Neil Kaplan CBE QC SBS and Chiann Bao hosted Lord Neuberger. The recording is available here.

Lord Neuberger is a leading arbitrator, member of One Essex Court. From 2012 to 2017, he served as President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. He was a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary until the House of Lords' judicial functions were transferred to the new Supreme Court in 2009, at which point he became Master of the Rolls. Since 2010, Lord Neuberger has been a Non-Permanent Judge of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal. He is an honorary Fellow of the Royal Society, and an honorary member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

Neil Kaplan CBE QC SBS and Chiann Bao hosted Dr Michael Pryles AO PBM. The recording is available here.

Dr Michael Pryles is a leading independent arbitrator. Chambers Asia-Pacific has consistently rated him as one of the “star individuals” who are most in demand in the Asia-Pacific region. He was previously the chairman of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) and then President of its Court of Arbitration. He has also served as a court member of the LCIA; board member of DIAC; President of ACICA and Chairman of ICC Australia. For over 8 years, he was a Commissioner of the United Nations Compensation Commission, adjudicating claims against Iraq following the first Gulf War, and he was also a Commissioner of the Australian Law Reform Commission. Prior to becoming a full-time arbitrator he was a partner in the Australian law firm Minter Ellison, and before that he held the Henry Bournes Higgins chair of law at Monash University in Melbourne.

Neil Kaplan CBE QC SBS and Chiann Bao hosted Toby Landau QC. The recording is available here.

Toby Landau QC is a member of the Delos Board of Advisors. He is a barrister and arbitrator, and a member of the Bars of England & Wales, Singapore, New York, the BVI and Northern Ireland, and is registered in the DIFC.  He was the first QC to be admitted as a full member of the Singapore Bar, and practices from Essex Court Chambers in London, and Essex Court Chambers Duxton in Singapore.   As Counsel he has argued hundreds of major international commercial and investor-State arbitrations, as well as many ground-breaking arbitration cases in the Courts of England, Singapore, Pakistan and the Caribbean.  As Arbitrator, he has extensive experience sitting in commercial and investor-State disputes worldwide. He is Visiting Professor at Kings College London; Court Member of the LCIA and the SIAC; Fellow of the CIArb; UK delegate to the UNCITRAL Working Group on Arbitration (1994-2013); and a draftsman of the English Arbitration Act 1996; the Pakistan Arbitration (International Investment Disputes) Ordinance, 2006; the Mauritius International Arbitration Act 2008, as well as many institutional rules. He holds a first-class law degree and a first class BCL from Oxford University (Eldon Scholar), and an LL.M. from Harvard Law School (Kennedy Scholar).

Neil Kaplan CBE QC SBS and Chiann Bao hosted Wendy Miles QC. The recording is available here.

Wendy Miles QC is a partner at Debevoise & Plimpton, in London, and a member of the firm's International Dispute Resolution Group. With over 20 years of experience, Ms Miles has acted as counsel in arbitrations under all the major institutions, as well as ad hoc arbitrations and significant public international law cases. She has advised a wide range of multinationals, sovereign states and state entities in public and private international law and international dispute resolution, including commercial and investor state arbitration. Ms Miles is currently a Vice President of the ICC Court of Arbitration and a member of the ICC Commission on Arbitration and ADR. She co-chaired the ICC Task Forces on Costs Allocation in Arbitration (report published in 2017) and Climate Change Related Disputes (report published in 2019). She is also active on various other professional bodies including the IBA, ICCA, Stockholm Arbitration Association, FIAA and the gender diversity initiative Equal Representation in Arbitration Pledge. She regularly teaches and publishes. Ms Miles is admitted to practice in England & Wales, and New Zealand. She became Queen’s Counsel in 2015.

Neil Kaplan CBE QC SBS and Chiann Bao hosted Lucy Reed. The recording is available here.

Lucy Reed joined Arbitration Chambers in New York in January 2020 as an independent arbitrator. She returned to the US after over seven years in Asia, first in Hong Kong and Singapore as head of the Freshfields global international arbitration group, and then as Director of the Centre for International Law and Professor of Practice on the Law Faculty of the National University of Singapore. Lucy is President of ICCA and a Vice-President of the SIAC Court, having formerly served as President of the American Society of International Law and a Vice President of the ICC Court. Over her career, Lucy has represented private and public clients in investment treaty and complex commercial arbitrations, and sat as arbitrator in some 50 cases, including on the Eritrea-Ethiopia Claims Commission (a Geneva Convention tribunal). Her earlier positions include Co-Director of the Claims Resolution Tribunal for Dormant Accounts in Switzerland (the first Holocaust tribunal), general counsel of the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (dealing with North Korea nuclear issues) and, while with the US State Department, the US Agent to the Iran-US Claims Tribunal. A New York qualified lawyer, she was educated at the University of Chicago Law School and Brown University.

Neil Kaplan CBE QC SBS and Chiann Bao hosted Prof. Bernard Hanotiau. The recording is available here.

Prof. Bernard Hanotiau is a member of the Brussels and Paris Bars. Since 1978, He has been actively involved in more than 500 international arbitration cases as party-appointed arbitrator, chairman, sole arbitrator, counsel and expert in all parts of the world. Prof. Hanotiau is professor emeritus of the law school of Louvain University (Belgium). He is a member of the ICCA Governing Board and of the Council of the ICC Institute and a member of the ICC International Arbitration Commission. He is also a former vice-president of the Institute of Transnational Arbitration (Dallas) and a former vice-president of the LCIA Court. He is a member of the Court of Arbitration of SIAC and of the Governing Board of DIAC (Dubai). He is the author of Complex Arbitrations: Multiparty, Multicontract, Multi-issue and Class Actions (Kluwer, 2006) and of more than 120 articles, most of them relating to international commercial law and arbitration. In March 2011, Prof. Hanotiau received the GAR “Arbitrator of the Year” award. In April 2016, he also received the Who’s Who Legal “Lawyer of the Year” for Arbitration award.

Neil Kaplan CBE QC SBS and Chiann Bao hosted Sir Bernard Rix. The recording is available here.

Sir Bernard Rix is a leading arbitrator, member of Twenty Essex. He retired in 2013 as a Lord Justice of Appeal with 20 years’ experience in the Commercial Court and the Court of Appeal. He is also an International Judge of the Singapore International Commercial Court and a member of the Cayman Islands Court of Appeal. He is also Professor of International Commercial Law at The Centre of Commercial Law Studies at Queen Mary, University of London.

Neil Kaplan CBE QC SBS and Chiann Bao hosted Loretta Malintoppi. The recording is available here.

Loretta Malintoppi is an arbitrator with 39 Essex Chambers, based in Singapore. She is dually qualified (Paris and Rome Bars) and her company is registered as a Foreign Law Practice in Singapore. She specializes in international commercial arbitration, investment arbitration and public international law. She sits as arbitrator in proceedings under a variety of arbitration rules, including ICSID, ICC, UNCITRAL, SIAC, LCIA and DIAC. Loretta also appears as counsel and advocate in State-to-State disputes before the International Court of Justice and in ad hoc arbitrations.

