Emily Ho Mei Li

Associate

emilyho@lcwpartnership.com

Emily is a commercial litigator. She has been active in fraud and asset recovery matters, international arbitration, and commercial disputes.

In fraud and asset recovery, she has experience assisting in multi-jurisdictional civil fraud matters. In arbitration, she has experience in high-value arbitrations under the HKIAC Rules and LCIA Rules. She has also assisted up to the appellate level in proceedings to set aside arbitration awards in Malaysia.

In commercial litigation, Emily has assisted in a range of actions at various levels of the court system, including actions in breach of fiduciary duty and statutory derivative actions.

Emily graduated from the University of Cambridge (BA in Law) in 2020 (where she had been ranked 4th in her year) and from Harvard Law School (LLM) in 2022, receiving various prizes for academic performance. Through her studies, she has gained expertise in a wide range of legal disciplines including public law, international trade law, and international arbitration, from an English,  US, and comparative perspective. She is a Barrister-at-Law (Lincoln’s Inn).

Key Practice Areas

Fraud and Asset Recovery
  • Assisting in various multi-jurisdictional asset recovery matters on behalf of a sovereign wealth fund, in one of the largest frauds to date involving a complex network of companies and banks, through means of onshore and offshore civil recovery actions, against various targets such as company directors and banks.
Commercial Arbitration
  • Acting as junior counsel in an international arbitration over a contractual dispute between a Singapore consultancy firm and a listed South Korean company (under HKIAC Rules) (led by Ng Jern-Fei KC).
  • Acting for the respondent in an international arbitration over a high-value contractual dispute (under LCIA Rules).
  • Acting as junior counsel in an appeal in Malaysia against the dismissal of an application to set aside one of the largest ever arbitration awards in Malaysia concerning the construction and subsequent leasing of a Semi-Floating Production System for use at an oilfield.
  • Acting as junior counsel in an appeal in Malaysia against the dismissal of an application to set aside an arbitration award concerning liquidated ascertained damages for delayed completion of a factory construction project.
Commerical Litigation
  • Acted successfully as junior counsel in a housing developer’s appeal in the Federal Court in respect of liquidated ascertained damages for alleged delay in completion of a housing development project — as reported in Obata-Ambak Holdings Sdn Bhd v Prema Bonanza Sdn Bhd & Other Appeals [2024] 8 CLJ 519.
  • Acting as junior counsel in statutory derivative actions by a minority shareholder regarding payments of monies by a company.
  • Acting for a local electrical manufacturer in a claim in damages for alleged manufacturers’ negligence and further claims for contribution or indemnity.
Qualifications and Professional Affiliations
Qualifications

  • Advocate & Solicitor, High Court of Malaya (2023)
  • Barrister-at-Law (Lincoln’s Inn) (2022)
  • LL.M., Harvard Law School (2022) (Dean’s Scholar)
  • B.A. in Law, University of Cambridge (2020) (Triple 1st class)

 
Accolades

  • Dean’s Scholar Prizes, Harvard Law School (in International Trade Law, Comparative Constitutional Law, and International Human Rights) (2022).
  • De Hart Prize in Law, Christ’s College Cambridge (awarded in 2018, 2019, and 2020).
  • Rebecca Flower Squire Scholarship, University of Cambridge (awarded in 2018 and 2019).
  • Christ’s College Scholarship, Christ’s College Cambridge (awarded in 2018 and 2019).
  • Dean’s Postgraduate Scholarship for Academic Excellence, Nottingham Law School (2020).

 
Affiliations

  • Research panellist, UN High Commissioner for Refugees (Geneva).
Publications and Talks

Selected articles and talks

  • “Cues from Singapore: Setting Aside Arbitral Awards on Grounds of Breach of Natural Justice” (with Ng Jern-Fei KC) (October 2024) The Law Review.
  • “Salford Estates in Malaysia: The Final Blow?” (with Kwan Will Sen) (November 2024) SIAC Asian International Arbitration Journal (AIAJ) Special Cluster Issue.
  • “Two Forks in the Road: Defending Constitutional Supremacy in the Face of Constitutional Amendments” in The Basic Structure Doctrine in Malaysia: Themes and Perspectives (forthcoming 2025).
  • “Uprooting the Invasive Ivey: Reversing the Effect of Ivey v. Genting Casinos Ltd on the Definition of Dishonest Appropriation in the English Law of Theft” (2019) Trinity College Law Review Volume XXII.
  • “Marking the Internal and External Limits of Discrimination Law in Lee v. Ashers Baking Company” (2021) Cambridge Law Review Volume VII.
  • “How To Improve Whistleblower Protection in Malaysia” (2022) GAB The Global Anticorruption Blog.

Presented the following talks

  • “Defending Constitutional Supremacy through the Basic Structure Doctrine” (24–25 November 2022) NUS Centre for Asian Legal Studies.

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