Christoph Murphy

CHRISTOPH MURPHY’s practice focuses on international commercial arbitration and compliance and investigations. Christoph trained as a solicitor in Sidley’s London, Brussels, and Hong Kong offices, where he gained experience in global finance, competition, arbitration and M&A.

Christoph is fluent in Mandarin, German, and speaks conversational French.

• Ting Chuan (Cayman Islands) Holding Corp in litigation proceedings in the Cayman Islands. The issue related to whether a winding-up petition brought by the opposing side should be stayed in favor of arbitration. The proceedings were appealed all the way up to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, which ruled in favor of the client’s position in Ting Chuan (Cayman Islands) Holding Corp v FamilyMart China Holding Co Ltd (JCPC 2020/0055). The judgment represents one of the most legally significant developments in the areas of arbitration and insolvency in recent years and will have a wide-ranging impact throughout the common-law world.
• A Hong Kong-based hedge fund in disputes against institutional investors in Korea, including in a consolidated arbitration governed by Jersey law commenced under the UNCITRAL Rules and administered by the HKIAC in Hong Kong.
• A global biotech company in a US$340 million New York-seated ICC arbitration against its U.S. clinical research partner in respect of disputes over performance and breach of two New York law-governed license and collaboration agreements for the joint development of cancer treatments.
• A major private equity fund in an HKIAC arbitration governed by Hong Kong law against a Chinese tech group in relation to alleged breaches of a shareholders’ agreement.
• A Taiwanese conglomerate in a Beijing-seated ICC arbitration against a Japanese group. The parties’ dispute arose out of a joint venture arrangement in the P.R.C.
• A leading pharmaceutical group based in China in HKIAC arbitration relating to the termination of its distribution and licensing agreement with a pharmaceutical company headquartered in Canada. The dispute was governed by New York law, with P.R.C. laws, regulation, and practice relating to the pharmaceutical and drug industry also relevant in the arbitration.
• A Cayman subsidiary of a Hong Kong listed company in a multi-million dollar executive compensation dispute under the ICC Rules following the acquisition and subsequent restructuring of the P.R.C-based franchise business of a Fortune 500 company.
• A U.S.-listed pharmaceutical and medical device company in internal investigations into alleged bribery of healthcare professionals.