Jessica Choo
朱倩珂
Counsel
Jessica is a Counsel with the firm. She focuses her practice on complex cross-border dispute resolution in international arbitration and litigation.
Jessica has advised and acted for international banks and financial institutions, corporations and high-net-worth individuals in high-value, high-stakes, multi-jurisdictional matters across a broad range of commercial disputes spanning litigation before the Singapore Courts (including the Singapore International Commercial Court) and international arbitration under various arbitral rules. She has particular experience in banking and financial disputes as well as contentious cases involving fraud, asset recovery, freezing and proprietary injunctions, and enforcement of foreign judgments and arbitral awards.
Prior to joining the firm, Jessica trained and practiced at another leading Singapore law firm. She had internship stints with research think tanks in the fields of public international law, strategic philanthropy and energy security, government ministries in international dispute resolution and artificial intelligence policymaking, and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation on projects premised on a multilateral rules-based international order.
Apart from holding an LL.B. (Hons) from the National University of Singapore (NUS), Jessica also graduated with a B.Soc.Sci. (Hons) through the NUS Double Degree Programme. During her time at NUS, Jessica was a prize-winning mooter selected to represent her law school in four international moot court competitions. Besides serving on the Singapore Law Review Editorial Board, Jessica was also elected as the President of the NUS Law Pro Bono Group, in the capacity of which she spearheaded and advanced the student-led pro bono movement to create unparalleled impact domestically and internationally. In addition, she was appointed leadership roles in two regional non-profit organisations through which she contributed to causes related to youth diplomacy, global citizenship, intercultural competence and female empowerment.
Jessica is fluent in English and Mandarin with intermediate proficiency in French.
Admissions
- Advocate and Solicitor, Supreme Court of Singapore
Professional Experience
- Acted for a UK multinational bank and its Singapore subsidiary in 4 sets of proceedings before the Singapore High Court to defend claims brought by 33 claimants, and successfully striking out 2 originating claims in their entirety, in respect of investment losses arising from alleged unlawful means conspiracy and fraudulent misrepresentation in offering circulars, financial statements and corporate disclosures in connection with the bank’s role as a joint lead manager and bookrunner for the issuance of 5.250% per annum Senior Fixed Rate Notes each with a principal amount of S$250,000 and an aggregate principal amount of S$115 million and 7.875% per annum Senior Fixed Rate Notes each with a principal amount of S$250,000 and an aggregate principal amount of S$100 million, issued by a Singapore incorporated company and guaranteed by its Indonesian parent company, which defaulted in 2014 and 2015 respectively.
- Acted for a Singaporean multinational bank in proceedings before the Singapore High Court and mediation before the Singapore Mediation Centre to defend claims brought by a private banking client for losses arising from alleged breaches of purported pricing agreements on special brokerage commission rates in respect of offline trades executed between 2018 and 2021 in the United States, Hong Kong and Thailand markets.
- Acted for a global investment bank in proceedings before the Singapore International Commercial Court and mediation before the Singapore International Mediation Centre to defend a claim of US$13.27 million brought by a former high-net-worth private banking client and his Bahamas incorporated investment vehicle for investment losses arising from alleged breaches of duties as banker and mortgagee in possession, misrepresentations and mismanagement of accounts in respect of trades in complex financial instruments comprising bonds, hedge funds, funds of funds and derivatives, all traded on a leverage basis in substantial amounts over a significant period from 2013 to 2019.
- Acted for an international bank in proceedings before the Singapore High Court to defend claims by a former investment banking client in respect of compensatory and punitive damages for inter alia breach of duty of care, fraudulent misrepresentation and forgery in connection with his purchase of a life insurance policy.
- Advised an international bank on parallel proceedings in the UK by a Kuwait public institution operating the national social security system and pension scheme in respect of alleged bribes of at least US$847.7 million from international financial institutions in return for substantial investments and commencing contribution claims arising therefrom.
- Acted for a BVI incorporated company, and sole director and shareholder of a private trust company, in 2 sets of proceedings before the Singapore High Court to defend claims relating to inter alia breach of trust and fiduciary duties, and account of assets, documents, financial statements and transactions, arising from administration of 2 discretionary trusts governed by Singapore and Cyprus law, with attendant issues on UK inheritance tax and capital gains tax, successfully opposing procedural skirmishes and striking out an entire action in the originating application invoking issues on ad hoc fiduciary relationships, trustee de son tort and piercing the corporate veil on alter ego grounds.
- Acted for a Singapore incorporated wholly-owned subsidiary of a Germany incorporated company in an appeal of a derivative action in relation to the entitlement of profits arising out of a series of subcontract agreements and corporate documents for the supply and delivery of materials for insulation and fireproofing works for a liquefied natural gas plant in Russia concerning inter alia the formation and interpretation of written and oral agreements.
