Matthew Townsend works in the Beijing and Hong Kong offices as a member of the Arbitration and ADR practice group. His practice is primarily focused on China-related international arbitration and dispute resolution.

Prior to joining the firm, Matthew worked as a dispute resolution lawyer with law firms in London and Beijing. He speaks and writes Mandarin Chinese and first came to China in 2005. He has been living and working in Beijing since early 2010.

Matthew is Co-founder and Director of the China Britain Law Institute, in which capacity he is a regular writer and speaker on issues of business and law in China.

Matthew has participated in and assisted with the following matters:

• Dubai-seated DIAC arbitration - Representing a defendant in a dispute, valued at over $100 million, between a local subsidiary of a Chinese State Owned Enterprise and a UAE government-controlled entity, arising from the construction of a residential housing complex in Dubai
• Beijing-seated CIETAC arbitration - Representing Claimant in an arbitration conducted under UNCITRAL rules concerning a dispute, valued at over $40 million concerning the alleged misappropriation of licensed process technology in China
• Stockholm-seated SCC arbitration - Representing a Claimant in a licensing dispute between Chinese and US parties valued at over $100 million in relation to technology employed in the construction of a number of power plants in China, greater Asia and Europe
• Paris-seated ICC DOCDEX procedure - Advising a Claimant in relation to a trade dispute with an East Asian sovereign state, including representing the Claimant, in its capacity as beneficiary to a letter of credit, in a DOCDEX procedure against the issuing bank
• Dubai-seated DIAC arbitration - Representing a Middle Eastern contractor in relation to a dispute over the construction of a Dubai tower block
• London-seated ICC arbitration - Representing a successful Claimant in an arbitration against a sovereign state, including defending a challenge of the arbitral award on jurisdiction in the English Court

• Law Society of England and Wales
• China Britain Law Institute ("CBLI"), Co-founder and Director
• China International Arbitration Club ("CIAC")
• Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre ("HKIAC"), HK45
• International Commercial Court ("ICC"), Young Arbitrators Forum
• International Centre for Dispute Resolution ("ICDR"), Young & International ("ICDR Y&E")
• London Court of International Arbitration ("LCIA"), Young International Arbitration Group
• Swiss Arbitration Association ("ASA"), Below 40

• The Law Society of England and Wales named Matthew Townsend as one of seven lawyers shortlisted in the category of "Junior Lawyer of the Year" in the Society's 2012 "Excellence Awards". Matthew is the only individual to have been twice recognized in his category.
• The Law Society of England and Wales named Matthew Townsend as one of eight lawyers shortlisted in the category of "Junior Lawyer of the Year" in the Society's 2010 "Excellence Awards".
• Matthew was one of the recipients of the UK Attorney General's Pro-bono Award (2008)(Best Team of Students) in respect of a joint program between the Chinese Information and Advice Centre (CIAC) and the College of Law. In the same year Matthew was named CIAC's Volunteer of the Year.

Arbitration focused (in English): 

• Co-author, "New HKIAC Administered Rules in the Works" [2013] Int. A.L.R. Issue 2, April 2013
• Co-author, "Only 'Serious or Egregious' Procedural Violations Sufficient Grounds to Overturn an Arbitration Award in Honng Kong" [2013] Int. A.L.R. Issue 2, April 2013
• Co-author, "Chinese Arbitration--Still Distinctive" 3 Harv. Bus. L. Rev. Online 196 (2013), April 2013
• Co-author, "Reconsidering Arbitration in China" China Law and Practice, January 2013
• Co-author, "The power of the Hong Kong courts to stay arbitration proceedings" Int. A.L.R. 2012, 15(6), N43-N44, January 2013
• Co-author, "Division and multiplication: CIETAC and its sub-commissions" Int. A.L.R. 2012, 15(6), N41-N43, January 2013
• Co-author, "Supreme Court of India Clarifies the Power of Indian Courts to Intervene in Foreign-Seated Arbitrations" Asian Dispute Review, January 2013
• Co-author, "New Investment Protections for Sino-Canadian Investors" World Trade Executive, November 15, 2012
• Co-author, "Protecting China-related Trade Interests Through Arbitration" World Trade Executive, October 15, 2012
• Co-author, "Protecting Your Technology in China's Innovation Economy: the Role of International Arbitration" China IP Magazine, October 2012
• "Neutrality and China-related Arbitration: A Middle Path in the Middle Kingdom?" Global Arbitration Review, September 27, 2012
• Co-author, "Hong Kong and the Battle to Become Asia's Leading Arbitration Centre"  International Bar Association Asia Pacific Forum Newsletter, September 2012
• Co-author, "Indian Supreme Court Reverses Bhatia Decision in Respect of Foreign Seated Arbitration Awards"  Fulbright Briefing, September 13, 2012
• Co-author, "Courts' Powers to Stay Arbitration Proceedings in Hong Kong" Practical Law Company GC Agenda, September 2012 
• "CEAC Administers its First China Related Cases" Practical Law Company GC Agenda, July 2012
• Co-author, "Hong Kong Court Reinstates ICC Award" Practical Law Company GC Agenda, June, 2012
• Co-author, "Hong Kong Court of Appeal Considers Grounds for Setting Aside Arbitral Awards" Practical Law Company GC Agenda, May 2012
• "Hong Kong and Singapore are Shaping up to Woo China Arbitrations Away from London" The Lawyer Magazine, May 2012 
• Co-author, "CIETAC's New Arbitration Rules, Internationalising Chinese Arbitration?" Practical Law Company GC Agenda, May 2, 2012
• Co-author, "Two Milestones in China-Related Arbitration," Fulbright Briefing, April 20, 2012
• Co-author, "Navigating the New 'Wild West': Protecting Technology Interests in China," State Bar of Texas, Corporate Counsel Section Newsletter, Spring 2012
• Co-author, "Hong Kong Courts Contemplate Anti-Arbitration Injunctions," Fulbright Briefing, March 29, 2012
• Co-author, "Beijing: Arbitral Procedure and Med-arb from English and Chinese Eyes," Global Arbitration Review, December 2011
• Co-author, "A Step Forward for Arbitration, Hong Kong's New Arbitration Ordinance has Implications for Dispute Resolution in China," China Britain Business Review, April 2010

