Clifford Chance
Cameron Hassall leads the Litigation & Dispute Resolution practice in Asia Pacific.
Maintaining a practice in both Hong Kong and Australia, Cameron specialises in commercial litigation and international arbitration arising from corporate M&A, private equity, venture capital, energy & infrastructure, aviation and banking disputes. Cameron has full rights of audience in Hong Kong and has appeared as both counsel and arbitrator in across APAC, including with seats in Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Geneva, London and Ghana and under the AAA, CIETAC, HKIAC, ICC, LCIA, SCC, SIAC and UNCITRAL Rules.
- Advised and represented a global private equity firm and its portfolio company in connection with claims advanced under an "evergreen" supply agreement, pursuant to which tens of millions of products was supplied annually resulting in a dispute worth into the hundreds of millions of dollars. Disputes arose in relation to the scope and binding nature of an expert determination on price and volumes of product, the obligations to take and/or pay for product, the obligation to supply under the agreement, the approval of underlying supply agreements, material and repudiatory breaches, breaches of confidentiality, jurisdiction challenges, waiver, estoppel, and misrepresentation. Two interconnected agreements involved, one providing for the jurisdiction of the South Australian Courts and the other providing for ad hoc arbitration in Adeliade, Australia.
- Advised and represented a global private equity firm and its portfolio company in connection with claims of breach of account warranties relating to the billion-dollar acquisition of a FMCG multinational with operations in Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. The dispute involved a claim as to the calculation of true value in the context of the measure of damages, and the proper construction and interpretation of the insurance policy, including certain exclusion clauses pertaining to the phrase "defective product or saleability" which had not been the subject of any jurisprudence. The dispute involved detailed fact and expert (industry, accounting and quantum / valuation) evidence relating to the appropriate provision for surplus inventory which ought to have been made in the financial statements of the target. The claim was for more than $200 against warranty insurance providers. NSW Supreme Court proceedings settled on the first day of trial.
- Advised and represented a global bank in respect of USD 400m disputes arising from a series of syndicated loan agreements, pursuant to which it was alleged that members of the syndicate breached fiduciary duties and /or made misrepresentations to the borrowers, thereby inducing them into offering security over assets including shares in a ASX listed company and the underlying mining assets. The lenders ultimately exercised their security rights and sold the assets. SIAC arbitrations and related Singapore and Australian court proceedings.
- Advised and represented a private equity firm in connection with a USD 300m dispute arising out of its acquisition of a majority share in a Chinese food chain. The Claimants sought rescission of the agreements, alternatively damages, in connection with their fraudulent inducement into the acquisition through misrepresentations and the manipulation of the target group books and records. Two CIETAC arbitrations, worldwide freezing injunction and asset preservation orders in Hong Kong and a freezing injunction and disclosure orders in Singapore.
- Advised and represented a global bank in two SIAC arbitration proceedings in connection with a significant fraud by which it was induced invest in an Indian technology company and its Dubai-based subsidiary. The dispute involved one of the first applications to obtain emergency relief, including worldwide Mareva relief, under the SIAC emergency arbitrator provisions.
- Advised and represented a solar company on a USD 190 million dispute arising out of a joint venture established in the Malaysia for the business of producing and developing solar modules for shareholder use in solar cells. The dispute involved various anti-trust, breach of trade secret and breach of confidentiality allegations and claims on the part of both shareholders to forced purchase of shares. ICC arbitration, San Francisco seat, Californian governing law.
- Arbitrator in a Ghana seated international arbitration in which it was alleged that a mining licence was improperly discontinued.
News and client work
Contact details
- Clifford Chance, Hong Kong
Clifford Chance, Sydney - +85228258902 +61289228015
- Email me
- Practice area Litigation, dispute resolution & risk management
- Sector Energy & resources, Banks, Private equity, Industrials
Career and qualifications
- Admitted as a solicitor in New South Wales 1998
- Joined Clifford Chance 2003
- Admitted as a solicitor in Hong Kong 2005
- Partner since 2010
Professional bodies
- Committee member – ICC Hong Kong
- Immediate past chairman – Hong Kong ICC arbitrator nomination sub-committee
- Former HKIAC Proceedings Committee Member
Awards and citations
- Cameron Hassall is a clear market leader. Very user-friendly, very strategic, and very clever.
Legal 500: Australia – Dispute Resolution: Arbitration 2025 - Cameron Hassall provides an excellent blend of technical skill and strategic experience.
Legal 500: Australia – Dispute Resolution: Litigation 2025 - He deserves a special mention as an excellent lawyer who can look round the corner and see where things may be going.
Greater China Region 2025: Dispute Resolution: Arbitration (International Firms) - He's a great lawyer who is very down to earth.
Greater China Region 2025: Dispute Resolution: Arbitration (International Firms) - Leading Individual
Legal 500 – Arbitration - Cameron Hassall is a member of the Legal 500 Asia Pacific Hall of Fame
- Band 1 Individual
Cameron Hassall is "superb: an extremely talented lawyer and a persuasive advocate," enthuses one source. He heads the practice and offers clients long-standing experience in handling cross-border commercial arbitrations, often in the context of M&A, private equity and joint venture disputes."His merits are that he's very experienced, ferocious and daring, which is a good thing in the arbitration courts," notes another interviewee.
Chambers Asia Pacific 2020, Dispute Resolution: Arbitration (International Firms) – China - Band 1 Individual
Cameron Hassall heads the firm's arbitration practice in Greater China and provides clients with the benefit of deep experience in cross-border commercial arbitrations. Sources appreciate his ability to stay calm under pressure, with one saying: "Cameron leads a fantastic team. He is very good at managing complex cases and difficult situations. He is doing a phenomenal job."
Chambers Global 2019, Dispute Resolution: Arbitration (International Firms) – China - Band 5 Individual
Cameron Hassall operates a robust commercial arbitration practice. Based in Hong Kong and head of the firm's Greater China practice, he is held in high esteem for his excellent experience handling arbitration proceedings in the Asia-Pacific region. His expertise spans banking, energy and aviation disputes.
Chambers Global 2019, Arbitration (International) – Global-wide - Practice head Cameron Hassall is ‘an excellent strategist – he is calm, hands-on and gives succinct and practical responses’
Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2018 - Clients appreciate that he is "hugely approachable for a very senior partner" and value his "very commercial, pragmatic" approach. He has a broad practice with focus on commercial arbitrations, including those arising in the investment, financial services, aviation, solar power and natural resources industries. Sources add that he is "well prepared, organised and impressive" as an advocate.
Chambers Asia Pacific 2018