Paul Tan is a partner in the Singapore office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP.  Mr. Tan specializes in international arbitration (both commercial and investor state), international litigation and arbitration-related litigation.  He leads the arbitration practice for the firm in Asia.

His practice focuses on managing complex, high-value disputes across Asia, involving issues of public and private international law.  He acts for leading corporations, global insurers, financial institutions, funds and Asian governments across a range of industries and concerns, including telecoms, natural resources, technology and media, oil and gas, construction and real estate, private equity, banking and financial institutions and ESG.  He has been appointed an expert on Singapore law, and sits as an arbitrator in SIAC and ICC cases.

Mr. Tan is ranked and recognized by all major legal publications, including:

• Legal 500 Asia Pacific – ranked “leading individual” – “one of the best lawyers in Singapore and the best candidate whom you can entrust the most critical cases to”; “incredibly bright”; “an absolute star”; “known outside Asia as a first–rate lawyer in investor-state disputes right through to construction cases”; “highly intelligent”; “knows the arbitration space”; “has the ear of the tribunal and clients”; and “accessible, thoughtful, legally creative while being commercially sensitive.”
• Legal 500 Powerlist for Southeast Asia
• Asialaw’s Disputes Star of the Year – Singapore (winner in 2016)
• Who’s Who Legal for international arbitration, asset recovery and litigation (Global and Southeast Asian lists) – “very sharp, easy to work with, grasps issues quickly”
• Chambers Asia-Pacific and Chambers Global – highly ranked in Dispute Resolution: Arbitration and Dispute Resolution: Litigation for Singapore – “As good as anybody I’d worked with in Singapore”; “a standout and gifted advocate”; “runs circles around the opponents”; “ability to think tactically and anticipate the moves of the opposing party”; “responsive and a very serious intellectual lawyer known for dealing with difficult problems”; “forces the other side to rethink their strategy”; “combines a thorough approach to legal analysis with practical arbitration know-how”; and “a well-regarded adviser in international matters.”
• Who’s Who Legal – Future Leaders – highest-ranked of the most highly-regarded arbitration partners in Asia (2018, 2019)
• Benchmark Litigation – ranked a “star” for arbitration and litigation
• Best Lawyers – ranked for arbitration and litigation

In addition, Mr. Tan has previously been named “Top 40 Most Influential Lawyers under 40” (Singapore Business Review), “Top 40 Singaporeans under 40” (Prestige Magazine), “Outstanding Young Person of the Year” in the Law and Government category (Junior Chamber International), and “Top 40 under 40 lawyers” (ALB Asia).  He was also featured in The Straits Times, The Peak Magazine, and Vogue Singapore.

He is the co-author of three books on international arbitration: The Law and Theory of International Commercial Arbitration in Singapore (Academy Publishing, 2022),  A Commentary on the Singapore International Arbitration Act (Oxford University Press, 2023) and the forthcoming edition of the world-renowned Mustill & Boyd’s treatise on commercial and investment arbitration.  He also co-wrote and co-edited Singapore Law: 50 Years in the Making (2017), an empirical account of the development of all facets of Singapore law including its commercial and arbitration laws.

Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Mr. Tan’s experience includes partnership at a major Singapore firm and a Magic Circle firm in Singapore, a two-year placement with Essex Court Chambers in London (as a Singapore Academy of Law scholar), and a stint as a foreign stagiaire with Lalive in Geneva.  He was also a judicial law clerk for two former Chief Justices and a judge who is the current Chief Justice of Singapore, and has also sat as an Assistant Registrar of the Supreme Court of Singapore.

Mr. Tan teaches international arbitration and speaks internationally on the subject. He was recently invited to lecture for the Vietnamese Judicial Training Academy.  He has also been appointed an expert to the Singapore delegation to the UNCITRAL’s Working Group on Arbitration.

In addition, Mr. Tan holds or has held numerous committee appointments, including the Government-appointed committee to review the Singapore Legal Services Sector, the Costs Panel (an appointment by the Supreme Court), Arbitration and Public International Law Committee of the Law Society of Singapore, the International Law Association (Singapore), co-chair of the Asia-Pacific and Australasian region for the LCIA’s Young International Arbitration Group, the regional co-leader of the Association Suisse de l’Arbitrage (Southeast Asia), a committee member of YSIAC, a member of the ICC Commission for the Belt and Road Initiative and a member of the Thought-Leadership Committee of ICC Singapore, an executive committee member of the Rising Arbitrators Initiative and a committee member of the Professional Affairs Committee (Singapore Academy of Law).   Mr. Tan is an elected member of the Council of the Law Society of Singapore and its Treasurer.