On Thursday 16 March at 6pm CET took place an in-depth 90mn discussion of the English Commercial Court decision: Dassault Aviation SA v Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co Ltd (see here) on the scope of non-assignment provisions and their impact on jurisdiction, particularly in insurance and finance agreements, in our ‘A Case in Time’ journal series. This judgment was nominated by GAR among the most important arbitration decisions rendered in 2022.

The speakers for this episode included Ruth Byrne KC (King & Spalding), James Herbert (GBS Disputes), Nico Leslie (Fountain Court Chambers), and Nathan Searle (Hogan Lovells), with Tsegaye Laurendeau (Signature Litigation) moderating (short bios of the speakers below). You can find out more about arbitration in England & Wales from the GAP chapter authored by White & Case.

The recording is available here.

ABOUT THE GAP AND THE SPEAKERS

The Delos Guide to Arbitration Places (GAP) is designed to assist in-house counsel, corporate lawyers and arbitration practitioners with efficiently accessing key insights into a large range of jurisdictions, including for the purposes of negotiating the choice of arbitral seats and conducting arbitral proceedings in those jurisdictions.

This peer-reviewed open access publication is now in its second edition. Browse the table of contents, explore the jurisdictions covered in the GAP or jump to the traffic lights table.

Ruth Byrne KC is a partner and solicitor advocate in the London office of King & Spalding. Ruth specialises in international commercial disputes. She has advised clients on disputes arising in multiple jurisdictions (notably in Africa, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe) and from a wide range of different industry sectors, including energy, life sciences, media, manufacturing and retail and banking. Ruth has appeared as counsel in arbitrations under all of the leading institutional rules (ICC, LCIA, AAA/ICDR, SCC, Swiss Rules, and ICSID), as well as ad hoc arbitrations, and sits regularly as arbitrator. She also appears frequently in the English High Court, in particular in proceedings in support of arbitration, as well as more generally, in international commercial litigation. Ruth also advises on questions of public and private international law. She is recommended in Chambers UK, the Legal 500 (UK) and Who’s Who Legal (International Arbitration). Ruth speaks regularly on a variety of international arbitration topics.

James Herbert is a counsel at Gaillard Banifatemi Shelbaya Disputes. His experience includes investment and commercial international arbitrations under the ICSID, ICC, SIAC, HKIAC, LCIA, UNCITRAL, SCC, CRCICA and NAI Rules, and spans a broad range of sectors including energy (oil and gas, power and district heating), construction, pharmaceuticals, mining, commodities, private equity and finance. James also has experience in litigation before New Zealand courts and tribunals.

Nico Leslie is a barrister at Fountain Court Chambers and has a broad practice encompassing all aspects of commercial litigation and arbitration. He is recognised in the legal directories as a Leading Junior in the fields of Banking & Finance, Civil Fraud, Commercial Litigation, Offshore and Professional Negligence work. Nico is also the Chambers & Partners ‘Banking & Finance Junior of the Year’ 2022, having been nominated for the same award in 2020.  Previously, he was named as one of the top ten Commercial Litigation juniors in London under eight years’ call in consecutive years (2017, 2018) and was identified as one of ten “Stars at the Bar” by Legal Week, which described him as “intelligent, thorough, very hardworking” and “unflappable”, noting that “the thing which sets him apart is how practical he is”. Many of his cases involve an international element, and he has particular experience of litigation in offshore jurisdictions (Bermuda, BVI, Cayman and St Lucia) and in Hong Kong and Singapore. He also has extensive experience of all aspects of international arbitration, particularly under LCIA, SIAC, ICSID, UNCITRAL and ad hoc rules.   He accepts instructions in French, Italian, Croatian/Serbian and Spanish, and is comfortable working in each of those languages. Nico is also regularly instructed on cases with an assignment dimension, having co-authored with the Honourable Mr Justice Marcus Smith one of the leading texts in the area: The Law of Assignment, (OUP), now in its third edition.

Nathan Searle is a partner in our international arbitration group, acting for large multinationals in complex and high-value international arbitrations and cross-border disputes. He has extensive experience in African related disputes and coordinates the firm’s disputes practice in the region. Nathan also has experience in other emerging markets including Asia, India, Russia and the CIS. Nathan is appointed to the LCIA African Users Council as councillor, a co-chair of the LCIA’s Young International Arbitration Group (YIAG) and is a member of the Advisory Board for the Association of Young Arbitrators (AYA).  Nathan has higher rights of audience in the English courts and regularly appears as an advocate in international arbitrations. He also advises clients on risk management and strategies to avoid or resolve disputes at an early stage.

Tsegaye Laurendeau is an international arbitration partner at Signature Litigation and is based in London. With over 10 years’ experience of international arbitrations as counsel, Tsegaye has advised and represented companies, States and State-owned entities in arbitrations conducted pursuant to the arbitration rules of many of the major arbitration institutions, with a particular focus on disputes in the oil and gas, energy, mining, construction and telecoms sectors. Tsegaye has developed an expertise in arbitrations involving complex corporate structures, financial products, accounting and tax issues and handles all matters relating to quantum in international arbitrations. While Tsegaye’s practice focuses exclusively on arbitration, he began his career in the Project Finance group of a magic circle firm, acting for financial institutions and international corporates in relation to the financing and development of large energy and infrastructure projects in the MENA region and Sub-Saharan Africa. Tsegaye was a partner at international arbitration boutique law firm Gaillard Banifatemi Shelbaya Disputes and Counsel in Shearman & Sterling’s international arbitration group. He is recognised in arbitration guides and features in The Legal 500 International Arbitration Powerlist UK, which showcases the UK’s leading arbitration practitioners. Tsegaye is admitted as a Solicitor in England and Wales and at the Paris Bar.