China/Asia focused (in English):

• "Opening the route to Burma, Foreign investors are looking keenly at the Burmese market but the legal infrastructure still needs some work," The Lawyer Magazine, January 2013
• "Capital Resolutions," China Britain Business Focus, September 2012
• "Intellectual Innovation, China is Stepping up Efforts to Create a Domestic Innovation Machine," China Britain Business Focus, June 2012
• "Biting the Sea Crab, How China is Changing the International Disputes Environment," Legalweek, March 2012
• Co-author, "Going Global, Going Local?, Will China's Businesses Resolve Their Disputes Abroad?" Asian Legal Business, December 2011
• "Chinese Investment in the Middle East," Asian Legal Business, October 2011
• "Chinese Firms Enter London Legal Market to Warm Reception as Expansion Tops the Agenda," Legalweek, June 2011
• "Legal Life in Beijing," Interview with Law Society of England and Wales, February 2011
• "A Coming Wave? Chinese Investment Flows and UK Firms," China Law Intelligence, January 2011
• Co-author, "Your Guide to Dealing with the New Anti-Monopoly Laws in China," China Britain Business Review, February 2009

Arbitration and China focused (in Chinese)

• "中国律所加快"走出去"步伐"", FT中文网, 2011/07

Arbitration focused: 

• "What Does an International Arbitrator Expect from You?," Chair and moderator, Norton Rose, Beijing, April 26, 2013
• "Unlocking International Disputes, Overseas Dispute Resolution for Chinese parties," Chair and moderator, UK Trade & Investment, CBLI, Herbert Smith joint conference as part of the 2012 visit of the Lord Mayor of the City of London to China, Beijing, September 18, 2012
• "Resolving China-Related Disputes Outside of the PRC," London School of Economics and Political Science, London, June 19, 2012
• "Asia's Developing Dispute Resolution Centres," College of Law, London, June 2, 2012
• "Protecting Technology in China: The Role of International Arbitration," "China Tech" conference organized by the British Chamber of Commerce in Beijing, April 25, 2012 
• "After the Spill: Law and the Fallout from Environmental Catastrophes," Beijing Energy and Environment Roundtable (BEER), Beijing, March 14, 2012
• "Protecting Your Technology Interests in China," Fulbright Web Seminar, December 14, 2011
• "Three Trends in China-Related Arbitration," International Arbitration conference organized by Bar Council of England and Wales and China Britain Law Institute, Beijing, November 22, 2011

China focused:

• "China IP, tips for businesses", Chair and Moderator, Beijing Arbitration Commission, Beijing, March 21, 2013
• "China, IP and Innovation," Chair and moderator, London School of Economics, February 19, 2012
• "At 40 There Are No Doubts, Australia China Youth Dialogue", chair and moderator of legal panel, October 5, 2012
• "Chinese Law Firms Going Global, Opportunities and Risks for Chinese Firms' International Strategy – a UK Perspective," China Legal Services Globalization Summit, Shanghai, April 28, 2011
• "Beijing as an International Legal Centre? The View from London: A Dialogue Between the Lord Mayor of the City of London and the Chairman of the Beijing Lawyers Association," chair and moderator, China Britain Law Institute, September 14, 2010

2011 – Diploma (Advanced Chinese), Inter-University Program administered by the University of California, Berkeley and Tsinghua University, Beijing
2008 – Diploma (Chinese), Peking University
2007 – Graduate Diploma in Law and Legal Practice Course, College of Law of England and Wales
2004 – M.A.(Hons), Oxford University

Matthew is licensed to practice in England and Wales.

Matthew enjoys sport, reading and spending time with his family.

• Law Society of England and Wales

Matthew is a trustee at London Chinese Radio.