World-renowned arbitration lawyer Lucy Reed joins NUS' Centre for International Law

Renowned arbitration lawyer Lucy Reed. PHOTO: FRESHFIELDS BRUCKHAUS DERINGER

SINGAPORE - Globally renowned arbitration lawyer Lucy Reed will be joining the National University of Singapore (NUS) in July as its director of the Centre for International Law (CIL).

The 63-year-old, who holds degrees from Brown University and Chicago Law School, has also been a partner at law firm Freshfields since 1998. The firm's headquarters is in London and it has 27 offices around the world including Singapore.

She has taught at the American University in Washington and the University of Miami School of Law, and was the president of the American Society of International Law from 2008 to 2010.

Ms Reed, who is residing in Singapore, will succeed Associate Professor Robert Beckman who has led CIL since its founding in 2009. He will continue to head the centre's Ocean Law and Policy programme.

In a statement released by NUS on Thursday (Jan 21) , Ms Reed said she has had "the good fortune to learn and practise international law in many different private and public sector roles, and it is a dream-come-true to have this unique opportunity to bring all the strands together" in her role at NUS Law.

NUS law dean Simon Chesterman said that Ms Reed is a model of a practitioner-scholar, serving as counsel to private and public clients, as well as engaging with the academic world as a speaker and author.

Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon said in the statement that Ms Reed is one of the most highly respected practitioners and thinkers in the world in the fields of international law and international arbitration.

He also noted Prof Beckman's work, adding: "Bob taught me at NUS Law and has been a good friend through the years. He has done tremendous work in laying the foundations on which Lucy can now continue to build and strengthen a world class institution."

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