Lee Hishammuddin Allen & Gledhill

Crystal Wong Wai Chin Legal Partner | Lawyer

Crystal Wong Wai Chin

Partner

Energy, Projects, Infrastructure & International Arbitration

Get in touch

Crystal Wong Wai Chin Legal Partner | Lawyer

Crystal Wong Wai Chin

Partner

Energy, Projects, Infrastructure & International Arbitration

Get in touch

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"Crystal Wong Wai Chin is highly-skilled in construction disputes and arbitration matters. She articulates her thoughts and advice very succinctly"

Legal 500 Asia-Pacific, 2024

"Crystal is very dedicated and knowledgeable about the case."

Chambers Asia-Pacific, 2024

Crystal has an active arbitration practice throughout Malaysia, Singapore, and the ASEAN region, with an emphasis on electricity, conventional and renewable energy generation, water supply, and complex infrastructure & engineering projects. She is a trusted advisor to clients comprising of utility companies, independent power producers, government- linked companies and multinational companies. Her experience includes an extended stint with a leading international utilities conglomerate.

As co-head of the Firm’s China Desk, Crystal has also gained a strong reputation as a trusted advisor and leading solicitor to Chinese state-owned enterprises and other mainland Chinese companies investing in Malaysia. In this area of her practice, she is aided by the Chinese legal training she received at Southwest University of Political Science and Law in Chongqing, as well as her fluency in English and Mandarin and first- hand understanding of Chinese corporate and social culture.

Crystal is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and sits on the panel of arbitrators for the Asian International Arbitration Centre (AIAC) and Chinese Arbitration Association, Taipei. Crystal also holds numerous committee appointments, including Committee Member of the Arbitration Committee for the Bar Council of Malaysia, Director of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb), Malaysia Branch, and Committee Member of the Belt & Road Committee for the Young Practitioners Group of AIAC. She is also a Regional Ambassador of the HK45, Hong Kong International of Arbitration Centre, the sole member from Malaysia of the Rising Arbitrators Initiative, and the founder of the Malaysian Chapter of Energy Related Arbitration Practitioners (ENERAP).

In 2022, she was selected by Asian Legal Business (ALB) as one of the “Malaysia Rising Stars 2022”. Crystal was also described as “a very capable, dedicated and reliable lawyer”, who is “knowledgeable and has great commercial acumen”, “extremely hard-working and always puts in the extra efforts to really understand and analyse the clients’ matter, regardless of its complexity and technicality”, “responsive and great communication skills”, “excellent organization skills” and “delivers work of quality that exceeds clients’ expectations”. She has been ranked by Chambers Asia-Pacific 2024 as an “Up & Coming” disputes lawyer who specialises in construction mandates, who “is especially well versed in the intricacies of arbitration”. Most recently, Crystal was also named “Young Lawyer of the Year” by Asian Legal Business Malaysia Law Awards 2023, and a “Future Star” by the Benchmark Litigation Asia-Pacific 2024 for Construction. Crystal was recently acknowledged as a “Next Generation Partner” for Projects and Energy by The Legal 500 Asia-Pacific 2024.

Crystal’s contributions to publications and speaking engagements, particularly on arbitration and energy, have spanned national and international conferences and have been included in various books and journals. She is a regular contributor to the Arbitration chapter of Malaysian Civil Procedure (Sweet & Maxwell, 2015, 2018 and 2021 editions). In her pro bono capacity, Crystal serves as a commissioner on the National Executive Board of the Girl Guides Association Malaysia. Crystal is also a Member of TrustLaw, under the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Crystal has an active arbitration practice throughout Malaysia, Singapore, and the ASEAN region, with an emphasis on electricity, conventional and renewable energy generation, water supply, and complex infrastructure & engineering projects. She is a trusted advisor to clients comprising of utility companies, independent power producers, government- linked companies and multinational companies. Her experience includes an extended stint with a leading international utilities conglomerate.

As co-head of the Firm’s China Desk, Crystal has also gained a strong reputation as a trusted advisor and leading solicitor to Chinese state-owned enterprises and other mainland Chinese companies investing in Malaysia. In this area of her practice, she is aided by the Chinese legal training she received at Southwest University of Political Science and Law in Chongqing, as well as her fluency in English and Mandarin and first- hand understanding of Chinese corporate and social culture.

Crystal is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and sits on the panel of arbitrators for the Asian International Arbitration Centre (AIAC) and Chinese Arbitration Association, Taipei. Crystal also holds numerous committee appointments, including Committee Member of the Arbitration Committee for the Bar Council of Malaysia, Director of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb), Malaysia Branch, and Committee Member of the Belt & Road Committee for the Young Practitioners Group of AIAC. She is also a Regional Ambassador of the HK45, Hong Kong International of Arbitration Centre, the sole member from Malaysia of the Rising Arbitrators Initiative, and the founder of the Malaysian Chapter of Energy Related Arbitration Practitioners (ENERAP).