She was a Member for Italy of the ICC International Court of Arbitration from 2000 to 2009 and served as a Vice-President of the ICC Court from 2009 until 30 June 2015. She currently is a member of the Governing Board of ICCA, and a member of the Governing Board of the Centre for International Law at the National University of Singapore (NUS).

Loretta is one of the co-authors of The ICSID Convention – A Commentary published by Cambridge University Press in 2009. She is also a member of the Editorial Boards of The Law and Practice of International Courts and Tribunals and of the Singapore Arbitration Journal, editor of the International Litigation in Practice Series, and a member of the editorial advisory board of the Journal of World Investment and Trade and The Law and Practice of International Courts and Tribunals.

Neil Kaplan CBE QC SBS and Chiann Bao hosted Prof. Julian Lew QC. The recording is available here.

Professor Julian Lew QC is a full-time arbitrator in international commercial and investment disputes. He has been involved with international arbitration for more than 40 years as an academic, counsel and arbitrator. Before 2005, Julian was a partner and, for some years, the head of the international arbitration practice group of Herbert Smith. He is Professor of International Arbitration and Head of the School of International Arbitration, Centre for Commercial Law Studies, Queen Mary University of London. He has held these positions since the School’s creation in 1985. Prof. Lew received the GAR Award for Best Prepared and Most Responsive Arbitrator in 2015.

Neil Kaplan CBE QC SBS and Chiann Bao hosted Prof. Emmanuel Gaillard. The recording is available here.

Professor Emmanuel Gaillard founded and heads Shearman & Sterling’s 100-lawyer International Arbitration practice. He is also the Firm’s Global Head of Disputes. A Professor of Law in France, he serves as a Visiting Professor of Law at Yale Law School and Harvard Law School. Professor Gaillard is universally regarded as a leading authority in the fields of both commercial and investment treaty arbitration.

Over the course of his career, Professor Gaillard has acted on many international arbitration landmark cases. In addition to the USD 50 billion award secured for the majority shareholders of the former Yukos Oil Company, he acted on the ICC arbitration brought by The Dow Chemical Company against Petrochemical Industries Company of Kuwait, which led to a USD 2.47 billion award in favor of Dow Chemical.

Professor Gaillard is widely regarded as one of the top practitioners worldwide. He is one of the only two lawyers recognized as a ‘star individual’ in international arbitration worldwide by Chambers. He is also distinguished as the number one thought leader globally in Who’s Who Legal: Arbitration 2020. 

Professor Gaillard has written extensively on all aspects of arbitration law, in French and in English. Co-author of a leading treatise in the field (Fouchard Gaillard Goldman On International Commercial Arbitration), he authored the first published essay on the legal theory of international arbitration. The volume, originally published in French (Aspects Philosophiques du droit de l’arbitrage international), was subsequently published in English (Legal Theory of International Arbitration), as well as in Arabic, Chinese, Spanish and a number of other languages. He co-authored, as expert acting for UNCITRAL, the UNCITRAL Secretariat Guide on the New York Convention, published in the six official languages of the United Nations.

Professor Gaillard also served as member of the ICSID Panel of Arbitrators, appointed by France (2006–2018). He chairs the International Arbitration Institute (IAI) and was the first President and one of the co-founders of the International Academy for Arbitration Law (AIDA).

Neil Kaplan CBE QC SBS and Chiann Bao hosted Prof. Jan Paulsson. The recording is available here.

Professor Jan Paulsson is a founding partner of Three Crowns LLP, and has practised exclusively as an advocate and arbitrator in international cases since 1975. A member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague and the Court of Arbitration of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre, he has notably served as President of the London Court of International Arbitration, President of the International Council for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA), and a Vice-President of the ICC International Court of Arbitration. A graduate of Yale Law School and the University of Paris II (law), he is an avocat honoraire of the Paris Bar and a member of the District of Columbia Bar.

Neil Kaplan CBE QC SBS and Chiann Bao hosted Prof. Brigitte Stern. The recording is available here.

Professor Brigitte Stern is an Emeritus Professor of International Law at the University of Paris I, Panthéon-Sorbonne and former Professor at the Geneva Graduate Institute for International and Development Studies (IHEID). She has also been invited as a visiting Professor in many universities or schools around the world. She is the author of numerous books and articles focusing on different areas of international law. She is a former member and Vice-President of the United Nations Administrative Tribunal (UNAT), and of the Administrative Tribunal of the Asian Development Bank. She has also served as President of the French Commission for the Elimination of Landmines. Brigitte Stern is one of the world’s leading arbitrators, having acted as arbitrator in numerous international arbitration proceedings, ad hoc (including UNCITRAL), under the rules of the ICC, SCC, SIAC, ICSID as well as in PCA and NAFTA proceedings.

Neil Kaplan CBE QC SBS and Chiann Bao hosted The Hon. Charles N. Brower. The recording is available here.

Judge Brower's 55-year career in the law has combined extensive practice at the bar with distinguished public service, both national and international. For nearly 40 years he has focused on public international law and international dispute resolution. As counsel or arbitrator he has handled cases on all six continents, principally under the rules of the ICC, UNCITRAL, LCIA, AAA, United Nations Compensation Commission, ICSID, Stockholm Chamber of Commerce, Insurance and Reinsurance Arbitration Society and LMAA.

Charles started his career with White & Case LLP in New York, before serving for four years in the United States Department of State in Washington, DC, concluding as its Acting Legal Adviser. He then rejoined White & Case LLP, co-founding its Washington, DC office, where his practice came to be comprised almost exclusively of substantial international arbitrations.

He has served continuously since 1983 as a judge of the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal in The Hague, The Netherlands. That service was interrupted for some months in 1987 by White House service as Deputy Special Counsellor to President Reagan. Charles resumed partnership in White & Case LLP from 1988 until joining 20 Essex Street in 2001. Since 2014 he has also served as a Judge ad hoc at the International Court of Justice.

Neil Kaplan CBE QC SBS and Chiann Bao hosted Dame Rosalyn Higgins. The recording is available here.

Dame Rosalyn Higgins was a member of Essex Court Chambers from 1975 up until her election to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in 1995. She was the first female judge elected to the ICJ, and was elected President in 2006, a position she held until the expiry of her term of office in 2009. She has also served on the UN Human Rights Committee, as Honorary President of the American Society of International Law (ASIL), as President of the British Institute of International Comparative Law (BIICL) and as Vice President of the Institut de Droit International. She was previously a Professor of International Law at the University of Kent and at the London School of Economics (LSE).

Neil Kaplan CBE QC SBS and Chiann Bao hosted J. Christopher Thomas QC. The recording is available here.

J. Christopher Thomas QC practices in the field of international trade and commercial law with an emphasis on trade and investment regulation and dispute settlement. After six years at the National University of Singapore’s Centre for International Law, he returned to Vancouver where he continues to practice as an international arbitrator. He has been counsel in many international disputes, in domestic administrative law procedures (anti-dumping and countervailing duty cases), and in contentious proceedings before the superior courts of Canada. From March 1993 until June 2008, he ran the law firm of Thomas & Partners. Since that time, he has been a sole practitioner, acting primarily as an arbitrator in international investment, trade and commercial disputes. He is Editor of Investor-State LawGuide, an on-line legal research database on investment treaty arbitration law.

