Serena Seo Yeon Lee
- Probationary Tenant
- Called: 2022 (New York 2019; qualified as a solicitor of England & Wales 2021)
- serenalee@fivepaper.com
Profile
Serena is a probationary tenant at Chambers, having transferred to the Bar after working as an associate in the international arbitration team of a leading US law firm in London, and as a judicial assistant at the High Court (Commercial Court). In her role as an associate, Serena represented clients in investment treaty and international commercial arbitrations involving complex and high-value disputes. Prior to that, Serena was an associate at a public international law practice in London, where she represented clients in treaty-based arbitrations and advised HNWIs on Interpol-related matters.
Serena accepts instructions across all areas of Chambers’ practice.
Expertise
- Represented an electricity company in a commercial arbitration (UNCITRAL) involving a dispute over contractual payment obligations in excess of £100m.
- Represented a multinational energy company in a commercial arbitration (UNCITRAL) involving a dispute over electricity tariff adjustments.
- Represented the claimant in a commercial arbitration (LCIA) between a supplier and purchaser of liquefied natural gas.
- Represented an energy company in a commercial arbitration (LCIA) against the regional government of a Middle Eastern state in relation to gas extraction projects.
- Represented an Eastern European state in an investment treaty arbitration (PCA) against an investor claimant involving the alleged expropriation of a factory and alleged losses of >USD $100m.
- Represented the investor claimant in an investment treaty arbitration (ICSID) against a Central Asian state involving a dispute over national transportation projects and alleged losses of >USD $150m.
- Represented the investor claimant in an investment treaty arbitration (ICSID) against a Middle Eastern state involving a dispute concerning the revocation of aviation licences.
- Represented the claimant in a commercial arbitration (ICC) between the shareholders of a group of private companies.
- Represented the claimant in a commercial arbitration (DIFC-LCIA) between the shareholders of a joint venture company.
- Represented the claimant in an investment treaty arbitration (ICSID) against a South American state concerning state actions taken against a brokerage company.
- Represented the claimant in a treaty-based PCA arbitration against an international organisation.
- Represented individuals for applications made to the Commission for the Control of INTERPOL’s Files to revoke Red Notices (multiple cases).
- Advising on the operation of a multi-tiered dispute resolution provision for a dispute between energy companies.
- Advising on the construction of tax indemnity provisions in an M&A agreement.
- Advising on the construction of exclusion clauses for a prospective dispute between shipper and carrier companies.
- Advising on the merits of economic tort and breach of confidence claims for a prospective London-seated arbitration.
- Advising on prospective investment treaty claims against South American state arising out of changes in energy regulations.
- Advising on the construction and scope of competing jurisdiction clauses in multiple contracts between the same companies.
- Advising a state in relation to a potential treaty-based inter-state arbitration regarding MFN treaty provisions.
- Acting for a private equity claimant in a civil fraud dispute concerning misrepresentations made by former company directors (High Court).
- Acting for the claimant in a civil fraud dispute involving an alleged conspiracy between shareholders in a company (High Court).
- Acting for a claimant in a civil fraud dispute with parallel proceedings in a Middle Eastern state regarding airport duty free concessions (High Court).
Education
- LLM, Columbia Law School, Columbia University
- BA Law (Senior Status), University of Cambridge
- BA Philosophy, Politics, and Economics, University of Oxford
Publications
- ‘The applicability of Henderson v Henderson in an arbitration seated in England’ (2022) Arbitration International 278 (co-authored)
- ‘Procedural Prerequisites to Arbitration: Categorisation over Construction?’ [2022] Lloyd’s Maritime and Commercial Law Quarterly 40
- ‘Taxonomising ‘quasi-contractual’ anti-suit injunctions’ [2021] Lloyd’s Maritime and Commercial Law Quarterly 58 (co-authored)
- ‘An Employer’s (Dis)entitlement to Liquidated Damages for Delay Where the Contractor Never Completes: Defending ‘Orthodoxy’’ (Society of Construction Law Papers 2020), Winning Entry in the SCL Hudson Essay Prize Competition 2020
- ‘Supervision y Control v. Costa Rica: Developing the Pantechniki v. Albania Standard for ‘Fork in the Road’ Provisions in Investment Treaties’ (2019) 34(1) ICSID Review 203 (co-authored)
- ‘Why Allianz v West Tankers Still Applies under the Brussels Regulation (Recast): An Analysis of Nori Holdings v Bank Otkritie[2018] EWHC 1343 (Comm)’ (2019) 10(4) Journal of International Dispute Settlement 520 (co-authored)
- ‘Anti-Suit Injunctions Enforcing Arbitration Agreements in the EU: Analytical Failings’ [2017] 2 Cambridge Law Review 12 (co-authored)
Languages
Korean (fluent)