Boutique by Design - International by Instinct
Deren is a second-year Trainee Solicitor with experience in commercial law and international law. She has supported various interim applications and filings on complex international construction arbitrations and commercial disputes, including Security for Costs submissions and interim relief in respect of Bonds and Guarantees. Representative current matters include:
Before joining Hamish Lal Partners, Deren gained solid experience with international law firms. Most notably, she contributed to an international Initial Public Offering and supported senior associates in drafting risk assessments in Turkish and English. She is passionate about Pro Bono work, her dedication is reflected in her time as Co-President of the King’s College London Pro Bono Society, where she led projects and fundraisers in Climate Justice, Human Rights, and ADR. She also completed negotiation and commercial mediation courses, further enhancing her skill set in dispute resolution.
During London Arbitration Week 2025, Deren interviewed Professor John Uff CBE KC. As part of her Secondment to Hong Kong and Japan, she marshalled Judge Anselmo Reyes SC at the High Court of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and completed certification courses on international arbitration, advocacy, and mediation at Doshisha University in Kyoto (DOMANI Class of 2026) and Kobe University in Japan.
Deren is a Member of the Hong Kong Chapter of the Very Young Arbitration Practitioner Network. She has drafted several Client Alerts and has been published in a leading peer-reviewed journal:
The US Supreme Court has been asked to clarify the legal regime governing non-signatories to arbitration agreements under the Federal Arbitration Act. In particular, the Court is now asked to resolve whether state law principles of equitable estoppel apply to a claim to extend an arbitration agreement, or whether “federal common law” derived from a […]
Apportionment of liability amongst participants in an unincorporated joint venture is complex. Such complexity is increased when one participant is in dispute with the joint venture and the absence of arbitration joinder means that there are two arbitrations. This gives rise to questions of the boundary of jurisdiction of each Tribunal and to questions about […]
Arbitral awards are rarely set aside. In DWL v DWM,[1] the Singapore High Court dismissed an application to set-aside an arbitral award for excess of jurisdiction or breach of natural justice. Eminent judges have been clear “there is a difference between, on the one hand, a party having no opportunity to address a point or […]
In JKD and anor v IKC,[1] the English High Court dismissed a challenge under section 68 of the Arbitration Act 1996 to an arbitral Order refusing to restrain a call on a bond. This is another important case because it reinforces the thinking that section 68 challenges apply only to Awards (not arbitral Orders) and […]
In DSS v DST,[1] the Singapore High Court found that an award, where 108 out of the 211 paragraphs were wholesale or substantial reproductions of excerpts from a related award, was not rendered in breach of natural justice. The Claimant said that the reproductions were not limited to reciting of uncontroversial procedural matters but “extend […]
In TTSJV W.L.L and others v BapCo Refining B.S.C (TTSJV),[1] the English High Court dismissed an application for an injunction against a bond call. Applications to restrain bond calls are difficult, given the high threshold. London has reaffirmed the position that a call on an ‘on-demand’ bond can only be restrained in cases of fraud […]