Neil Kaplan CBE QC SBS and Chiann Bao hosted Rod Bundy. The recording is available here.

Rod Bundy is a senior partner at global law firm Eversheds, based out of their Singapore office. Mr. Bundy specializes in public international law, international investment arbitration, commercial arbitration and upstream oil and gas matters. Consistently ranked in the top band of public international law specialists by Chambers and Legal 500, Mr. Bundy has appeared in numerous cases before the International Court of Justice (including as counsel for Singapore in the Pedra Branca case and Cambodia in the Temple of Preah Vihear case), the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, ICSID tribunals and State-to-State and commercial arbitral panels. He lectured for twenty years at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) and King’s College in London before moving to Singapore, and is currently a member of the Board of the Centre for International Law at the National University of Singapore (NUS). He was one of the first practitioners invited to deliver the inaugural Public International Law lecture at The Hague Academy of International Law for its 2018 session.

Neil Kaplan CBE QC SBS and Chiann Bao hosted Robert Spano. The recording is available here. For a write-up of this conversation, see Amelia Kelly, "Human Rights and Arbitration: A discussion between the President of the European Court of Human Rights and Neil Kaplan" (Kluwer Arbitration Blog, 30 November 2020).

Robert Spano is the President of the European Court of Human Rights. He has authored numerous papers and publications on the topics of human rights law, constitutional law, the interpretation of statutes, the evolution of the Convention system, and criminal procedure. He is often described as an expert on the interplay between the internet and human rights.

Having obtained a degree in Law from the University of Iceland in 1997, Robert Spano worked as a Deputy District Court Judge and Legal Adviser to the Parliamentary Ombudsman. In 2000, he graduated from the University of Oxford with distinction in European and Comparative law and two academic awards for his achievements. In his early career, Robert worked inter alia at the Ministry of Justice, and as an academic at the University of Iceland, Editor of the Law Review, District Court Judge, and Deputy to the Parliamentary Ombudsman. In 2012 and 2013, he was working as an Independent Expert to the Lanzarote Committee of the Council of Europe, an Icelandic Member of the European Committee on Crime Problems, and an ad hoc judge at the EFTA Court. Having been elected a Judge of the European Court of Human Rights, he began his nine-year mandate on 1 November 2013, and served as Vice-President of the Court from May 2019 until May 2020 when he became President of the Court.

Neil Kaplan CBE QC SBS and Chiann Bao hosted The Hon. Yves Fortier. The recording is available here.

The Honourable L Yves Fortier, PC, CC, OQ, QC is a graduate of Université de Montréal, McGill University and Oxford University (Rhodes Scholar). He became a member of the Quebec Bar in 1961 and joined the firm of Ogilvy Renault in Montreal where he practiced as a trial lawyer before all courts in Canada, arbitral tribunals and as counsel for Canada, before the International Court of Justice. Mr. Fortier was Chairman of the firm (now Norton Rose Fulbright) until 2011 when he left to found his own boutique, Cabinet Yves Fortier, where he practices today as mediator and arbitrator.

Yves is a past President of the Canadian Bar Association and the London Court of International Arbitration, Chairman of two Panels of the United Nations Compensation Commission, judge of the Claims Resolution Tribunal for Dormant Accounts in Switzerland, and judge ad hoc of the International Court of Justice. From July 1988 until February 1992, he was Canada’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York. In 1989, he was president of the Security Council of the United Nations. During the last 30 years, Yves has acted as arbitrator and mediator in numerous international arbitrations under the auspices of all major arbitral institutions in the world. Yves is a member of the ICCA Advisory Board and past member of the ICSID Panel of Arbitrators. From 2012 to 2015, Yves was Chairman of the Sanctions Board of the World Bank. In 2013, he was appointed as a member of the Security and Intelligence Review Committee of Canada and sworn in as a member of the Privy Council of Canada. In July 2016, he was appointed Chairman of the Enforcement Committee of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

Neil Kaplan CBE QC SBS and Chiann Bao hosted Prof. William W. Park. The recording is available here.

Prof. William W. Park is a Professor of Law at Boston University and teaches in the areas of tax, finance and conflict of laws. After studies at Yale and Columbia, Prof. Park practiced in Paris and Geneva until returning home to direct the University’s Center for Banking Law Studies.

William Park is General Editor of Arbitration International and former President of the London Court of International Arbitration. Visiting academic appointments include the universities of Auckland, Cambridge, Dijon, Geneva and Hong Kong. Park served on the Claims Resolution Tribunal for Dormant Swiss Bank Accounts and the International Commission on Holocaust Era Insurance Claims, as well as the Panel of Arbitrators for the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Dispute. Park is an Honorary Fellow of Selwyn College, Cambridge, and a Trustee of King’s Chapel, Boston. His books include Arbitration of International Business Disputes, International Forum Selection, ICC Arbitration (with Craig and Paulsson), International Commercial Arbitration (with Reisman, Craig and Paulsson) and Income Tax Treaty Arbitration (with Tillinghast).

For the 20th episode of In conversation with Neil, the series host, leading arbitrator and Delos Board member Neil Kaplan CBE QC SBS was interviewed by Chiann Bao. The recording is available here.

Neil Kaplan CBE QC SBS and Chiann Bao hosted Prof. Philippe Sands QC. The recording is available here. For a write-up of this conversation, see Anna Jermak, "Philippe Sands QC in Conversation with Neil, on 10 September 2020, by Webinar" (ArbitralWomen Newsletter, Issue 42 p. 29, 30 November 2020).

Prof. Philippe Sands QC is a prominent arbitrator, member of Matrix Chambers, and co-director of the Project on International Courts and Tribunals (PICT) at London University and New York University.

He has appeared before many international courts, including the European Court of Justice; the International Court of Justice; the World Trade Organisation dispute settlement organs; the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea; the International Criminal Court; and the Special Court for Sierra Leone. He has appeared in arbitrations under the rules of the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes, the Permanent Court of Arbitration and the International Chamber of Commerce; the World Bank Inspection Panel; and the Special Court for Sierra Leone). Philippe also appears before the English courts. More recently Philippe has accepted appointments as an arbitrator in several cases under ICSID and UNCITRAL rules. He is on the list of arbitrators in the field of natural resources and the environment maintained by the Secretary General to the Permanent Court of Arbitration and is a designated Member of the Panel of Arbitrators established by the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes.

Having accepted an appointment as ICSID arbitrator, since July 2007 he has not accepted new instructions to act as counsel in investment treaty arbitrations. In June 2011, he was appointed to the panel of arbitrators of the International Court of Arbitration for Sport (ICAS), and has been appointed as arbitrator in several cases since September 2011. He has served as Specialist Adviser to the House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology. In 2011, Philippe was appointed by the UK government as a member of the Commission on a Bill of Rights.

Neil Kaplan CBE QC SBS, Chiann Bao and Hafez Virjee hosted Sir Vivian Ramsey. The recording is available here.

Sir Vivian Ramsey is a former member of Keating Chambers and had enjoyed a notable career in civil engineering prior to joining chambers in 1981.

