Leon Chung
Leon is an experienced and highly regarded litigator and arbitrator.
Leon Chung is a senior disputes partner and one of Australia’s most accomplished and versatile disputes lawyers. He is widely regarded as a clear, commercial and highly strategic adviser, trusted by boards and senior executives to resolve their most complex, sensitive and high‑stakes matters.
Leon co-heads the firm’s Australian Corporate Crime & Investigations practice and is a partner in the Disputes Group. His practice spans the full spectrum of contentious work, including major commercial disputes, private capital disputes, regulatory investigations and inquiries, commissions and Royal Commissions, international and domestic arbitration, and crisis and risk management advice at board level. He advises leading Australian and global clients across a wide range of industries on matters involving significant financial, regulatory and reputational exposure
A highly sought‑after disputes lawyer, Leon has extensive experience across all forms of dispute resolution, including litigation, arbitration, mediation and expert determination. He regularly acts in complex disputes involving private capital, shareholder and governance issues, commercial and government contracting, statutory and regulatory claims, judicial review and administrative law, as well as complex supplier, customer and inter‑company disputes. His industry experience includes resources, energy, financial services, consumer, manufacturing and aviation.
Leon also has deep expertise in corporate crime and regulatory enforcement, including matters involving fraud and corruption, sanctions and export controls, whistleblowing and insider trading. He frequently leads sensitive internal investigations and advises clients operating in high‑risk jurisdictions, including South America, Africa, Asia, Russia and Ukraine.
Leon is consistently recognised as a leading disputes practitioner. He is ranked by Chambers in Dispute Resolution (Australia), listed in Best Lawyers Australia as a leading commercial litigator, a leader in alternative dispute resolution and regulatory practice, and recognised in Doyle’s Guide as a Pre‑Eminent Arbitration Lawyer.
Leon has specialist expertise in international arbitration, international investment and cross‑border disputes, including matters involving investment treaties and free trade agreements. He is a Director of the Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration (ACICA) and a Councillor and Treasurer of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators Australia, Australia’s leading international dispute resolution bodies.
Experience & capabilities
Selected matters
- Acting for a leading international resources company, advising the board on crisis management arising from major operational and mine failures resulting in the loss of significant production capacity.
- Acting for an infrastructure owner and operator in administrative, constitutional and investment treaty challenges arising from State government legislation affecting critical infrastructure assets.
- Acting for a global mining company in relation to government expropriation of licences and land, including associated administrative, constitutional and investment treaty claims.
- Acting for ASX‑listed and global corporates in high‑value contractual disputes with key suppliers, vendors and customers.
- Acting for National Australia Bank in connection with the Financial Services and Banking Royal Commission.
- Advising the Telstra Board on the NBN Project, including negotiations with the Commonwealth Government.
- Acting for a leading global energy and resources company in multiple concurrent international arbitrations arising from major long‑term resources contracts.
- Acting for a global engineering company in multi‑jurisdictional ICC arbitrations involving complex technical and contractual issues.
- Acting in a shareholder dispute within a private capital fund, involving governance and control issues.
- Acting for The Carlyle Group in proceedings arising from attempts to prevent enforcement of its rights as lender.
- Acting for Qantas in multiple proceedings arising from the COVID‑19 pandemic, involving significant commercial, regulatory and reputational issues.
- Acting for Google in relation to the Australian Government’s Digital News Media Code.
- Acting for a global gas company on investments in Asia and Eastern Europe, including due diligence and advice on foreign bribery, sanctions and export controls.
- Acting in coronial inquests involving large corporations, often arising from serious incidents and fatalities.
- Advising and acting for major energy and resources companies on anti‑bribery and corruption compliance and sanctions regimes.
- Advising the board of a healthcare company in connection with a bribery and corruption investigation involving senior executives.
Background
Leon holds a Bachelor of Commerce and a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) degree from the University of Sydney.
He is admitted to practise as a solicitor of the Supreme Court of NSW, the Federal Court of Australia and the High Court of Australia.
In 2004 and 2005, Leon was seconded as a Visiting Attorney to Hughes, Hubbard & Reed LLP, a New York based law firm.
He is a Councillor of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and a Director of ACICA.
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