Career Highlights

 

  • Scholarship winner and holder of undergraduate and postgraduate degrees from Oxford University, 1962-1966
  • Partner, Allen & Gledhill, Singapore for over 30 years.
  • Admitted to practice in Singapore, England and Wales, West Malaysia and Victoria, Australia.
  • Judicial Commissioner, Supreme Court of Singapore, 1991-1992
  • Senior Counsel, Supreme Court of Singapore since 1997
  • United Nations Compensation Commissioner (Geneva), 2000 - 2003
  • Deputy Chief Justice, Dubai International Financial Centre Courts since 2005-2010.
  • Chief Justice, Dubai International Financial Centre Courts since 2010
  • President, Law Society of Singapore, 2008-2010.
  • Singapore's Non-Resident Ambassador to Switzerland since 2003.
  • Vice Chairman, International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (Paris) since 2006-2009
  • Vice President, International Council of Commercial Arbitration 2002 - 2010
  • Vice Chairman, International Bar Association, Arbitration Committee D, 2001 - 2003
  • Member, Permanent Court of Arbitration (The Hague) 1995 - 2010
  • Member, ICSID Panel of Arbitrators (Washington DC) since 2000
  • Member, HKIAC Court of Arbitration since 2001
  • Council Member, International Council of Arbitration for Sports since 2006
  • Trustee, Dubai International Arbitration Centre since 2007
  • Council Member, Singapore Institute of Arbitrators 2005-2006
  • Member, Executive Committee of the lnstitute of Transnational Arbitration, (Dallas) 2002 - 2008
  • Member, IBA Working Party on "Guidelines on Conflicts of lnterest in International Arbitration" 2001 - 2004
  • Member, HKIAC Advisory Council since 2009
  • Member, Council of Advisers of SIAC since 2009

Qualifications as arbitrator

  • Accredited Arbitrator of more than 20 international and national arbitration centres
  • Chartered Arbitrator
  • Fellow, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators
  • Fellow, Singapore Institute of Arbitrators

Qualifications as mediator

  • Mediator and Evaluator, Singapore Mediation Centre

Academic and Editorial Appointments

  • Adjunct Professor, National University of Singapore since 2005
  • Member, Advisory Board of the Faculty of Law, Singapore Management University since 2007
  • Member, Advisory Board of the Journal of International Arbitration since 2006
  • Editorial Adviser to the Chinese Arbitration Association Journal of Arbitration, Taipei since 2001
  • Associate Editor, online arbitration journal "Transnational Dispute Management" since 2005
  • Member, Editorial Board of "Global Arbitration Review" since 2005
  • Singapore Correspondent, Kluwer Arbitration Website since 2002
  • Member, Advisory Committee of the Journal of Arab Arbitration since 2009
  • Guest Lecturer for:
    • Chartered Institute of Arbitrators Entry, Fast Track and Diploma courses in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta and Hong Kong (2000 - 2007)
    • National University of Singapore - King's College London MSc in Construction and Arbitration Law (2004 - 2008)
    • Singapore International Arbitration Centre - Panel of Arbitrators Training Course (2005)
    • ICC Course on ICC arbitration, Bangkok (2005)
    • Sophia University, Tokyo (2005)
    • Course Director, Singapore Institute of Arbitrators Fellowship course (2006 - 2007)
    • King's College London-Dubai International Arbitration Centre - Advanced Course in International Arbitration Dubai (2006-2008)
    • International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR) Symposium, Singapore (2007)
    • University of Lucerne, Switzerland (2008)
    • Swiss Arbitration Academy, Zurich (2010)
    • City University, Hong Kong (2010)
    • Hong Kong University, Hong Kong(2010)
    • Singapore Management University (2011)

Commendations

  • Listed in "The International Who's Who of Commercial Arbitration (2005)" as "Singapore's leading lawyer for commercial arbitration expertise"
  • Listed in Global Arbitration Review (2006) as Asia's top arbitrator
  • Named in PLC Which Lawyer (Yearbook 2008) as "Sole practitioner Michael Hwang is another pre-eminent expert, especially in arbitration, where he competes with some of the best-known local and international firms for instructions" and ranks him as one of the four leading dispute resolution practitioners in Singapore
  • Named in Who's Who Legal 2008 (Commercial Arbitration) as "the most highly nominated individual" in (the Directory's Singapore) research a "quite outstanding lawyer having received multiple nominations from within Singapore and overseas" and an "illustrious figure in the local market" who "has a practical sense and a wealth of knowledge"
  • Named in Chambers Asia 2008 as "a world - class arbitrator" who is "brilliant, popular, prominent, incisive and decisive" and "always one of the first names to be mentioned ... in regional arbitration"
  • Named in Who's Who Legal 2008 (Commercial Litigation) as one of 7 recommended litigators for Singapore
  • Named in PLC Cross-Border Dispute Resolution Handbook 2008/9 as one of the 3 top dispute resolution practitioners in Singapore
  • Described in Asia Pacific Legal 500 2008/9 as "in terms of diversity of cases and sheer academics prowess, there is no finer Senior Counsel working in Singapore today"
  • Listed in The Best of the Best 2009 as one of the top 38 international commercial arbitration practitioners in the world
  • Guide to the World's Leading Commercial Arbitration Experts (8th Ed, 2009) describes him as having received personal nominations for inclusion placing him in the world's top 15 in this field.
  • Named in "PLC Which Lawyer (14th Ed) Yearbook 2009" as one of the 3 top (leading) individual dispute resolution practitioners in Singapore
  • Described in "Who's Who Legal - Commercial Arbitration 2010" as "very meticulous, versatile and a household name"
  • Name in "Guide to the World's Leading Litigation Lawyers (9th Ed)" as one of Singapore's leading litigation lawyers
  • Named in "The International Who's Who of Construction Lawyers 2010" as being among 421 of the world's leading construction lawyers
  • Named in "Asialaw Leading Lawyers 2010" as one of the most highly acclaimed legal experts in the Asia Pacific region following an extensive survey of senior corporate executives, in-house counsel and private practice lawyers
  • Named in "Guide to the World's Leading White Collar Crime Lawyers (5th Ed, 2010)" as one of the recommended lawyers for Singapore
  • Named in "Finance Monthly" as "Arbitration Law Firm of the Year Singapore" for 2010
  • "Chambers Asia 2010" ranks him in Band No 1 for arbitrators in Asia, and describes him as "he put Singapore on the arbitration map - he is a doyen of the scene, with tremendous breadth of knowledge and a sensible, reliable and innovative approach"
  • Named in Dealmakers Annual Awards 2010 as award winner in the categories of "Commercial Arbitration Law Firm of the Year" and "Business Crime Law Firm of the Year"
  • "Chambers Asia-Pacific 2011" describes him as "He has a formidable reputation and is regarded as an 'extraordinary, standout arbitrator' with a controlled approach to arbitration which 'gets everybody working together rather than against each other and makes things much better from the perspective of getting the right result'...He is a highly respected figure in the [litigation] market, praised by market sources as "one of the brightest, most brilliant minds in Singapore".
  • "Global Arbitration Review" named him as one of the 7 short-listed candidates for the Inaugural GAR "Arbitrator of the Year" award for 2011
  • Selected by peers for inclusion in the 3rd Edition of "Best Lawyers" listed for Singapore in the areas of Arbitration , Mediation and Litigation for 2011
  • Named in PLC Cross-Border Dispute Resolution Book 2011/2012" as one of the leading lawyers for Singapore
  • Named in "The Best of the Best 2011" as one of the top 39 commercial arbitration practitioners in the world