David Isidore Tan
David is a Partner in Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP’s International Arbitration and Construction & Projects Practice.
He has experience with litigation in the Singapore courts, as well as arbitration and arbitration-related court proceedings involving SIAC, ICC, UNCITRAL and LCIA arbitrations (both commercial and investor- State). His matters have concerned projects, joint ventures, intellectual property rights, and other commercial and civil disputes. He has been described as “hardworking”, “always up to date on the research”, and “always taking the initiative for efficient case management” (The Legal 500 Asia Pacific, 2024).
David is the author / a co-author of various articles on international commercial and investor-State arbitration, and a co-drafter of the CIArb Guidelines for Witness Conferencing in International Arbitration (with Explanatory Notes) (named the ‘Best Innovation by an Individual or Organisationʼ at the 2019 GAR Awards). He is currently an Assistant Editor for Technology with Kluwer Arbitration Blog. He previously worked in Seoul, South Korea seconded as a foreign lawyer to the International Arbitration & Cross-Border Litigation Group of one of the largest law firms in South Korea.
He graduated with an LL.M. in International Business Regulation, Litigation and Arbitration from New York University in 2016, graduating in the same year with an LL.B. Hons from the National University of Singapore.
He has won international and national prizes for his writing and advocacy. This includes winning the Christopher Bathurst Essay Prize, the CIArb International Arbitration Competition (Singapore branch), an Honourable Mention for the Nappert Prize in International Arbitration, and the Advocacy Cup. While in university, he was awarded the HL Wee Scholarship for his interest in and ability for advocacy.