Dharshini Prasad, counsel in Willkie’s International Arbitration Practice Group, has been reappointed for a third term to the Young Singapore International Arbitration Centre (YSIAC) Council. She will serve as Regional Lead for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Formerly known as the YSIAC Committee, the YSIAC Council has been significantly expanded and restructured by region to reflect the growing global footprint of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC), one of the top-ranked arbitral institutions in the world. The YSIAC Council forms a central part of SIAC’s efforts to promote the use of international arbitration and other forms of alternative dispute resolution internationally. It provides a platform for arbitration practitioners to grow their networks and thought leadership across jurisdictions.

Dharshini has worked closely with SIAC for several years. She was extensively involved in drafting the 2016 SIAC Rules and the 2017 SIAC Investment Arbitration Rules, the former including new provisions on multi-party and multi-contract arbitrations and a procedure for the early dismissal of claims and defenses. She was also instrumental in developing SIAC’s Cross-Institution Consolidation Protocol in 2018, a novel proposal that aimed to reduce the fragmentation of complex disputes by providing a mechanism for parallel proceedings under different arbitral rules to be heard in a single forum.

Based in Willkie’s London office, Dharshini focuses on resolving complex multi-jurisdictional disputes across different arbitral seats and rules. She acts as both counsel and arbitrator and is qualified to practice in three leading arbitral jurisdictions: England and Wales, Singapore and New York. She has advised Government, Government entities and corporations on commercial, investment and public international law issues and has particular experience with the energy, mining, infrastructure, private equity and pharmaceutical sectors. She is regularly ranked in industry publications and was named one of the “Most Highly Regarded” future leaders of international arbitration in the 2021 edition of Who’s Who Legal.