Ronald JJ Wong

I am an Advocate, Counsel, Strategist, and Technologist.

I believe in serving people to bring about justice and peace.

Having moved on from dismantling electronic devices and coding computer games at age 10, I found my calling as a lawyer and honed my legal craft at a Big Four firm, Rajah & Tann.

My practice is in both disputes and transactional work, with a special interest in technology, finance, intellectual property (IP), and employment.

I take pride in being strategic, sharp, technically savvy, and bespoke.

In litigation and arbitration, I’ve represented institutional and individual clients at all levels of the Singapore courts and various arbitration institutions and in a range of disputes, including multi-million dollar investment claims, patent infringements, insolvency-related claims, director-shareholder disputes, and cryptocurrency claims.

Dispute highlights include:

• Acted for warehouse operators in challenging an infringement decision by the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore regarding alleged infringement of competition law by way of price-fixing. Our strategic defence in challenging the evidence and carefully crafted legal submissions on unique points of competition law succeeded in achieving the first-ever successful appeal in the Competition Appeal Board against an entire finding of liability under the section 34 prohibition in Singapore. 
• Acting for a trade merchant, which is the region’s largest in its sector, in claims totalling multi-million dollars in more than 20 simultaneous suits involving commercial fraud. Our team meticulously analysed and assembled every relevant shred of forensic evidence and strategically ran legal arguments based on certain rarely used legal doctrines to successfully obtain recovery in the multiple proceedings.
• Acted for an investment fund manager and a large global bank in a claim against a foreign guarantor for sums in excess of US$50 million due under a cross-border syndicated loan agreement. The action involved running a strategy to obtain final judgment based on a summary determination of novel conflicts of laws issues regarding the law governing capacity to contract and resisting a stay of proceedings on grounds of forum non conveniens.
• Acted for investors and a former employee in defending multi-million dollar claims by liquidators of a group of companies in the clawback of investment returns and commissions in one of Singapore’s largest reported Ponzi schemes.
• Acted for a Managing Director and minority shareholder in an oil and gas company for contractual payments and a share buyout based on minority oppression. Our legal strategy of relying on a rarely used legal doctrine of rectification as well as unjust enrichment succeeded.
• Acted in representative proceedings (equivalent to a class action suit) for more than 80 claimants in a multi-million dollar claim against a cryptocurrency exchange operator involving multiple digital assets / cryptocurrency and funds. Our careful crafting of the claims and interlocutory applications, and subject matter knowledge of cryptocurrency and digital assets exchanges, paid off in successfully obtaining summary judgment.
• Acted for a specialised engineering company in a patent infringement claim and defending a patent revocation counterclaim. Our grasp of the technical aspects of the patent and the machines, as well as patent and IP law, enabled a successful resolution. Our legal arguments on a novel issue of claiming for convoyed goods in an account of profits were accepted by the High Court.

In my advisory and transactional practice, I have advised clients in a wide range of areas, including technology, FinTech, MedTech, artificial intelligence (AI), data and privacy, Web3, IP, media, blockchain, digital assets, payment services, employment, investments and corporate finance, financial services, and mergers and acquisitions (M&A).

Transaction highlights include:

• Advised various Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)-regulated digital asset / cryptocurrency exchanges and operators of security digital tokens markets (RMO) on various legal and regulatory matters, including licensing, compliance, market monitoring technology licences, trade settlement technology services, market conduct rules, and IP management and registration.
• Advised on a venture capital investment into a digital payments startup based in Singapore and Indonesia; drafting and negotiation of subscription and shareholders’ agreements.
• Advised on the multi-million dollar sale of a group of companies to a government-linked conglomerate; advising in due diligence process and drafting and negotiation of sale and purchase agreement and related legal documentation.
• Advised on the multi-million dollar asset acquisition of a novel multi-modal craft technology company by a government-linked conglomerate.
• Advised a leading electronics retailer on various commercial legal matters regarding IP management, distributorship arrangements, personal data, employment, and commercial collaborations.
• Advised an operator of international payment services with virtual accounts, virtual card management, cryptocurrency conversion, and foreign currency cash management on regulatory and licensing matters.

I am also a Singapore Mediation Centre (SMC) Accredited Mediator and volunteer in providing pro / low bono legal services. I advocate for social justice in various platforms, and frequently author academic and thought papers, some of which have been published in various journals. I also serve on the Singapore Academy of Law (SAL) Subcommittee on AI and Robotics.

In my other roles, I try to pioneer movements, build communities, provoke novel ideas, mobilise people, and cultivate culture.

Read more about me at: www.ronaldjjwong.com.