Squire Patton Boggs is pleased to announce that Australian barrister Cameron Ford, former senior counsel at Rio Tinto, is joining the firm as a partner in Singapore. Mr. Ford’s appointment follows the hire of Christopher Bloch, who joined the firm last month from the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC), where he was a member of the Secretariat.
“Singapore is now one of the fastest-growing seats of international arbitration in the world, and Cameron and Christopher are key strategic additions to our global practice,” comments Stephen Anway, Co-Global International Dispute Resolution Practice Group Leader. “They are experienced practitioners who know the Singapore arbitration market well, having been deeply involved in the local arbitration community, and will immediately begin work on numerous international arbitrations seated in Singapore. Cameron and Christopher will also play an important role in leveraging our pre-eminent global expertise in construction, energy, and engineering disputes across Asia Pacific.”
Mr. Ford spent nine years at Rio Tinto and, as senior counsel, he was responsible for managing its global disputes. Prior to joining Rio Tinto, he worked in-house at Downer EDI, a leading provider of integrated services in Australia and New Zealand, and at National Australia Bank, where he was head of dispute resolution for four Australian states. He was also a dispute resolution partner in a leading law firm and a barrister at the independent Bar in Australia, practicing in commercial disputes before all courts, including the Federal Court and the High Court of Australia. He is a trained mediator and an arbitrator on the panels of SIAC, Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre, Asian International Arbitration Centre and the Beijing Arbitration Commission, and he has sat as sole arbitrator and as party-appointed arbitrator in a number of arbitrations.
In his role at the SIAC, Mr. Bloch oversaw the administration of approximately 250 international arbitrations proceeding under the SIAC and UNCITRAL Rules related to a broad spectrum of industries, including energy, construction, telecommunications, pharmaceuticals, shipping and shipbuilding. Prior to his time in the SIAC Secretariat, he worked at King & Spalding in its international arbitration group in Singapore.
“Cameron and Christopher will add to our already extensive arbitration experience in Singapore and play a key role in expanding our practice,” says Peter Chow, who heads the firm’s International Dispute Resolution Practice in Asia.
Partner Ignatius Hwang, who leads the Singapore office, comments: “We are delighted to welcome Cameron and Christopher to the firm. As Singapore’s reputation as a center for handling international disputes continues to grow, their expertise will be invaluable to our clients.”
George von Mehren, Co-Global International Dispute Resolution Practice Group Leader, adds: “Our practice is one of the fastest growing in the world. In the last six months, we have added seven new partners to our ranks with the arrival of Ali Gursel in New York, and the promotion to the partnership of Eveli Lume and Mária Poláková in Prague, Max Rockall in London, and David Starkoff in Sydney. The pedigree and expertise of our team, coupled with a genuine depth of resource in key arbitral centers around the world, gives us a strong and unique position in this field.”
The Squire Patton Boggs International Dispute Resolution Practice is ranked 18th in Global Arbitration Review’s 2019 ranking of the top 30 international arbitration firms in the world. The team consists of more than 100 practitioners across more than 20 countries with experience practicing before virtually every major international dispute body in the world.