Godwin Tan
Associate
London
Godwin Tan
Associate
London
Contact details
Godwin advises on investment treaty arbitration, international commercial arbitration, public international law, and business and human rights. As a dual-qualified lawyer (English solicitor and New York attorney), he has advised or represented governments, companies and international organisations in multi-jurisdictional arbitration proceedings under ICSID, LCIA, ICC and UNCITRAL Rules.
Godwin also has experience in arbitration-related litigation and enforcement proceedings, as well as in gas price arbitration and insurance disputes.
Godwin has lectured on arbitration at several universities, including Harvard University, the University of Cambridge, the London School of Economics, King’s College London, the University of Hong Kong, and the Singapore University of Social Sciences. He regularly speaks at conferences and panel events on dispute resolution and international law.
He has published articles in leading journals, including the ICSID Review and the Cambridge International Law Journal, and a book chapter on developments in international arbitration. He was the Lead Editor of the ninth edition of the Allen & Overy Business and Human Rights Review.
Alongside his work as counsel, Godwin was appointed to the Committee of the Beihai Asia International Arbitration Centre in Singapore and the Executive Committee of CamARB. He founded the Allen & Overy Society of East Asian Lawyers and sits on the firm's Race & Ethnicity Committee.
Prior to joining Allen & Overy, Godwin read law at the University of Cambridge (First Class in all subjects) and University College London (First Class Honours). He was a military policeman in Singapore and received the Full-Time National Serviceman of the Year Award.
Godwin is fluent in English and Mandarin Chinese.
Qualifications
Professional
Admitted as a Solicitor (England and Wales), 2021
Admitted to the Bar (State of New York, USA), 2022
Academic
LL.B., University College London, 2017 (First Class Honours, Dean's List, Simon Wallace Prize)
LL.M., University of Cambridge, 2018 (First Class Honours, Foundation Scholar)
L.P.C. LL.M., BPP Law School, 2019 (Distinction)
Related articles
Publications: 12 February 2024
A conversation with East Asian leaders at A&O, presented by SEAL
In this podcast, Godwin Tan and Vicky Chen from A&O’s Society of East Asian Lawyers (SEAL) chat with Grace Wang and Miao Wang, two recently promoted A&O partners based in New York and Luxembourg…
Blog Post: 18 May 2023
Publications: 29 November 2022
Qualifications
Professional
Admitted as a Solicitor (England and Wales), 2021
Admitted to the Bar (State of New York, USA), 2022
Academic
LL.B., University College London, 2017 (First Class Honours, Dean's List, Simon Wallace Prize)
LL.M., University of Cambridge, 2018 (First Class Honours, Foundation Scholar)
L.P.C. LL.M., BPP Law School, 2019 (Distinction)
Pro-bono experience
- Successfully represented four appellants before disability benefits tribunals in England
- Assisted the Cyrus R. Vance Center for International Justice and other human rights charities with legal research and information gathering
- Assisted a charity with its application to intervene in proceedings before the European Court of Human Rights
Published work
- Co-Author, “English High Court Rejects Spain’s Immunity Objection to Registration of ICSID Award”, A&O Arbitration Insights (2023)
- Co-Author, “The ICJ and the Climate Crisis—Advisory Opinion”, LexisNexis (2023)
- Co-Author, “The Rise of Construction Disputes in Investor-State Arbitration”, A&O International Arbitration Review (2022)
- Co-Author, “Prohibition, Regulation or Laissez Faire? Policy Trade-Offs of Double Hatting in Investment Treaty Arbitration”, Investment Treaty Arbitration and International Law - Volume 14 (2021)
- Co-Author, “ICSID Arbitration after Achmea: The Beginning of the End or the End of the Beginning?”, ICSID Review—Foreign Investment Law Journal (2021)
- Co-Author, “The Future of Environmental Counterclaims in ICSID Arbitration: Challenges, Treaties and Interpretations”, Cambridge International Law Journal (2020)
