Justin Li

Associate

  • Justin Li
  • Phone: + 44 20 7786 2147

    Import to Address Book

  • Duane Morris
    Citypoint, 16th Floor
    One Ropemaker Street
    London, UK EC2Y 9AW

Justin Li is an associate in the firm's Trial Practice Group. Mr. Li focuses his practice on international arbitration and complex commercial disputes. He has represented multinational corporations, state-owned enterprises, and sovereign entities in proceedings before leading arbitral institutions, including the ICC, LCIA, and UNCITRAL, as well as in related litigation before the English courts.

Before joining Duane Morris, Mr. Li practiced in the London offices of international law firms, where he handled high-value cross-border matters in sectors such as energy, infrastructure, commodities, and mergers and acquisitions. His experience includes advising on disputes involving joint ventures, post-M&A enforcement, technology licensing, and investor-state issues. Clients have described him as “very thorough, analytical and sharp” (Legal 500).

Mr. Li is fluent in English, Mandarin, and Cantonese, with basic proficiency in French.

Education

  • Columbia Law School, J.D., 2012
  • University College London, LL.B., 2012

Experience

  • Duane Morris LLP
    - Associate, 2025-present
  • Willkie Farr & Gallagher (UK) LLP
    - Associate and Legal Advisor, 2021-2025
  • Wilmer, Cutler, Pickering, Hale & Dorr LLP
    - Visiting Foreign Consultant, 2015-2021

Selected Publications

  • Co-author, "U.S. Actions in Venezuela Are a Cause for Concern for Chinese Investors," Duane Morris Alert, January 6, 2026  
  • Co-author, “Oil and Gas Arbitration in the Asia-Pacific Region,” Global Arbitration Review
  • Co-author, “Do England’s Expansive Grounds for Recourse Increase Delay and Interference in Arbitration,” (2014) 80(1) Arbitration 35
  • Co-author, “Liability of Arbitral Institutions: What does the Future Hold?” in B Hanotiau & A Mourre eds., Players’ Interaction in International Arbitration (ICC 2012)
  • Acknowledged by the author for the assistance in updating Gary Born’s International Commercial Arbitration (3rd edn.)

Selected Speaking Engagements

  • Speaker, “2025 Hong Kong Advanced Training Programme on International Law Practice,” Asian Academy of International Law, October 2025

  • Panelist, “New Trends and Development in the Energy Industry and the Resolution of Disputes,” China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission, September 2025

  • Speaker, “Challenges in the Practice and Application of the International Construction Dispute Resolution Board Mechanism,” China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission, August 2025

  • Speaker, “Claims and Defences in Damages in International Arbitration,” China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission, March 2025

  • Moderator, “Experience and Chinese Wisdom in Energy and Mining Dispute Resolution,” China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission, September 2024

  • Speaker, “‘Best Practices’ in Compliance and Risk Management for Chinese Enterprises Going Global,” Shanghai International Arbitration Centre, May 2024

  • Speaker, “International Arbitration: Practical Tips on Strategy,” Beijing Arbitration Commission, February 2023

Representative Matters

  • Represented a state entity in defending claims quantified in the billions of dollars in an LCIA arbitration seated in London and parallel proceedings in the English and Dubai International Finance Centre Courts. The team was nominated by The American Lawyer and Legal 500 as Transatlantic Dispute Resolution Team of the Year for its role on this matter.
  • Represented the client in a complex jurisdictional dispute in Dynasty Company for Oil and Gas Trading v The Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq and Dr Ashti Hawrami [2021] EWHC 952 (Comm), which was listed in The Lawyer’s Top 20 cases to watch in 2021. Claims quantified at over $1.6 billion were dismissed on jurisdictional grounds.
  • Represented a Chinese insurance company in pursuing claims in a post-closing M&A dispute in an ICC arbitration seated in Hong Kong and governed by English law. The client obtained an award in the hundreds of millions of dollars and was awarded its costs.
  • Represented a Chinese airport operator against a private equity fund in a dispute arising out of a subscription agreement. Successfully reduced a claim originally quantified at $897 million to a $38 million award.
  • Represented an Asian state and its state-owned natural gas company against a neighboring state’s state-owned oil company in a dispute arising out of the delayed construction of a cross-border pipeline, quantified at around $18 billion.
  • Represented an Asian subcontractor in a claim arising out of the delayed completion of an integrated petroleum manufacturing complex in Asia owned by an international oil company.
  • Represented an American office equipment manufacturer against its Asian joint-venture partner in a dispute arising out of the termination of the joint-venture agreement.
  • Represented a Lebanese distributor of electrical power generating sets in an ad hoc arbitration quantified at over US$ 100 million arising out of an exclusive distribution agreement with a British provider of diesel engines.
  • Represented a European investor in an UNCITRAL investment treaty arbitration against an Asian state concerning the expropriation and unfair treatment of an investment in an agricultural project.
  • Advised the Fiji, Papua New Guinea, and Tonga governments on accession to the New York Convention and international arbitration legal reform in a project under the auspices of the Asian Development Bank and in coordination with UNCITRAL.