CONFIDENTIALITY: Not To Be Overlooked When Drafting the Arbitration Clause
Over the years, many arguments have been made for what are truly the benefits of international arbitration over local litigation. There are many factors that are listed and ensuing arguments over their continued veracity. Complaints are launched about whether such factors truly remain a benefit (the largest and most obvious one which comes to mind is costs, but that horse has been beaten enough).
I attended the local Netherlands Chapter meeting for the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators on Tuesday evening in The Hague. I will not provide a recount of this meeting with its intriguing presentation from Peter Rees, Legal Director of Royal Shell plc as the Paris Journal of International Arbitra [...]
To disclose or to not disclose – That is the question. Insight from: IBLJ/RDAI Round Table Regarding TPF Produces Interesting Insights Into the Question of Disclosure and Private Interviews
A central concern the in the third party funding arena is: Whether or not parties who are funded by a third party funder should be obligated to disclose this funding relationship. Looking at a recent conference in which many key funders participated on sharing their perspectives, it appears that many funders preferred to keep their involvement confidential. (Summary of this event will be published at: M. Scherer, A. Goldsmith and C. Fléchet, Third Party Funding In International Arbitration In Europe: Part 1: Funders’ Perspectives”, International Business Law Journal / Revue de droit des affaires internationales, No. 2-2012). Although I did not attend this conference, I am grateful for per [...]
How and How? The two most commonly asked questions
I am frequently approached by young up and coming lawyers who want to break into the international arbitration arena or seasoned veterans seeking to make a transition into this dynamic and culturally diverse legal field. They all have the same questions – how do we truly enter the field? And how can it truly be different than domestic litigation and arbitration? Both are very good questions.
What it is not is claiming that you work in a field without actually doing so. How many law firm websites – how many lawyers – claim expertise in this area but when you speak with them, you must wonder whether they have ever seen an international arbitration (commercial or investor-state). What the [...]
THE HUNT FOR FUNDING
My experience, first hand, from hunting for a third party funder was different than I had anticipated. I have been researching this newer field for some time now and have entered some previous posts which go more into the basics of what it is and how it works. So, I won’t repeat all of those details here except to clarify that by third party funding I am referring to a fund or investor source which then covers the costs and legal fees for a claim before a court or tribunal, whose repayment is entirely contingent on the success of the claim and payment of the award.
I was approached with a possible BIT claim with a very strong case on the merits. The damages were also quite high –certainl [...]
Women in Arbitration: Lots of Talk, Any Changes?
Occasional articles, postings, etc come out which discuss the lack of female representation in international arbitration. Perhaps possible reasons are suggested, perhaps only statistics given, but it is still clearly an issue. Beyond talking about it – how can we actually help the situation? In an article from June 2009, Michael Goldhaber noted that in past arbitrator listings from FocusGroup only 4% of arbitrators were women. Some of these women were indeed very busy, and highly respected; yet, only 4% were women.
The first questions to address, perhaps, is why not a female? A fellow colleague of mine, a male, who is active in the international arbitration arena asked me this very questio [...]
What do the Clients Want – International Litigation or International Arbitration?
Is the international litigation gaining strength over international arbitration? Is it true that in-house counsel would rather fight it out in the courts of the country versus dealing with arbitrators who take too long, expensive attorneys in the international arbitration arena and the threat that the country involved will find a way to not recognize and enforce an arbitral award despite being a signatory to the New York Convention of 1958?
This past spring, I moderated a panel at a joint ABA Section of International Law and Los Angeles Bar Association Conference on International Arbitration. This panel provided a view from the client on choosing international arbitration versus going to the [...]