Gaining a degree in Engineering Science from Oriel College, Oxford, he went on to work with Ove Arup in both London and Libya. Following his move to the Bar, Sir Vivian Ramsey quickly established his expertise in construction and engineering disputes. Showing a particular affinity for international cases, he was soon practising in many parts of the world, including appearances before courts in the Far East and West Indies and arbitrations in four continents Sir Vivian Ramsey became a Queen’s Counsel in 1992, rapidly consolidating his practice as a global leader, and including appearances in the House of Lords in Lafarge Redland v Shepherd Hill Civil Engineering [2000] BLR 385 and in the Court of Appeal, in AMEC Civil Engineering v Secretary of State for Transport [2005] BLR 227. Appointed to the High Court Bench in 2005, Sir Vivian Ramsey was voted Construction Silk of the Year by Chambers Directory. He served as Head of Chambers from 2002 until his appointment to the Bench in 2005. He was appointed the Judge in charge of the Technology and Construction Court in 2007. In 2011, he was appointed the Judge in charge of the Estates and Chairman of the Judicial Advisory Group on IT. In 2012, he was appointed the Judge in charge of the implementation of the reforms arising from Sir Rupert Jackson’s Review of Civil Litigation Costs: Final Report. Sir Vivian Ramsey retired from the UK bench in late 2014 and appointed to the new Singapore International Commercial Court (SICC) in early 2015. He continues as joint editor, with Stephen Furst QC, of the latest edition of Keating on Construction Contracts.

Neil Kaplan CBE QC SBS and Chiann Bao hosted Funke Adekoya SAN. The recording is available here.

Funke Adekoya SAN is a founding Partner at Nigerian law firm ǼLEX, one of the largest full service commercial law firms in Nigeria where she heads the Dispute Resolution practice group. She is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, also a Chartered Arbitrator, a past Chairman of its Nigerian Branch, and a member of the ICCA Governing Board. Funke has over 45 years’ experience in Litigation and Arbitration. Funke received her legal education at University of Ile, Nigeria and Harvard Law School (LL.M.). She was elevated to the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) in 2001. She has been a member of Nigeria’s Body of Benchers since 1999 and was elevated to Life Bencher in March, 2007. She is also a frequent speaker at conferences in the fields of litigation and arbitration. 

Neil Kaplan CBE QC SBS and Chiann Bao hosted Prof. Klaus Sachs. The recording is available here.

Prof. Klaus Sachs is one of Germany’s most distinguished experts for national and international arbitration with more than 25 years of experience as counselor and arbitrator in more than 200 institutional and ad hoc arbitrations under DIS, ICC, LCIA, SCC, CRCICA, JCAA, SCAI and ICAC rules as well as Swiss, Vienna and UNCITRAL rules. He has particular expertise handling disputes arising out of joint ventures, M&A and other corporate activities. Klaus also regularly acts in proceedings related to licence and cooperation agreements as they often occur in the industrial plants construction and energy sectors.

Acting as chairman and co-arbitrator in so far 15 investment disputes under ICSID and UNCITRAL rules as well as acting as chairman in the third arbitration proceeding USA vs. Canada regarding the Softwood Lumber Agreement are examples of his outstanding work and experience.

Klaus joined CMS in 1985 and became a partner in 1987. He started his legal career with Schilling, Zutt & Anschütz in 1977 before joining the Paris office of Curtis, Mallet-Prévost, Colt & Mosle for four years. Klaus is an honorary professor for arbitration at the University of Munich and co-editor of the German arbitration journal SchiedsVZ.

Neil Kaplan CBE QC SBS and Chiann Bao hosted Michael Schneider. The recording is available here.

Michael Schneider is a founding partner of LALIVE and now senior counsel. He has practised in international arbitration for more than 40 years as counsel in ad hoc proceedings and under various rules, including those of the ICC, ICSID, LCIA, Swiss Rules, Stockholm Institute, the Cairo Regional Centre for International Commercial Arbitration (CRCICA), Dubai International Arbitration Centre (DIAC), European Development Fund, UNCITRAL, and before other international bodies, including the WTO Appellate Body and the United Nations Compensation Commission (UNCC). He has also acted in many cases as arbitrator (chair, sole or co-arbitrator) under the rules of many institutions both in Switzerland and abroad, including arbitration proceedings seated in Dubai and applying the law of the UAE.

Mr Schneider is honorary president of the Swiss Arbitration Association (ASA). At ASA, he developed inter alia the Arbitration Practice Seminar organised annually since 1997 with civil law and common law practitioners. He was vice chair of the ICC Commission on Arbitration until 2014 and has been a member of several of its working groups (1998 and 2012 revisions of the ICC rules, construction, pre-arbitral referee). He chaired the UNCITRAL Working Group II (Arbitration) at its Sessions in New York and Vienna (2006-2010) on the revision of the Arbitration Rules and on the revision of the Notes on Organizing Arbitral Proceedings (2014-2015) and was Vice-Chair of the Commission (2015-2017). He is past president of the International Academy of Construction Lawyers (IACL) and was co-chair of the IBA Committee on international Construction Projects.  He is member of the Board of Trustees of the Cairo Regional Centre for International Commercial Arbitration (CRCICA) and of the Court of Arbitration of the Singapore Arbitration Centre; he was a member of the Board of Trustees and the Executive Committee of the Dubai International Arbitration Centre. He also was advising as inhouse counsel Universal Engineering and Finance Corporation (UNEFICO) on all contract matters.

Mr Schneider lectures at the University of Fribourg LLM Programme and was Director of Studies at the Centre for Studies and Research at the Hague Academy of International Law (Transnational Arbitration and State Contracts). He studied law and history at the universities of Munich, Bonn and Geneva and completed the 1st and 2nd State examination (capacity to hold office as a judge). He completed postgraduate studies at the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva and is a former AIESEC trainee with the Shell Company in Sierra Leone.

Neil Kaplan CBE QC SBS and Chiann Bao hosted Jean Kalicki. The recording is available here.

Jean Kalicki is an independent arbitrator in New York and Washington, DC, specializing in investor-State, international and complex commercial disputes. Until April 2016, she was a Partner at Arnold & Porter LLP, serving as counsel in highstakes international disputes; she thereafter transitioned exclusively to arbitrator work. In January 2020, she joined Arbitration Chambers, an association of independent arbitrators with offices in Hong Kong, London and New York.

Over more than 25 years, Ms. Kalicki has conducted arbitrations involving six continents, across a wide range of industries and disputed issues, addressing issues of public international law and the laws of dozens of different countries. She is listed on the roster of arbitrators of many institutions around the world. Ms. Kalicki is a Vice President of the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) and a member of the American Arbitration Association (AAA) Council and previously its Board of Directors, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Commission on Arbitration and the Board of Directors of SICANA, Inc. (ICC North America), and the Governing Board of the International Council for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA). She is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb) and the College of Commercial Arbitrators (CCA) and taught arbitration and advocacy for many years as an adjunct professor at Georgetown and American University law schools.

Ms. Kalicki was selected as Chambers’ only “Star Arbitrator” (above Band 1) in the USA for both 2019 and 2020, and a Band 1 (“Most In-Demand”) Arbitrator for Global and Public International Law (2017-2020); Global Arbitration Review’s “Best Prepared/Most Responsive Arbitrator” for 2017; and Best Lawyers’ “Lawyer of the Year” for International Arbitration-Governmental in both New York (2017 and 2019) and Washington DC (2016).

