Justin Lai

Justin Lai regularly advises on a wide range of commercial and intellectual property matters, with a particular focus on technology and its interfaces across finance, health, entertainment, and gaming sectors. He has helped build and scale digital platforms and data-driven products across Asia, delivering regulatory certainty and execution at pace. He has experience in product counselling, blending regulatory strategy and complex contracting.

On the data protection front, Justin has assisted with numerous privacy and cybersecurity mandates for technology-led clients, spanning incident response, multi-jurisdiction notifications, data protection impact assessments, cross-border transfer mechanisms, vendor risk, and regulatory engagement. His recent work includes coordinating complex, multi-country breach responses and implementing pragmatic data governance and confidentiality frameworks for technology and financial services programmes.

Justin also represents clients in complex disputes, and is adept at addressing novel legal issues and developing strategies for the resolution of multi-jurisdictional disputes. His experience extends to navigating the legal landscape surrounding emerging technologies and assisting with intellectual property transactions, software agreements, and related contracts.

Intellectual Property / Technology, Media & Telecommunications

• Advising a premier financial institution on the establishment and operation of a technology platform connecting e-commerce merchants with financial institutions, including negotiation and documentation of a complex, multi-party collaboration, regulatory guidance, and data governance and cybersecurity controls across multiple jurisdictions.
• Advising a leading health-tech and wearable innovator on regulatory, commercial, and data protection considerations for launching its health-tech product and app ecosystem in numerous international markets spanning Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and Latin America, including product counselling, privacy law compliance, drafting commercial documents, and coordinating local counsel.
• Advising a major ride-hailing technology company on various regulatory and licensing issues concerning the use of its app in the APAC region, including advising on new business models and the development and operation of ancillary software, reviewing app terms and conditions for customers, end-users, and intermediaries, and advising on competition law and privacy-related issues across multiple APAC jurisdictions.
• Represented a Luxembourg IP management and trademark business in a Singapore-seated SIAC arbitration against a former US licensee relating to the manufacture and sale of unapproved products, trademark infringement, and termination of a licence agreement, successfully obtaining an interim injunction as well as final relief including a permanent injunction, an account of profits of approximately USD 35 million, contractual damages, and full legal costs, with all of the respondent's counterclaims dismissed in their entirety.
• Represented a renowned multinational video game developer/publisher in a dispute against a prominent rival video game developer/publisher, seeking to protect and enforce the client’s video game intellectual property via copyright infringement and passing off. Recognised as Impact Deal and Case of the Year: Riot Games v NetEase Interactive Entertainment by Asialaw Awards 2023.*

• National University of Singapore, LLB Second Upper Honours

• Singapore

• Member, Singapore Academy of Law
• Member, Law Society of Singapore