Mark Lee

ACCOLADES

Mark has been routinely recognised and shortlisted as a finalist by the Annual Asian Legal Business South East Asia Awards (“Awards”):-

• Young Lawyer of the Year (in 2019 and again in 2024)
• Managing Partner of the Year (2022)
• Dispute Resolution Lawyer of the Year (2026)

The Awards recognise the excellence and outstanding performance of South East Asia’s leading law firms (and lawyers) that have significantly contributed to the evolving legal landscape of the region and is hailed as “the pre-eminent legal awards in Asia”.

Mark is also regularly invited to speak at various regional and international forums and cited for his expertise in corporate governance, shareholder and boardroom related matters, including The Legal 500, Chambers and Partners, Lexology Panoramic Guide (LexisNexis), the Global Arbitration Review, the SMU Law Academy (Yong Pung How School of Law), etc (see below).

Individual recognitions collated independently by the Legal 500 research team (Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2026 Guide):-

“Working with Mark Lee … has been a highly valuable experience. Mark’s exceptional leadership, strategic insight, and innovative approach to dispute resolution distinguish him from his peers. His deep expertise and pragmatic mindset consistently lead to effective and efficient outcomes for clients.“

“Mark Lee stands out for his confidence, deep understanding, and extensive experience. From the very first interaction, he demonstrated a clear grasp of the situation and provided guidance that was both practical and reassuring. What sets him apart from competitors is his ability to combine technical legal expertise with a personal, client-focused approach, making complex issues easy to understand and instilling confidence throughout the process. I have particularly valued his clarity, responsiveness, and the way he consistently puts the client’s best interests at the forefront.“

EXPERIENCE

Mark is engaged in trial and appellate advocacy and has represented clients at all levels of the Singapore Courts. Mark has been commended for his “clear” arguments and “effective” cross- examination.

Mark also acts for clients as counsel in international arbitrations across a range of industries and sectors (shareholder disputes, construction, commodities, infrastructure, shipping, oil and gas). Mark was a speaker and Steering Committee member of the Global Arbitration Review (GAR), Live Asia-Pacific International Arbitration Conference 2026.

Mark routinely advises high value companies, shareholders and directors in complex, multi-party shareholder disputes, breach of director duties claims and minority oppression claims. He deals with an international client base with most matters / deals being multi-jurisdictional in nature.