Neil Kaplan and Chiann Bao hosted John Beechey CBE. The recording is available here.

John Beechey CBE is among the best-known arbitrators in the world. He has served as chairman, party-appointed arbitrator, or sole arbitrator on international arbitral tribunals in both ‘ad hoc’ (including UNCITRAL) and institutional arbitrations under the Rules of all major arbitral institutions including, inter alia, the EDF, ICC, ICDR/AAA, ICSID, LCIA, PCA, SIAC and Stockholm Chamber. John has served, or is currently serving, as an arbitrator on the panels for 20 investor-state disputes, seven of which are pending.

John is a past President of the International Court of Arbitration of the ICC (2009-2015). His term of office at the ICC is regarded as one which brought about significant reform to, and the reinvigoration of, the ICC Court. He had previously served on the Executive Committee of the Board of the AAA in New York and as a Vice-President and member of the Board of the LCIA. He is the current Chairman of the Board of the BVI International Arbitration Centre. In March 2018, John was elected to serve a four year term on the Governing Board of the International Council for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA). Before his retirement from private practice in the City of London, he was the founding partner and Head of the highly-regarded International Arbitration Group of Clifford-Turner (subsequently, Clifford Chance LLP) (1983-2008). In June 2016, John was appointed CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List for services to international arbitration.

Neil Kaplan, Chiann Bao and Hafez Virjee hosted The Hon. Fali Sam Nariman. The recording is available here.

The Hon. Fali Sam Nariman is an internationally recognised jurist on international arbitration and senior advocate to the Supreme Court of India. He was the Additional Solicitor General of India, Member of Rajya Sabha (from 1995 to 2005), the Upper House of the Parliament of India, and President of the Bar Association of India. He has played a key role in establishing and enforcing the law in India. Mr. Nariman has been honoured with the Padma Vibhushan, the second-highest civilian award of India, and the Gruber Prize for Justice. In 2018, he was honored with the 19th Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award for Excellence in Public Administration 2018.

Fali Nariman was enrolled as an Advocate of the Bombay High Court in November 1950 and designed Senior Advocate in 1961. He has practiced law for more than sixty years, initially in the High Court of Bombay, and since 1972, in the Supreme Court of India at New Delhi. He was appointed the Additional Solicitor–General of India in May 1972 – when he shifted to Delhi. He resigned from this office a day after the imposition of the Internal Emergency of 26th June 1975 and has been in private practice since then.

Neil Kaplan, Chiann Bao and Hafez Virjee hosted Juliet Blanch. The recording is available here.

Juliet Blanch is a full time arbitrator having chaired the international dispute resolution practice at Weil, Gotshal & Manges from 2010 to 2016 and before that the international dispute resolution practice at McDermott, Will & Emery and the international arbitration practice at Norton Rose.  Juliet has over 30 years’ experience in the arbitration of international commercial disputes with a particular focus on energy and infrastructure, mining, commodities, telecommunications, pharmaceutical, hospitality, maritime and shareholder disputes. Juliet has acted as lead Counsel and/or sat as arbitrator in arbitrations held under HKIAC, ICC, ICSID, LCIA, LMAA, SCC, SIAC, UNCITRAL and other rules and which have been seated in a variety of jurisdictions including London, Hong Kong, Paris, Singapore, Stockholm, Washington DC and Zurich.

Juliet is a member of the ICC Court, a former Director of the LCIA and chair of the International Arbitral Appointments Committee of the Scottish Arbitration Center and she also chairs the review committee of the Energy Arbitrators List.  She is Vice Chair of the Oil and Gas Arbitration Club, sits on the editorial board of Dispute Resolution International and is a member of the FDI Moot Advisory Board and is a past Chair of the Dispute Resolution and Arbitration Committee of the Inter Pacific Bar Association.

Juliet is consistently ranked highly in legal directories for International Arbitration, Litigation, and Projects and Energy in the UK, Europe and globally, and is recognised as “a well-known figure in the market and is respected for her depth of knowledge in both litigation and arbitration”, as well as for “her enthusiasm, dedication and magnificent reputation”, “a rare blend of practicality and technical excellence” and as “a joy to work with, a good leader of people with fantastic judgement and a very sharp intellect.” Juliet was featured in The Lawyer’s “The Hot 100 2015: Litigation”, was included in the 2014 London Super Lawyers list as one of the Top 50 Women Lawyers, was awarded the standout entry by the FT in the category of most innovative dispute resolution lawyer and was named by Chambers Global as a “Leading” Lawyer for Dispute Resolution: Litigation and International Arbitration in London and Energy & Natural Resources: Disputes UK-wide.

Neil Kaplan and Chiann Bao hosted Prof. Albert Jan van den Berg . The recording is available here.

Professor Albert Jan van den Bergis a partner at Hanotiau & van den Berg (Brussels, Belgium). He is Honorary President of the International Council for Commercial Arbitration, having served as President from 2014–2016. He is a Visiting Professor at Georgetown University Law Center, Tsinghua University School of Law, University of Miami School of Law, and National University of Singapore Faculty of Law; Emeritus Professor (Arbitration Chair) at Erasmus University, Rotterdam; and member of the faculty and the advisory board of the University of Geneva Master in International Dispute Settlement Program. Professor van den Berg is presiding and party-appointed arbitrator in numerous international commercial and investment arbitrations. He also acts as counsel in international commercial arbitrations. He is Honorary President of the Netherlands Arbitration Institute, having served as its President and Secretary General, and former Vice-President of the London Court of International Arbitration. Professor van den Berg has published extensively on international arbitration (see www.hvdb.com), in particular, the New York Convention of 1958. His awards include: Global Arbitration Review, “Best Prepared and Most Responsive Arbitrator” in 2013; The International Who’s Who Legal, Arbitration: Lawyer of the Year in 2006, 2011 and 2017.

Neil Kaplan and Chiann Bao hosted Makhdoom Ali Khan. The recording is available here.

Makhdoom Ali Khan is a Senior Advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and a former Attorney General for Pakistan. During his tenure as Attorney General he advised the Government of Pakistan on all Bilateral Investment Treaty issues and Public International Law matters and was involved in BIT negotiations with other states. He was also involved in the drafting of the laws that incorporated in Pakistan law the New York Convention and the International Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and the Nationals of other States.

He was a member of the Court of the London Court of International Arbitration and is a member of the Board of AAA. He is a former Member of the Board of DIAC. He is a member of the Governing Body of ICCA. He is on the panel of arbitrators of SIAC and KLRCA and has been designated as an arbitrator on the ICSID panel. Since his return to private practice in 2007, he has appeared in many important commercial cases before the High Courts and the Supreme Court. He is also sitting as an arbitrator in ad hoc and institutional domestic, international commercial and investment arbitrations.

Neil Kaplan and Chiann Bao hosted Hilary Heilbron QC. The recording is available here.

