funds on cross-border contentious matters, with a special focus on international arbitration.
Helen has represented clients in arbitration proceedings seated in Beijing, Hong Kong, London, New York, Shanghai and Singapore under CIETAC, HKIAC, ICC, LCIA, SIAC and UNCITRAL rules. She sits as an arbitrator in arbitration cases administered under SHIAC and HKIAC rules.
Helen also plays an active role in the global arbitration community. She serves as a vice chair on the ICC commission for Arbitration and Alternative Dispute Resolution since 2022, and as a vice-chair of the IBA Arbitration Committee since 2026. She is a member of the HKIAC Council and sits on the HKIAC proceedings committee.
Edward TaylorA&O Shearman
Edward represents and advises companies, States and State-owned entities in commercial and investment treaty disputes. He has acted on multiple landmark disputes across Asia and internationally.
Edward has extensive experience resolving disputes involving private capital, technology, joint ventures, M&A, finance, energy and infrastructure. He regularly represents parties in HKIAC, SIAC, ICC and LCIA arbitration proceedings, including Emergency Arbitrator proceedings. In addition to his counsel work, Edward sits as arbitrator.
Edward is a member of the HKIAC’s Proceedings Committee and a Fellow of CIArb and HKIArb. He is recognised as a Leading Partner for International Arbitration by Legal 500 Asia Pacific, Hong Kong 2026 and ranked as a leading Hong Kong Commercial Litigation and Disputes Resolution Lawyer by Doyle’s Guide 2026. Edward has also been named as an Arbitration Future Leader by Lexology since 2025, and featured in ALB’s Hong Kong Rising Star 2025 and the 40 Under 40 Lawyers’ List 2024. He was also named a Rising Star in The A-List by China Business Law Journal 2025–26 and featured in the inaugural Legal 500 Arbitration Private Practice Powerlists 2023 for Mainland China and Hong Kong.
In addition to his arbitration work, Edward represents parties in general commercial litigation and arbitration-related court proceedings as well as expert determination, mediation and dispute review board procedures.
Edward is dual-qualified in England & Wales (solicitor advocate) and Hong Kong (solicitor).