Contentious Matters

• Represented a public listed construction company vis-a-vis its shareholder/director dispute in the context of its joint venture with a leading property development company in Singapore. The share quantum in dispute exceeds $600 million.
• Represented a senior banker in matrimonial proceedings involving assets in excess of $30 million (made up mostly of various shareholdings spanning across corporations in and beyond Singapore, including a Family Office).
• Represented a foreign corporate shareholder (entity incorporated in Thailand) in respect of a dispute over the sale of shares of a Singapore incorporated company worth in excess of $5 million.
• Represented shareholders in a dispute over a shareholder’s agreement between foreign shareholders (German nationals) and a local incorporated joint venture company. The matter was adjudicated at an arbitration seated in Singapore under the SIAC Rules.
• Represented shareholders of a three (3) decade old boutique construction company in Singapore in defending a minority oppression claim (section 216, Companies Act 1967), including arguments on quasi-partnership.
• Represented minority shareholders in a minority oppression claim (section 216, Companies Act 1967) and derivative action (section 216A, Companies Act 1967) in the context of a corporate group in the food and beverage industry.
• Represented shareholders in negotiations for the exit of a certain class of shareholders and the valuation of the company (and its shares).
• Represented directors in defending claims (of alleged breaches of directors and/or fiduciary duties).
• Represented directors in defending claims (of alleged breaches of directors and/or fiduciary duties) filed by a shareholder vide a derivative action (section 216A, Companies Act 1967).
• Represented directors in an application to the High Court for relief under Section 391, Companies Act 1967.
• Represented a company in resisting a director’s application in the High Court to inspect the company’s accounting and other records under Section 199(5), Companies Act.
• Represented shareholders in a contentious company winding-up application involving a group of companies.
• Represented directors in resisting bankruptcy applications filed by the company’s corporate debtor (seeking to enforce personal guarantees in respect of a corporate debt) for debts in excess of $15 million.
• Represented the CEO of a public listed company in a shareholder / director dispute in the context of a corporate group spanning various jurisdictions, including Singapore, Malaysia, and the British Virgin Islands.
• Represented a shareholder of a company incorporated in Cambodia but whose shares were forcibly transferred (by the majority shareholders/directors) to a company incorporated in Singapore. The share quantum in dispute is approximately USD 50 million.
• Represented a minority shareholder and director in an action for wrongful termination, minority oppression (section 216, Companies Act 1967) and derivative action (section 216A, Companies Act 1967) in the context of a corporate group spanning across India, Singapore, and Malaysia with an annual turnover in excess of $30 million.
• Represented the founder and majority shareholder of a Singapore incorporated company trading in iron ore with an annual turnover exceeding $1 billion (at its height). The dispute (involving fraud, conspiracy to defraud, etc) revolved around a group of companies (across Australia, Hong Kong, China and Singapore) and between the shareholders of the Singapore incorporated head office.
• Represented the founding shareholder of a Singapore incorporated company (part of a larger corporate group with subsidiaries in Malaysia and Philippines) in a minority oppression court suit against the majority shareholders (who had monopoly of the board). The matter involved tracing nearly two (2) decades worth of historical director dealings and financial records to piece together the misconduct of the errant directors.
• Represented a Canadian national ), the co-founder (and 30% shareholder) of a unicorn start-up in dispute centered around how our client was ousted from the company by the majority bloc after he had helped built its infrastructure and secured from investors a USD100 million capital injection.
• Represented the founder, COO and shareholder of a luxury apparel manufacturing corporate group headquartered in Singapore but with its main manufacturing plant located in Cambodia. The majority bloc sought to dilute our client’s shareholding by repeatedly calling for unjustified capital injections.
• Represented the director and shareholder of an international corporate group with the majority bloc residing and spread across the USA, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Thailand who tried to evade the service of court papers.
• Represented a minority shareholder in an oppression and derivative action claim against his fellow founders of a corporate group in the oil and gas industry (across Singapore and Malaysia). The matter involved the majority bloc’s marginalisation of our client at the board level and deprivations of his statutory rights as shareholder as they surreptitiously diverted SGD35 million worth of business opportunities to a newly incorporated entity of their own.

As part of his broader commercial disputes practice, Mark also advises both individuals and corporations in contractual disputes, debt / asset recovery, bankruptcy and corporate insolvency matters; in moratoriums applications, judicial management applications, etc, under the Insolvency, Restructuring & Dissolution Act 2018.

Mark has also been involved in a variety of complex litigation, including:-

• the enforcement of an English (UK) judgment in respect of assets worth more than USD 17 million against foreign state-owned entities.
• represented a remisier in a multi-party suit involving a prominent Singapore-based trading house and a foreign claimant incorporated in the British Virgin Islands.
• represented a South Korean company (part of a public listed South Korean conglomerate) in a commercial contract dispute against a US-based entity.
• represented the Management Council of a commercial building in a multi-party negligence suit against a public listed construction company and a Singapore statutory board.
• represented an Indian public listed company in a multi jurisdiction dispute in relation to two competing deeds of assignment in respect of the assignment of a debt in excess of $117 million Euros.