Hilary Heilbron QC of Brick Court Chambers now focuses on international arbitration, primarily as an international arbitrator sitting in major cases all over the world both under the main arbitral institutions and ad hoc. She occasionally still acts as counsel in which capacity she has a wealth of experience of major commercial and arbitral disputes under many foreign laws such as appearing in the UK Supreme Court in Dallah Real Estate Tourism Holding Co v Government of Pakistan . She is currently a member of various international task forces on current topics in international arbitration and a former member of the LCIA Court and the ICC UK Arbitration and ADR Committee.

Neil Kaplan and Chiann Bao hosted Prof. Nayla Comair-Obeid. The recording is available here.

Professor Dr. Nayla Comair-Obeid, the founding partner of Obeid Law Firm, heads the firm’s dispute resolution practice. Author of ‘The Law of Business Contracts in the Middle East’, Prof. Comair-Obeid is Professor at the Lebanese University, she publishes prolifically and is regularly invited to lecture at world-renowned academic institutions where her articles and scholarly publications are often cited as reference works.

Throughout her career, Prof. Comair-Obeid has held and continues to hold prominent positions in several major international arbitration institutions. Most recently, Prof. Comair-Obeid was elected as International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Executive Board Member. Prior to this, she was appointed as a member of China’s International Commercial Expert Committee of the Supreme People’s Court in August 2018. Prof. Comair-Obeid is also a Member of the LCIA Court, Trustee of the Cairo Regional Centre for International Arbitration, Council Member of the Institute of World Business Law of the ICC and a Member of the ICSID panel of arbitrators and conciliators. Prof. Comair-Obeid was also appointed in 2018 as Companion for the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb). She was elected President of the CIArb in 2017, after chairing its Board of Trustees in 2014. Prof. Comair-Obeid also served as Commissioner at the United Nations Compensation Commission in Geneva from 2002 to 2005.

A specialist in international business law and Islamic and Middle Eastern legislation, Prof. Comair-Obeid is admitted to the Beirut and Paris bar and she is an associate member of 3 Verulam Buildings (3VB). She regularly serves as counsel or arbitrator in complex international arbitrations conducted in Arabic, French, or English, both ad hoc and under a variety of international arbitration rules. Prof. Comair-Obeid is also often called upon as a legal expert on various aspects of Lebanese law and Middle Eastern legislation in foreign courts and arbitral proceedings. Prof. Comair-Obeid is referred to as “pre-eminent in her field” and a “leading authority in international arbitration” by international legal publications.

In this first conversation in 2021, we turned the tables: Chiann Bao joined Neil Kaplan in conversation. The recording is available here.

Chiann Bao, a member of Arbitration Chambers, practices exclusively as an arbitrator and has served as tribunal chair, co-arbitrator, sole arbitrator and emergency arbitrator in ad hoc arbitrations as well as arbitrations under the rules of most of the major institutions. She is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and a CEDR-accredited mediator. In addition to private practice experience both in Hong Kong and New York, Chiann currently serves as a Vice President of the ICC Court of Arbitration and is the chair of the ICC Commission’s Task Force on ADR and Arbitration. From 2010 to 2016, she served as the Secretary General of the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre. Chiann is an honorary senior fellow at the British Institute of International and Comparative Law.

Neil Kaplan, Chiann Bao and Hafez Virjee hosted Claudia Salomon. The recording is available here.

Claudia Salomon is an independent arbitrator, specializing in international, investor-state and complex commercial disputes. She is widely recognized as one of the leading arbitration practitioners of her generation. She is known for her sound judgment, effective case management and ability to quickly reach the crux of an issue.

Ms. Salomon has been recommended for election as President of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) International Court of Arbitration, effective July 1, 2021, putting her on a path to becoming the first woman President of the ICC Court in its almost 100-year history.

Ms. Salomon was formerly Partner and Global Co-Chair of Latham & Watkins’ International Arbitration Practice, where she was engaged in some of the most complex, high value and significant disputes. She has acted as arbitrator and counsel in arbitrations around the globe, under all of the major arbitral rules, governed by common law and civil law.

Ms. Salomon is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. She is a sought after speaker and writer on international arbitration and is the co-editor of Choice of Venue in International Arbitration, published by Oxford University Press.

Ms. Salomon is a member of the New York Bar and a solicitor in England and Wales. She graduated from Harvard Law School, cum laude, and Brandeis University, summa cum laude with honors. She also studied at Somerville College, Oxford University.

Neil Kaplan and Chiann Bao hosted Prof. Gabrielle Kaufmann-Kohler. The recording is available here.

Gabrielle Kaufmann-Kohler is the immediate past President and now Honorary President of ICCA, the International Council for Commercial Arbitration. She practices international commercial, investment and sports arbitration and has acted in over 220 international arbitrations, mainly as arbitrator. Gabrielle appears on numerous institutional arbitration panels (including ICC, ICSID, AAA, LCIA, SIAC, CIETAC) and conducts arbitrations under the rules of all major institutions. She is regularly ranked among the top ten arbitrators worldwide; a study of investment arbitration released in 2016 concluded that she was the “most influential arbitrator in the world”.

A Professor Emerita at Geneva University Law School, Gabrielle is also the founder, former director and a current faculty member of the Geneva LLM in International Dispute Settlement (MIDS), a joint program of the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies and Geneva Law School. She is also a visiting professor at National University of Singapore, Tsinghua University in Beijing, and Georgetown University and the President of the Council of the Center for International Dispute Settlement (CIDS). Gabrielle teaches courses on international commercial and investment arbitration and heads research projects in the area of arbitration.

She is Honorary President of the Swiss Arbitration Association (ASA) and was ASA President from 2001 to 2005. Gabrielle is also a founder of the FIAA (Foundation for International Arbitration Advocacy) and the President of its Advisory Board, as well as a former member of the ICC Court, LCIA Court, and AAA Board. She was and is a member of the Swiss delegation to UNCITRAL, including within Working Group II on transparency (until 2014), and presently Working Group III on the reform of investor-state arbitration, for which she has co-authored two CIDS reports.

Neil Kaplan and Chiann Bao hosted The Hon. James Spigelman AC QC. The recording is available here.

The Honourable James Spigelman AC QC served as Chief Justice of New South Wales, Australia’s largest state, from 1998 until the end May 2011, and as a Non-Permanent Judge of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal from 2013 to 2020.

After his retirement as Chief Justice he joined One Essex Court, The Temple, London as an arbitrator. He has since been appointed Chair of panels with seats in London (x6), Singapore (x5), Dubai, Sydney (x2), Perth and ICSID, as an umpire in Singapore, as sole arbitrator in one case in Singapore and one case in Melbourne, and in two, related, disputes in Sydney and to determine a privilege issue in a NAFTA arbitration. He has also been a party appointed arbitrator on five panels in London, five panels in Singapore and panels in Sydney, Melbourne, Kuala Lumpur, Frankfurt, the Court of Arbiration for Sport and in two ICSID and two UNCITRAL investment treaty cases. 

From 1972 James Spigelman was Senior Advisor and Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister of Australia, before appointment as Permanent Secretary of the Department of Media in 1975. He was a member of the Australian Law Reform Commission from 1976 to 1979. He commenced practice at the NSW Bar in 1980.  He was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1986. He was acting Solicitor General of New South Wales in 1997. He has served on the boards and as chair of a number of cultural and educational institutions. 