In 2022, she was selected by Asian Legal Business (ALB) as one of the “Malaysia Rising Stars 2022”. Crystal was also described as “a very capable, dedicated and reliable lawyer”, who is “knowledgeable and has great commercial acumen”, “extremely hard-working and always puts in the extra efforts to really understand and analyse the clients’ matter, regardless of its complexity and technicality”, “responsive and great communication skills”, “excellent organization skills” and “delivers work of quality that exceeds clients’ expectations”. She has been ranked by Chambers Asia-Pacific 2024 as an “Up & Coming” disputes lawyer who specialises in construction mandates, who “is especially well versed in the intricacies of arbitration”. Most recently, Crystal was also named “Young Lawyer of the Year” by Asian Legal Business Malaysia Law Awards 2023, and a “Future Star” by the Benchmark Litigation Asia-Pacific 2024 for Construction. Crystal was recently acknowledged as a “Next Generation Partner” for Projects and Energy by The Legal 500 Asia-Pacific 2024.

Crystal’s contributions to publications and speaking engagements, particularly on arbitration and energy, have spanned national and international conferences and have been included in various books and journals. She is a regular contributor to the Arbitration chapter of Malaysian Civil Procedure (Sweet & Maxwell, 2015, 2018 and 2021 editions). In her pro bono capacity, Crystal serves as a commissioner on the National Executive Board of the Girl Guides Association Malaysia. Crystal is also a Member of TrustLaw, under the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

  • International Arbitration / 国际仲裁
  • Adjudication / 裁决
  • Energy, Natural Resources & Utilities / 能源,天然资源与公用事业
  • Engineering & Infrastructure Projects / 工程与基本设施项目
  • Construction / 建设
  • LLM, International Arbitration and Dispute Resolution, National University of Singapore
  • LLB (Hons), Cardiff University
  • Advocate & Solicitor of the High Court of Malaya
  • Called to the Bar of England and Wales (Lincoln’s Inn)
  • Panel Arbitrator, Asian International Arbitration Centre (AIAC)
  • Panel Arbitrator, Chinese Arbitration Association, Taipei
  • Fellow, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb)
  • Director of the CIArb, Malaysia Branch
  • Committee Member, Belt & Road Committee for the Young Practitioners Group of AIAC
  • Regional Ambassador of the HK45, Hong Kong International of Arbitration Centre (HKIAC)
  • Regional Leader, Asia Pacific, Interlaw, Special Business Team – Arbitration and ADR
  • Member of the Bar Council Arbitration & Construction Law

As Counsel/Co-Counsel and Advisory:

  • Represented one of Malaysia’s largest independent power producers in a series of AIAC arbitrations concerning the operation and maintenance of power stations, generation capacity payments under power purchase agreements for IPPs, and the operation and maintenance of the Malaysian Grid System.
  • Advising one of Malaysia’s largest independent power producers on payment-related disputes in relation to commercial rates for Capacity Payments and Energy Payments, including adjustments to the Fixed Operating Rates and Variable Operating Rates, under various long-term power purchase agreements.
  • Representing a Malaysian independent power producer in a Singapore-seated ad hoc arbitration against Japanese contractors concerning design and operating defects in the boiler and auxiliary systems of a coal-fired power plant.
  • Advising various power producers in arbitrations against EPC contractors for delays in the completion of works for conventional power plants and co-generation plants.
  • Representing a state-owned company in a dispute over construction and transmission-related issues with power transmission lines.
  • Representing a state-owned company in a series of arbitrations (against an insurer, an engineer, and an end user) arising out of a post-completion explosion at a petroleum shore tank facility.
  • Representing and advising a Malaysian conglomerate in relation to a French-seated ICC arbitration involving disputes with Algerian state-owned entities arising from a suite of civil law project agreements for a seawater desalination plant in Algeria.
  • Counsel for a major Chinese oil conglomerate in a multi-party litigation arising from commercial arrangements under a suite of construction contracts for a refinery and petrochemical integrated development in Malaysia.
  • Advising and representing one of China’s largest state-owned construction companies in respect of arbitration claims and counterclaims exceeding RM300million arising out of the construction of one of the tallest towers in Malaysia.
  • Advising various Chinese state-owned companies on commercial and construction disputes arising from Belt and Road Initiative-related investments in Malaysia.
  • Representing a state-owned petroleum company in a series of Malaysian-seated ad hoc arbitrations involving engineering disputes over defective earthworks in the construction of an international airport runway.
  • Representing a U.K.-based oil and gas contractor in an arbitration against a Singaporean employer concerning the construction of production enhancement facilities for an offshore petroleum facility.