Deals / Transactional Matters

• Represented a minority shareholder in respect of the transfer of shares and the termination of an existing shareholder agreement (which formed part of larger share sale negotiations in excess of $360 million) and in resisting the company invoking a drag-along clause.
• Represented and advised minority shareholders with an aggregate secured shareholding of approximately USD 103 million in the restructuring of a public-listed entity.
• Represented a Singapore incorporated company in respect of a cross-jurisdiction joint venture governed by the laws of Singapore for the development of solar powered generation plants in Myanmar (in particular advising on the rights of the shareholder and corresponding board rights).
• Represented a renowned home-grown food and beverage brand (with more than 50 outlets island wide) in connection to a convertible note negotiations (for shareholding) for investments exceeding $5 million.
• Advised on a share call option agreement valued in excess of $10 million between a Singapore incorporated company, a Dubai based intermediary and a Europe based entity.
• Advised on structuring a joint venture company (in the energy sector / industry) to be incorporated in Singapore between a Singapore based shareholder and a public listed company in Thailand.
• Advised a corporate group (medical-tech industry) in respect of its share capital increase exercise and re-negotiating the shareholding structure of the corporate group between dissenting groups of minority founding shareholders and between different classes of shareholders.
• Represented a boutique surgery practice (and its founder doctor/shareholder) in a multi-million dollar acquisition by and joint venture with a public listed health group, dealing with the acquisition of shares and the structuring of the joint venture.
• Advised a German-based European ship management conglomerate and a Singapore incorporated company (marine and offshore supply solutions provider) in a cross-border joint venture focusing on shareholding and board structure advisory and intra-group transfer / conveyance of rights and assets.

PUBLICATIONS

Mark also writes prolifically on various legal developments with a keen interest in corporate disputes and corporate governance, including:-

• “Lifting of the Veil of Incorporation”
• “Derivative Action by Shareholders; Section 216A of the Companies Act”
• “Case Update: Ho Yew Kong v Sakae Holdings Ltd [2018] SGCA 33”
• “Shareholder Minority Oppression – Remedy – Share Buy-Out & Valuation”
• “Access to a Company’s Documents & Records”
• “Power to Grant Relief – Directors’ Liability; Section 391 of the Companies Act”
• “Oppression, Disregard of Shareholders’ Interests & Prejudice”
• “Shareholder Disputes” (co-authored with the Berkeley Research Group)
• “Shareholders Agreement” (co-authored with Manulife Financial Advisers)
• “When Is Shareholder Oppression Remedied? – Relevance of a Buy-out Offer” (following a win in the Singapore High Court)
• Can a Majority Shareholder ever be Oppressed by a Minority? – “Reverse Oppression”
• Testifying From Outside Singapore – the Video Link Exception in Multi-Jurisdictional Disputes
• Shareholder Decisions – The Power of the Vote
• Investing in Singapore: A Foreign Investor’s Guide (投资新加坡：外国投资者实用指南)
• A Director’s Perspective: Exposure, Risks and Personal Liability
• “Shareholders’ Rights & Shareholder Activism 2025” – Chambers and Partners, Global Practice Guides
• “Corporate Governance” (Singapore Chapter, 2026) – Lexology Panoramic Guide (LexisNexis)
• Global Legal Insights 2026 (15th edition) – Litigation & Dispute Resolution
• Featured in The Business Times; “Where Board Oversight Meets Entrepreneurial Risk”

Mark has also routinely been invited on live interviews to share his views on various current affairs of the day and high profile cases, including interviews with Channel NewsAsia, Mediacorp Capital 95.8FM, MoneyFM 89.3, etc.

SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS

• “Shareholder Oppression or Activism Defence? Voting Power, Activism and Corporate Control” – Moderated and spoke at The Legal 500’s Asia Pacific Disputes Summit 2026
• “Corporate Governance or Trojan Horse : Revisiting the Concepts of Shareholder Passivity and Activism in a New World Order” – Chambers & Partners Virtual Forum, 2025
• “The Boardroom Trifecta: Directors’ Duties, Corporate Governance and Diversity” – Moderated and spoke at The Legal 500’s Asia Pacific Disputes Summit 2025
• “Perspectives on Shareholder Activism: A Cross-Border Case Study” – Moderated and spoke at The Legal 500’s Asia Pacific Disputes Summit 2024
• “Minority Shareholders’ Remedies in Singapore: Oppression defined, Reliefs and Valuation” – The Legal 500’s Webinar Series
• “Navigating the Boardroom: Shareholder Disputes in a Cross- Border World” – The Legal 500; Partner Perspectives Interview Series
• “Directors’ Duties and the Function of the Board” – The SMU Law Academy (Yong Pung How School of Law, Singapore Management University) (Accredited CPD Event)
• “Whether Companies Should Do Away with Executive Chairman Roles” – live interview on MoneyFM 89.3 (Singapore’s first and only Business and Personal Finance station)
• “Overseas Investment Series: Singapore Investment Risks and Family Business Wealth Succession” (focusing of Singapore corporate structures and shareholding arrangements / boardroom compositions) – Leadvisor Global’s (Shanghai) International Conference
• “Directorship Fundamentals” – in-house live seminar conducted for various large, medium enterprises and trade associations in Singapore
• “Debt/Asset Recovery” – in-house live seminar conducted for various large, medium enterprises and trade associations in Singapore
• “Company Law Series” – in-house live seminar conducted for various large, medium enterprises and trade associations in Singapore
• “Law For All” – Invited to speak at Singapore Management University’s inaugural seminar series
• Invited to speak on civil claims identification and evidence gathering (in collaboration with Justice Without Borders for foreign domestic workers working in Singapore)
• Invited to speak at Justice Without Borders’ 3rd Annual workshop on “Employing Legal Solutions for International Migrant Workers: A Legal Education Workshop on Cross-Border Civil Litigation”
• Planning for Perpetuity: Company Succession for Business Owners – guest speaker at live seminar hosted by Infinity Financial Advisory
• “Founders & Business Continuity” – Podcast Interview on business structures (touching on shareholding structures and directors duties), corporate governance and business succession
• Directors Duties & Liabilities – Progress or Regression? – speaker at in-person seminar at the Yong Pung How School of Law, Singapore Management University (Accredited CPD Event, Singapore Institute of Legal Education)
• Speaker and Steering Committee member of the Global Arbitration Review (GAR), Live Asia-Pacific International Arbitration Conference 2026
• Podcast Interview: MDD Forensic Accountants Litigation Series (Taking the Stand) – Shareholder Disputes & Business Valuations, 2026

CLIENT TESTIMONIALS

• • “Very professional … [Mr Mark Lee] helped us in solving an international commercial dispute and we could not be more satisfied with their legal help and professional attitude. …”
  • “… An astute lawyer… keen grasp of the law … able to very swiftly discern the underlying issues of a dispute. Mark’s keen strategies and wealth of experience have been great assets to my company.”
  • “… excellent lead and guidance from Mark throughout our entire case in the High Court. It was our company’s first legal dispute and we were glad to have Mark in our corner. Great professionalism.”
  • “… helpful and extremely competent …[in dealing with] inter- jurisdictional matters … . Mark completed the job with outstanding competence … extensive legal knowledge. He is a credit to the Singapore legal profession.”
  • “… professional, effective and I can always count on him to deliver top-notch service.”
  • “a very effective litigator who delivers results for his clients. He is precise with his advice and surgical with his approach and strategy to complicated issues. … very impressed with his professionalism … .”
  • “… professional and yet approachable style that make us feel so comfortable. … great passion and commitment …”
  • “… driven and motivated and worked tirelessly to fight for the best outcome … deeply impressed by his professionalism.”
  • “Working with Mark Lee … has been a highly valuable experience. Mark’s exceptional leadership, strategic insight, and innovative approach to dispute resolution distinguish him from his peers. His deep expertise and pragmatic mindset consistently lead to effective and efficient outcomes for clients.[collated independently by the Legal 500 research team (Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2026 Guide)]“
  • “Mark Lee stands out for his confidence, deep understanding, and extensive experience. From the very first interaction, he demonstrated a clear grasp of the situation and provided guidance that was both practical and reassuring. What sets him apart from competitors is his ability to combine technical legal expertise with a personal, client-focused approach, making complex issues easy to understand and instilling confidence throughout the process. I have particularly valued his clarity, responsiveness, and the way he consistently puts the client’s best interests at the forefront.[collated independently by the Legal 500 research team (Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2026 Guide)]“