James Spigelman is the author of three books, co-author of a fourth and of some 170 published articles, including on a range of aspects of commercial and corporate law such as contractual interpretation, insurance law, commercial arbitration, insolvency, international commercial litigation, freezing orders and proof of foreign law. Three volumes of his speeches as Chief Justice have been published.

Neil Kaplan and Chiann Bao hosted Sir Franklin Berman QC. The recording is available here.

Sir Franklin (Frank) Berman joined HM Diplomatic Service in 1965 and was the Legal Adviser to the Foreign & Commonwealth Office from 1991-99. For the past 20 years he has been in practice in Essex Court Chambers specializing in international arbitration and advisory work in international law. He is Visiting Professor of International Law at Oxford and the University of Cape Town.

His over 50-year career in international law and diplomacy has spanned a wide and varied field, including settlement of disputes; the law of treaties; State responsibility; diplomatic and State immunity; maritime delimitation; the law of the Continental shelf; outer space and nuclear energy; the law of international organisations; the UN Security Council; the laws of war and neutrality; international criminal tribunals; and numerous other areas. In the light of this extensive experience, he is highly qualified for advisory work in all areas of public international law, for international dispute-settlement proceedings of all kinds and for international commercial and investment arbitration.

Sir Frank has served as an ad hoc Judge in the International Court of Justice: in the Case concerning Certain Property (Liechtenstein v. Germany) and recently in the two Appeals Related to the Jurisdiction of the ICAO Council. He was appointed by the Lord Chief Justice as the Legal Member of the Court of Arbitration in the Kishenganga dispute between Pakistan and India under the Indus Waters Treaty. He successfully represented Cambodia before the International Court in the Case concerning the Temple of Préah Vihear (Interpretation).

He was appointed by the British Government from 2004-2020 to the list of Arbitrators under the ICSID Convention, and has sat as Chairman and Party-appointed arbitrator in many ICSID arbitrations for both the claimant and host State.  He has also sat in ICSID annulment proceedings, as well as in arbitrations under the ICC, PCA, Stockholm Arbitration Institute and LCIA (sole arbitrator), and ad hoc rules.

Neil Kaplan and Chiann Bao hosted Matthew Gearing QC. The recording is available here.

Matthew Gearing QC is a partner in Allen & Overy’s Global Arbitration group. He is widely regarded as a leading arbitration practitioner; in particular he was appointed Queen’s Counsel (England & Wales) in February 2014. Matthew has acted in many complex and high-profile arbitrations around the world, both commercial arbitrations and investment treaty arbitrations. His experience includes arbitrations under the ICC, UNCITRAL, SIAC, HKIAC, KLRCA, SCC, LCIA and ICSID Rules.

Matthew was Chairperson of the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre from 2017 to 2020. In addition, he is a past Co-Chair of the LCIA Young International Arbitration Group. He is on the HKIAC, SIAC and KLRCA panel of arbitrators. He is also on Prime Finance’s panel of Dispute Resolution experts.

Neil Kaplan and Chiann Bao hosted The Hon. Robert French AC. The recording is available here.

The Honourable Robert Shenton French AC was appointed Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia in September 2008. At the time of his appointment he was a judge of the Federal Court of Australia, having been appointed to that office in November 1986.

He graduated from the University of Western Australia in science and law. He was admitted in 1972 and practised as a barrister and solicitor in Western Australia until 1983 when he went to the Western Australian Bar. From 1994 to 1998 he was President of the National Native Title Tribunal. At the time of his appointment, he was an additional member of the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory and a member of the Supreme Court of Fiji. He was also a Deputy President of the Australian Competition Tribunal and a part-time member of the Australian Law Reform Commission. From 2001 to January 2005 he was president of the Australian Association of Constitutional Law. Chief Justice French was appointed a Companion in the General Division of the Order of Australia in 2010.

Neil Kaplan and Chiann Bao hosted Edna Sussman. The recording is available here.

Edna Sussman serves full-time as an arbitrator and mediator and has been appointed as the Distinguished ADR Practitioner in Residence by the Fordham University School of Law. She started her career as an associate and litigation partner at the international law firm of White & Case. Over the past 15 years she has served as an arbitrator in well over 300 arbitrations and as a mediator in well over 200 mediations in both domestic and international complex commercial disputes.

Ms. Sussman serves on leading ADR panels around the world and has conducted arbitrations under many institutional rules and in ad hoc arbitrations. Ms. Sussman has served as one of six arbitration trainers nationwide for the American Arbitration Association’s new arbitrators and for advanced training for the ICDR, as the President of the College of Commercial Arbitrators, on the board of the American Arbitration Association, as Chair of the New York International Arbitration Center and Chair of the AAA-ICDR Foundation. She has published and lectured extensively on arbitration and mediation and wins annual recognition for her work as an arbitrator and mediator in many rankings including being listed as Band 1 in Chambers Global for Arbitration, Who’s Who of International Arbitration, and Mediation, Best Lawyers and Super Lawyers. Ms. Sussman was awarded the 2020 Neutral of the Year Award by the National Association of Distinguished Neutrals (NADN).

Neil Kaplan and Chiann Bao hosted Dr Michael Hwang SC. The recording is available here.

Dr Michael Hwang SC currently practices as an international arbitrator and mediator based in Singapore. He was the Chief Justice of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Courts from 2010 to 2018. He sits as arbitrator in domestic and international disputes, including investment treaty disputes, under a wide variety of arbitral rules. Michael was called to the Singapore Bar in 1968, when he joined Allen & Gledhill. He became a partner in 1972 and retired from the firm in 2002 after serving as head of its Litigation and Arbitration Department for 10 years.

Michael’s past appointments include: a former Vice Chairman of the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), a former Vice President of the International Council for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA), a former member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA), a former Court Member of the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA), a former panel member on the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) Panel, and a former Trustee of the Dubai International Arbitration Centre (DIAC). He has also served as a United Nations Compensation Commissioner (adjudicating claims against Iraq arising from the First Gulf War) and a Vice-Chair of the International Bar Association’s (IBA) Arbitration Committee, as well as a Council Member of International Council of Arbitration for Sport (ICAS). He is on the Users Council of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) and Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC), and is also a Board Member of the Swiss Arbitration Association (ASA) and the Hainan international Arbitration Court. Michael has also previously served as Singapore’s Non-Resident Ambassador to Switzerland and Argentina, as a Judicial Commissioner (fixed-term High Court Judge) of the Supreme Court of Singapore, and as President of the Law Society of Singapore.

Michael has published two books of essays on international arbitration, which are available for download from http://www.mhwang.com/. He was educated at undergraduate and postgraduate levels at Oxford University, where he was a college scholar by open competitive examination. He has also been conferred an Honorary LLD by the University of Sydney where he commenced his legal career as a Teaching Fellow.

Neil Kaplan CBE QC SBS discussed his approach to Procedural Order No. 1, with Amanda Lee and Hafez Virjee. The recording is available here. He tagged Professors Doug Jones AO and Janet Walker.