- Acted for a Singapore incorporated medical device manufacturing company, and its director and shareholder, in proceedings before the Singapore High Court to defend claims of around US$1.5 million arising from alleged breach of contract, fraudulent misrepresentations and negligent misstatements in relation to the supply of nitrile medical grade examination gloves purchased by the Government of Ontario and the Nova Scotia Health Authority.
- Acted for a Singapore incorporated golf instruction and club fitting company in pursuing legal recourse against a golf coach for breaches of duty of loyalty, non-compete clauses under employment agreements and confidentiality obligations, infringement of client’s intellectual property rights comprising trademarks and copyrights, and passing off.
- Advised a blockchain company on the recovery of 75 million cryptocurrencies loaned at an agreed amount of around US$50 million for the borrower’s proposed partnership with the Fédération Internationale de Football Association.
- Advised a subsidiary of a US music publishing company on pursuing claims for infringement of copyright licences against a media company offering on-demand music streaming services in Singapore and Malaysia.
- Advised a transportation service platform based in Shanghai, China with the backing of Alibaba to pursue legal recourse and exert commercial pressure against a competitor firm in the industry for passing off bicycles for export as being produced by the client’s manufacturer with which the client has exclusive supply agreements.
- Represented a leading life insurance company in pursuing against 9 financial consultants clawback of monies accrued under various executed contractual agreements following termination of employment.
- Acted for a high-net-worth individual based in the UK, and corporations and partnerships in the BVI, Cayman Islands and Hong Kong, in successfully resisting enforcement in Singapore of foreign judgments relating to restriction on disposal of assets worldwide and injunctions granted by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Court of First Instance, as well as advised clients on Singapore law with respect to resisting multiple applications in Singapore and Hong Kong for interim relief ranging from interlocutory injunctions comprising worldwide Mareva injunctions, proprietary injunctions and Anton Piller orders to discovery and disclosure orders (including pre-action and third-party discovery) filed in suits within the same jurisdiction and in aid of international arbitration and foreign Court actions, and related issues including inter alia identification of traceable proceeds from asset-tracing in connection with the interpretation and scope of injunction orders, fortification of undertaking to pay damages for loss resulting from wrongful grant of injunctions and registration and enforcement of Hong Kong costs orders in Singapore.
- Acted for a global investment bank in relation to the discovery of banker’s books relating to bank accounts beneficially owned by an ultra-high-net-worth individual who is the founder of an upscale Chinese restaurant chain in the Singapore tranche of multi-jurisdictional Court and arbitration proceedings in New York, Hong Kong and Singapore.
- Advised two judgment debtors in Beijing, China on resisting enforcement in Singapore of a summary judgment granted in Hong Kong concerning liabilities arising from guarantees provided to a Cayman Islands incorporated company.
- Represented and assisted a high-net-worth individual based in the UK, as well as partnerships and corporations in the BVI, Cayman Islands and Hong Kong, in matters governed by Singapore, Hong Kong and Cayman Islands law in connection with a HKIAC arbitration and series of Court proceedings in Hong Kong to defend claims by related and unrelated claimants in respect of fraud, misrepresentations and breach of contract, advising clients on a broad spectrum of procedural and substantive issues such as power of arbitral tribunals and domestic courts to order interim measures in aid of international arbitration, grounds to resist enforcement of foreign interim arbitral awards in Singapore and jurisdiction of arbitral tribunals to pierce the corporate veil, and successfully assisting clients to procure a victory in resisting an opposing party’s application seeking the Hong Kong Courts to grant leave to take out an application in the Singapore Courts for a proprietary injunction in aid of the ongoing HKIAC arbitration pursuant to section 12A of the Singapore International Arbitration Act 1994.
- Represented a Singapore incorporated manufacturing and trading company in an SIAC arbitration concerning claims and counterclaims in relation to the valid termination of a master purchase agreement and the valuation of shares.
- Advised and assisted the Monetary Authority of Singapore in investigations pursuant to directions issued under section 101(1) of the Securities and Futures Act 2001 into an international financial institution on overcharging of fees, spread taking and pricing disclosure practices for trades in financial products executed in private banking accounts booked in Singapore, or booked in Hong Kong or Zurich and managed by relationship managers in Singapore, in 2018.
- Advised and represented a Singapore incorporated capital markets services company in relation to claims with respect to the termination of the employment contract of a former German employee following investigations involving the Monetary Authority of Singapore concerning price shifts attributed to his misconduct in increasing the bid and offer price of two structured products, known as actively managed certificates linked to the performance of an actively managed index, from the actual or theoretical value of the index calculated by the index calculation agent.
- Advised 2 multinational banks in separate matters on the enforceability of the close-out netting provisions contained in Section 6(e) of the 2002 International Swaps and Derivatives Association Master Agreement governed by New York law against the general partners of limited partnerships in the event of winding up, dissolution and insolvent dissolution of the partnerships under Singapore law.