Joseph Lee - Singapore - Lawyer Profile

Position:

Joint Managing Director

Address:

160 Robinson Road, 13-02
Singapore, 068914

PO Box:

Telephone:

+65 6206 7881

Email:

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Web:

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Rating:

Litigation Star

Languages:

English
Mandarin

Jurisdiction:

Singapore

Practice area:

Construction

Biography

Joseph is the Joint Managing Director of LVM Law Chambers LLC. He is also a highly respected dispute resolution lawyer with extensive experience.

Before co-founding the Firm, Joseph worked at an international law firm and a leading Singapore disputes resolution practice. Recognised as one of the top lawyers of his generation, Joseph was named among the 40 most influential lawyers in Singapore aged 40 and under by Singapore Business Review in 2015.

More recently, Joseph was named as a Next Generation Partner by Legal 500 (2021 and 2022) and was named a Litigation Star by Benchmark Litigation for Construction.

Clients have praised Joseph for being an astute, sharp litigator who is thorough, strategic, and results-driven. His approach combines deep thinking with creative arguments and relentless dedication to his clients’ interests.

Joseph has led significant cases at Singapore’s highest courts, shaping important areas of law such as the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act, equitable compensation and trade secrets, and principles on unlawful means conspiracy and joint liability.

Besides his court work and appearances before quasi-judicial bodies like the Strata Titles Board and Income Tax Board of Review, Joseph leads the Firm’s arbitration practice, representing clients in arbitrations governed by multiple international rules, including ICC, SIAC, AAA, HKIAC, and JCAA.

Joseph's practice spans many sectors, with particular expertise in construction, oil and gas, commodities, international trade, banking, and government institutions. His fluency in Mandarin and cultural insight have earned him a strong client base in China and Hong Kong, including numerous state-owned and blue-chip companies.

Beyond legal work, Joseph has served as an independent director of a listed company. He also sits on disciplinary panels for several professional bodies in Singapore.

Year joined firm: 2017

Recent matter/case highlights

Joseph is one of the lead counsel representing Unipec Singapore Pte Ltd on 5 different interpleaders where multiple parties are claiming ownership of oil cargo laden on board 4 vessels worth over USD 300 million and stored in an oil terminal. The interpleaders engage significant legal issues relating to the law on credit and security, bills of lading and trade finance. This is one of the largest trials to ever take place in the Singapore High Court.
Joseph is the lead counsel acting for 4Fingers and its parent company in a high-value, complex dispute involving multimillion-dollar claims by the former CEO over alleged oral and written profit-sharing agreements, alongside counterclaims for serious breaches of fiduciary duties spanning Singapore and Malaysia.
Joseph is one of the lead counsel acting for a leading multinational luxury goods conglomerate in Singapore to enforce intellectual property rights against nearly 300 anonymous sellers of counterfeit goods on a major regional e-commerce platform. The case is significant for addressing novel legal challenges in pursuing interlocutory relief and discovery against pseudonymous online infringers under the new Rules of Court 2021.
Joseph acted as lead counsel for the Kasenda family in the wholly successful defence against claims asserted by the personal representative of the Estate of Evelyn Phoa. The personal representative asserted that the Estate has a two-third beneficial interest in a Singapore company Supratechnic Pte Ltd; the claim was premised on an alleged trust that was created in the 1970s and the personal representative complained of fraudulent breaches of trust and dishonest assistance. The claim was wholly dismissed on both procedural and substantive grounds.
Joseph acted as the lead counsel for Golden Base Energy Pte Ltd in resisting an USD 18 million claim in a dispute involving several parties. He successfully assisted the client to resist the entire claim and the judgment is now a leading judgment on the interpretation of letters of credit in Singapore.