As Arbitrator:

  • Sole arbitrator in an arbitration relating to dispute under a sale and purchase agreement for an agarwood tree plantation under the AIAC Arbitration Rules.
  • Sole arbitrator in an ad hoc arbitration arising out of the construction of a public university campus.
  • Sole arbitrator in an arbitration arising out of an employee loan agreement under the SIAC Arbitration Rules.
  • Contributor — Malaysian Civil Procedure (Sweet & Maxwell Asia 2013, 2015 and 2018 editions)
  • Contributor — Bullen & Leake & Jacob’s: Malaysian Precedents of Pleadings (1st and 2nd editions)
  • Author — Research paper on “Climate Change & Energy: Malaysia’s Energy Policy – where roads paved with good intentions lead?” nominated for Best Paper Award, International Conference on the Future of Law & Legal Practice 2019
  • Co-author — The COVID-19 Act and Contracts, 23 October 2020
  • Co-author — The Coronavirus Epidemic: Does it count as Force Majeure? [2020] MLN(A) xiii
  • Co-author — The Rise of Mediation: An Alternative Dispute Resolution Forum in the Times of COVID-19, 16 April 2020
  • Co-author — Changing for Climate Change: Renewable Energy Regulation in Malaysia, Master Builders Journal, Issue 119, Vol. 2/2020
  • Co-author —- Enforcing foreign arbitral awards in Malaysia, Lexis®PSL, 2 June 2016
  • English
  • Bahasa Malaysia
  • Chinese Mandarin, Cantonese and Hokkien

Crystal 在马来西亚、新加坡和东南亚国家联盟地区拥有活跃的仲裁业务,重点关注电力、常规和可再生能源发电、供水以及复杂的基础设施和工程项目。她是客户值得信赖的咨询顾问,其中客户包括公用事业公司、独立发电商、政府关联公司和跨国公司。值得一提的是,Crystal拥有在一家领先的国际公用事业集团的长期任职的经验。

身为本律所的中国业务台的联席负责人,Crystal作为中国国有企业和在马来西亚投资的中国大陆公司中值得信赖的咨询顾问及首席律师,赢得了良好的声誉。Crystal 在重庆的西南政法大学接受过的中国法律培训,再加上她流利的英语和华语以及对中国企业和社会文化的第一手了解为她在她的业务领域内助力。

Crystal是英国特许仲裁员协会 (“CIArb”) 的会员,并且是亚洲国际仲裁中心( “AIAC” )和台北中华仲裁协会的仲裁员小组成员。Crystal还担任多项委员会职务,其中包括马来西亚律师协会仲裁委员会委员、CIArb马来西亚分会总监和AIAC “一带一路” 青年执业者小组委员会委员。她也是香港国际仲裁中心HK45区域大使、马来西亚新锐仲裁员计划( “Rising Arbitrators Initiative”)唯一的马来西亚会员、以及能源相关仲裁从业人员(“Energy Related Arbitration Practitioners”)马来西亚分会创始人。

在2022年,她被选为《亚洲法律杂志》(Asian Legal Business) 的其中一位 “2022马来西亚明日之星”。Crystal也被评为“非常有能力,尽职和可靠的律师”,“知识渊博,商业头脑敏锐”,“非常勤奋,无论客户的事情多么复杂,技术性有多强,都会付出额外的努力去真正理解和分析”,“反应迅速,沟通能力极强”,“组织能力出色”,且“工作质量超出客户预期”。她被2024年度《钱伯斯亚太》 (Chambers Asia-Pacific 2024) 评为 “潜质” 争议解决律师,专门从事建筑委托业务, “尤其精通错综复杂的仲裁” 。最近,Crystal 还被2023年度《 Asian Legal Business Malaysia Law Awards 》 评为 “年度最佳青年律师”,并被 《亚太争议解决2024榜单》 (Benchmark Litigation Asia-Pacific 2024) 评为建筑业的 “未来之星” 。Crystal 还被2024年度《亚太法律 500 强》(The Legal 500 Asia-Pacific 2024)评为项目与能源领域的 “新一代合伙人” 。

Crystal对于出版物和演说的贡献,尤其是关于仲裁和能源,遍及国内和国际会议、各种书籍和期刊。她是《马来西亚民事诉讼》(Sweet & Maxwell,2015年,2018年和2021年版)仲裁章节的定期撰稿人。作为她回馈社会承诺的一部分,Crystal以其公益身份担任马来西亚女童子军协会的宪法委员会和女王指南领导基金委员会的成员,以及汤森路透基金会的信托法成员。

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