The ROAP Asia Finals bring to a close our advanced remote oral advocacy and cross-examination courses, by featuring the most persuasive and skilled participants on each course.

This year’s edition of ROAP Asia was dedicated to Cavinder Bull SC.

The outcome of the finals will be determined by a panel of world-class arbitrators consisting of Cavinder Bull SC (President), Alastair Henderson, and Jennifer Lim.

The event will take place in person at the Three Crowns offices in Singapore and live online on 28 August 2025 from 1.20pm to 6.20pm SGT. Provisional event programme:

• 1pm SGT – Welcome from the ROAP Asia Chairs Sae Youn Kim and Vyapak Desai, and introduction by the ROAP Asia 2025 Dedicatee, Cavinder Bull SC
• 1.10pm SGT – CROSS-EXAMINATION FINALS 
• 2.45pm SGT – ORAL SUBMISSIONS FINALS
• 4.20pm SGT – Tribunal decisions for both Finals
• 4.40pm SGT – Word of thanks

Register here for this event and other Delos news:

TRIBUNAL FOR ROAP ASIA 2025 FINALS

Cavinder Bull SC is the Chief Executive Officer of Drew & Napier. He has an active practice in complex litigation and international arbitration. He is engaged in trial and appellate advocacy at all levels of the Singapore Courts and appears as counsel in international arbitration in various countries. He is also co-head of the Competition Law & Regulatory Practice. Cavinder graduated with First Class Honours in law from Oxford University in 1992, winning the Bellot Prize for Public International Law from Trinity College. He was called to the Bar of England & Wales the following year, placing fourth in the Bar examinations. He returned to Singapore and passed the Singapore Bar exams, winning two prizes, including the prize for top candidates. Cavinder worked for the Chief Justice of Singapore as a Justices’ Law Clerk before joining Drew & Napier in 1994 as a litigation associate. In 1995, he was awarded the Lee Kuan Yew Scholarship and left for Harvard Law School where he received an LL.M. He passed the New York Bar exams and was admitted to practice in New York. Cavinder practiced as a litigation associate with Sullivan & Cromwell in New York until late 1997 when he returned to Singapore and Drew & Napier. He was made a partner of Drew & Napier in 1998 and a Director of the firm in May 2002. He was appointed Senior Counsel by the Chief Justice of Singapore in 2008, one of a handful accorded the honour before the age of 40.

Alastair Henderson has been based in Singapore and previously Bangkok since 1999 and he is deeply familiar with arbitration and dispute resolution throughout South and Southeast Asia. “Alastair is one of the guys who developed arbitration in Singapore in a big way” (Chambers legal directory).  Alastair represents clients in complex claims and disputes all over the world. He is ‘dynamic and authoritative but also down to earth and approachable [and] inspires confidence in clients‘ (Asia-Pacific Legal 500). He handles cases from many sectors and industries including construction, infrastructure, transport and energy projects; international commercial contract disputes; joint venture and shareholder cases; cross-border trading and investment disputes; and specialist areas of international law. His clients include governments, public bodies, international banks, and major regional and multinational companies. Alastair is also an active arbitrator and has served on tribunals throughout the region as sole arbitrator, co-arbitrator and presiding arbitrator.  He ‘draws praise as “a top-notch and efficient arbitrator”. Market commentators observe, “He has very sound judgement and is very commercially sophisticated”’ (Who’s Who Legal)  He is familiar with cases under the rules of the ICC, SIAC, HKIAC, AIAC (formerly KLRCA), LCIA, Thai Arbitration Institute, Thailand Arbitration Centre (THAC) and Indonesian National Arbitration Institute (BANI) as well as UNCITRAL rules and pure ad hoc cases.

Jennifer Lim focuses her practice on international dispute resolution and arbitration. She represents clients in investor-state and commercial arbitrations, including proceedings conducted under the ICSID, ICSID (Additional Facility), and UNCITRAL Rules, as well as ICC, HKIAC, SIAC, and LCIA arbitrations seated in Singapore, Hong Kong, New York, Washington, D.C. and London. Jennifer also sits as arbitrator under ICC, SIAC, LCIA and HKIAC rules. In addition, Jennifer has broad experience advising on general transnational litigation matters, including arbitration-related court proceedings, and complex cross-border disputes. Jennifer is also increasingly involved in advising companies on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues in the face of growing regulatory and litigation risks and speaks and writes on ESG topics. Since 2023, Jennifer has been recognised as a Lexology Index (formerly Who’s Who Legal) “Global Elite Thought Leader”, the highest accolade by the publication for outstanding lawyers aged 45 or under, and has been selected as a Lexology Index “International Arbitration Future Leader” since 2019 and recommended on the “Southeast Asia Arbitration” report since 2023. Clients describe her as “one of the best arbitration lawyers of her generation”, “[a] top arbitrator and a role model in the field who is confident by not showy” (2023), “a very thoughtful advocate who takes the time to uncover every aspect of a case” and a “brilliant lawyer who is gifted with both talent and a strong work ethic”. Jennifer was recognised as a “Future Star” in Singapore by Benchmark Litigation Asia Pacific 2024, named “Young Lawyer of the Year (Law Firm)” at the Asian Legal Business SE Asia Law Awards 2023, and was awarded “Arbitration Rising Star” by IFLR’s Women in Business Law APAC Awards 2023. She was also listed by Legal Media Group’s Expert Guides 2021 and 2022 as one of the “Rising Stars” in commercial arbitration and included in The Legal 500’s inaugural Arbitration Powerlist: Southeast Asia 2022. Prior to joining Chambers, Jennifer was a partner in the Singapore office of a leading international law firm. She also worked in the New York and Hong Kong offices of another global law firm and served as a law clerk to Judge Hisashi Owada and Judge Leonid Skotnikov at the International Court of Justice, The Hague, the Netherlands. Jennifer received a J.D. from Columbia Law School, where she was a James Kent Scholar, recipient of the David Berger Memorial Prize, and a senior editor of the American Review of International Arbitration. She received an LL.B. with First Class Honors from University College London in 2012. While in law school, Jennifer participated in the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition and remains the only person in the history of the competition to receive the Stephen M. Schwebel Award for “Best Oralist in the Championship Round” for two years in a row. Jennifer serves as the global Co-Chair of the YSIAC Council, is a member of the Law Society of Singapore’s Public and International Law Committee, Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee and ESG Working Group, and the ICC Task Force “Addressing Issues of Corruption in International Arbitration”. From 2023 to 2024, she served on the ICC Singapore Arbitration Group’s Empowerment Committee. From 2018 to 2020, she served on the HK45 Committee. From 2014 to 2016, she was a member of the International Law Committee of the New York City Bar Association. She also served on the Program Committee for the 2016 Annual Meeting of the American Society of International Law. Jennifer teaches a course on international disputes in the energy sector as Adjunct Teaching Mentor at the Singapore Management University. She has also lectured at Hanoi Law University and the National University of Singapore and publishes and speaks regularly on international dispute resolution. Jennifer sits on the Peer Review Board of the Asian International Arbitration Centre Alternative Dispute Resolution Journal and is an Assistant Editor of the Singapore Arbitration Journal, a joint initiative by the Singapore Institute of Arbitrators and the Singapore Academy of Law. Jennifer is qualified to practise in Singapore, New York, England & Wales (solicitor) and Hong Kong (solicitor, non-practising). She is bilingual in English and Mandarin Chinese.

FINALISTS

Forthcoming