Peter Godwin
International Arbitrator
Peter has been based in Asia since January 1998, living and working in Hong Kong, Tokyo and, now, Kuala Lumpur. He was a disputes partner at Herbert Smith Freehills for 22 years. From 2010 - 2017 he led the Asia disputes practice of Herbert Smith Freehills which was widely recognised as the pre-eminent practice in the Asia region. He also was Managing Partner of both the Tokyo office and Kuala Lumpur office (2013 - 2016) of Herbert Smith Freehills (2017 - 2024).
For the past two decades, he has been involved in many of the Asia region's biggest disputes either as arbitrator or counsel helping Asian clients (from Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and elsewhere) to resolve their cross-border disputes across a range of sectors, including energy, infrastructure; telecoms, international trade, consumer and pharma.
Peter has represented clients in arbitrations all over the world, under various laws (both common law and civil law), and under the rules of the ICC, LCIA, HKIAC, SIAC, AIAC, KCAB, TAI, UNCITRAL, AAA and ad-hoc rules.
Peter has long been recognized as one of the leading figures for dispute resolution in the Asia region and has been consistently listed as a market leader in Chambers, Legal 500 and Who's Who. He is best known for his strategic insights and ability to cut quickly to the nub of an issue and has been described in various legal directories as a "real expert," "superstar," and a "doyen" in the dispute resolution market. He is renowned for bringing common sense to the table and seeking commercial solutions to the most complex problems.
As an arbitrator, in addition to his sharp intellect, he is known for seeking to use the flexibility arbitration affords to drive efficient dispute resolution.