Josh LEE Kok Thong

Education

Josh received his LL.M. from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law in 2022, where he was named to the Dean’s List for his academic achievements. Josh was also a Richard Buxbaum International Graduate Fellow and a White & Case Kathryn Aguirre Worth Scholar. An active contributor to Berkeley Law’s student body, Josh served as the LL.M. Editor of the Berkeley Technology Law Journal and co-founded B-LIT, Berkeley’s first legal innovation student organisation.

Josh received his LL.B. (with honours) from the Singapore Management University Yong Pung How School of Law in 2015, where he represented the school at the Willem C. Vis (East) International Commercial Arbitration Moot in 2014. Josh was called to the Singapore Bar in 2016.

Professional Appointments

Before postgraduate studies, Josh served for half a decade in the Singapore Government. He served as Legal Policy Manager for Artificial Intelligence (AI) Governance in Singapore’s Personal Data Protection Commission, where he drove Singapore’s overall AI governance policies. In particular, he helped author Singapore’s Model AI Governance Framework — later used as a blueprint for ASEAN’s Guide on AI Governance and Ethics. Before that, Josh was Assistant Director for Legal Policy in the Ministry of Law, where he drove criminal and civil legislative reform, particularly in technology and online harms. He also practiced as an international arbitration lawyer in a large Singaporean law firm.

As a driver of the tech-of-law, Josh is the first Chairperson of the Asia-Pacific Legal Innovation and Technology Association (https://alita.legal), a pan-regional industry platform driving legal innovation and technology initiatives in the region. Josh also co-founded the virtual publication LawTech.Asia (https://lawtech.asia), which advances thought leadership on law and technology in Asia. In 2019 and 2023, Josh was identified by Asia Law Portal as one of Asia’s Top 30 Persons to Watch in legal innovation and the business of law.

In addition, Josh presently serves as a council member of Singapore’s 7th Media Literacy Council. Josh is also a member of Singapore’s Law Reform Subcommittee for Robotics and AI, where he authored a law reform report on “Criminal Liability, Robots and AI Systems”. Josh was also a chapter co-author of Law and Technology in Singapore, which was edited by Professor Simon Chesterman, DAG Goh Yihan, and Senior Judge Andrew Phang. He is an adjunct faculty member of the SMU Yong Pung How School of Law, where he teaches AI law, policy and ethics. Josh also contributes regularly at conferences and dialogues on the law-of-tech and tech-of-law ecosystems.

Research Areas

Josh is the Managing Director (APAC) of the Future of Privacy Forum (FPF), and Advisor (Technology, Media and Telecommunications) in Rajah & Tann Asia. As a legal architect re-shaping societal relationships disrupted by technology, he leads a team advancing principled and pragmatic data protection practices in support of emerging technologies. In his role, he regularly engages with top governmental committees and international organisations, including the UK House of Lords, ASEAN, APEC, and the G7 data protection authorities.

His areas of research and analysis include, but are not limited to, AI governance and regulation, privacy and data protection, the regulation of emerging technologies, and online trust and safety.