Dear colleagues,

After over two decades with an international law firm having an exciting commercial practice, I have decided to leave legal practice to focus on arbitration and legal education, the two passions that I have been pursuing for many years. 

This is because I believe that arbitration is like major surgery.   It is often the last resort since it is a serious and high-risk treatment with many potential side effects.  However, sometimes it has to be done and in that case, it must be done with the utmost care and skill, the highest degree of precision and full concentration.  The operation should also be completed in the shortest time possible. 

For that reason, I have retired from legal practice in order to give the parties and institutions who appoint me my undivided attention.  Apart from ensuring the quality of each award,  this will allow me to dispose of the cases as quickly as possible.  

Being an arbitrator gives me the luxury of a relatively predictable timetable.  I will use that luxury to continue my law-teaching passion.  I can now teach more courses, coach more students and support more academic and other professional institutions.  I am a strong believer in the value of legal education, for both the legal profession and the community in general. Therefore, I hope I can continue to make a small contribution to the development of future generations of lawyers and arbitrators in Vietnam and the region. 

I look forward to being able to share any of the above interests with you in some way.     

Hop Dang (DPhil, Oxford)

Arbitrator at the SIAC, HKIAC, VIAC, KCAB, KLRCA 

Fellow of the Singapore Institute of Arbitrators

Founding Fellow of the International Academy of Construction Lawyers

Adjunct Assistant Professor, Law Faculty, National University of Singapore

Senior Fellow, Law Faculty, University of Melbourne