Neil Kaplan CBE QC SBS is a member of the Delos Board of Advisors. He has been a full-time practising arbitrator since 1995.  He has been involved in several hundred arbitrations as arbitrator.  Called to the Bar of England in 1965, Mr. Kaplan has practiced as a barrister, Principal Crown Counsel at the Hong Kong Attorney General’s Chambers, and served as a Judge of the Supreme Court of Hong Kong in charge of the Arbitration List. He was Chair of the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC) for 13 years and President of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) in 1999/2000. Since 2017 he has been the President of the Court of the Mauritius Chamber of Commerce and Industry Arbitration and Mediation Centre (MARC).

Prof. Doug Jones AO and Prof. Janet Walker discussed what comes after Procedural Order No. 1, i.e. "PO1 – The beginning or the end?", with Dr Kabir Duggal and Amanda Lee. The recording is available here. They were tagged by Neil Kaplan CBE QC SBS; they in turn tagged Sir Bernard Eder.

Prof. Doug Jones AO is a leading independent international commercial and investor-state arbitrator with over 40 years' prior experience as an international transactional and disputes project lawyer. Doug is a door tenant at Atkin Chambers London, an arbitrator member at Arbitration Place in Toronto, and has an office in Sydney. Doug is also an International Judge of the Singapore International Commercial Court (SICC). He has been involved in over 120 arbitrations spanning over 30 jurisdictions in disputes of values exceeding some billions $US. In addition, Doug has held appointments at several international professional associations, including as President of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) and the Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration (ACICA).

Prof. Janet Walker is an independent arbitrator with chambers at Arbitration Place, Toronto; Int-Arb Arbitrators, London; and Sydney Arbitration Chambers, Australia. Janet has served as sole arbitrator, co-arbitrator and chair in ICC, ICDR, DIAC, HKIAC, KCAB and SIAC-administered, and in ad hoc arbitrations in a variety of seats. Her matters range from construction, M&A, shareholder, intellectual property, pharma and environmental. She has a good working knowledge of Spanish and French. Janet is professor of law (past associate dean) at Osgoode Hall Law School, a member of the Ontario Bar, and a licensed legal consultant of the New York State Bar. She authors Canada’s main text on private international law, cited in more than 350 judgments. She is chair-elect of ICC Canada.

Sir Bernard Eder discussed "Issue Estoppel under the New York Convention", with Dr Kabir Duggal and Amanda Lee. The recording is available here. Sir Bernard was tagged by Professors Doug Jones AO and Janet Walker; he in turn tagged Gourab Banerji SA.

Sir Bernard Eder is an international arbitrator/mediator based at 24 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London. He previously practised as a barrister at Essex Court Chambers for almost 35 years – between 1976 and 2010 - specialising in commercial litigation and international arbitration. He was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1991. During his practice at the English Bar, he acted as Counsel in over 100 reported cases (including in the Commercial Court, the Court of Appeal, the House of Lords and the Privy Council) and over 200 international arbitrations. In 2011, he was appointed a Judge of the High Court of England and Wales. He resigned from the Bench in April 2015. During that time, he sat mainly in the Commercial Court in London where he presided over a number of high-profile trials. In 2015, he was appointed an International Judge at the Singapore International Commercial Court (SICC). He was formerly Chair of ARIAS (UK). Over the years, he has been appointed as arbitrator in over 300 international arbitrations.

About the topic: the ability to enforce an award in different jurisdictions is an important part of the arbitral process. In that context, an important issue arises as to whether the decision of a Court in Country A as to the enforceability of an award under the New York Convention can give rise to an issue estoppel in Country B – and, if so, when. That issue has been considered in a number of cases in the English High Court including most recently (31 March 2020) in Carpatsky Petroleum Corp v PJSC Ukrnafta [2020] EWHC 769 (Comm). In this TagTime webinar, Sir Bernard Eder will review the English authorities (including his own earlier decision in Diag Human SE v Czech Republic [2014] EWHC 1639 (Comm)).

Meg Kinnear discussed "Tracking the Evolution of the ICSID Rules" with Dr Kabir Duggal and Amanda Lee. The recording is available here. Meg Kinnear tagged Dr Yas Banifatemi. This episode was also supported by the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).

Meg Kinnear is a Vice President of the World Bank Group and the Secretary-General of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). Ms. Kinnear was formerly the Senior General Counsel and Director General of the Trade Law Bureau of Canada. In November 2002, Ms. Kinnear was also named Chair of the Negotiating Group on Dispute Settlement for the Free Trade of the Americas Agreement. From October 1996 to April 1999, Ms. Kinnear was Executive Assistant to the Deputy Minister of Justice of Canada. Prior to this, Ms. Kinnear was Counsel at the Civil Litigation Section of the Canadian Department of Justice (from June 1984 to October 1996). Ms. Kinnear is currently Editor-in-Chief of the ICSID Review, and a co-author of Investment Disputes under NAFTA (published in 2006 and updated in 2008 & 2009), Federal Court Practice (1988-1990, 1991-1992, and 1993-2009 annually) and 1995 Crown Liability and Proceedings Act Annotated (1994).

About the topic: the ICSID Rules and Regulations have evolved since they first took effect in 1968, reflecting a continuous effort to modernize and improve upon the most commonly used procedural rules in investor-State dispute settlement. In this webinar, Meg Kinnear, Secretary-General of ICSID, will highlight key changes to the rules over time. She will also outline the amendments currently under consideration as part of the fourth amendment of the ICSID rules, as well as the newly published Code of Conduct for Adjudicators developed with UNCITRAL.

Gourab Banerji SA discussed "Recent Developments in the Enforcement of New York Convention Awards in India" with Dr Kabir Duggal and Amanda Lee, and retraced the history of enforcement of New York Convention awards in India before turning to the recent Indian Supreme Court judgments in Vijay Karia & Ors. v. Prysmian Cavi E Sistemi S.r.I. (2020) and National Agricultural Co-operative Marketing Federation of India Ltd. (NAFED) v. Alimenta S.A. (2020).

The recording is available here. Gourab Banerji was tagged by Sir Bernard Eder; he in turn tagged Funke Adekoya SAN. This episode was also supported by Young MCIA (MCIA being the Mumbai Centre for International Arbitration).

Gourab Banerji is a Senior Advocate, practicing mainly before the Supreme Court of India. He is an Overseas Associate of Essex Court Chambers. Graduating from the University of Cambridge in 1989 with First Class Honours, he was called to the Bar from Lincolns Inn in 1990. He was designated as a Senior Advocate in 2003 and served as the Additional Solicitor General of India from July 2009 to May 2014. In this capacity, he represented the Government of India in a number of landmark cases. His practice before the courts is mainly in commercial matters, particularly relating to arbitration and contractual disputes. Gourab sits as an arbitrator in domestic and international commercial arbitrations, apart from appearing as counsel. He has represented the Republic of India in its investment treaty arbitrations. He has been a part of various governmental and inter-governmental committees and assisted the Law Commission in its reports relating to arbitration.

Funke Adekoya SAN discussed "Damages and Costs: Can Fair Compensation Be Too Much?" with Dr Kabir Duggal and Amanda Lee, reviewed the manner in which damages were pleaded and addressed in certain particularly large awards, and the practice of allocation of costs, both in commercial and investment arbitration. The recording is available here.

Funke Adekoya SAN was tagged by Gourab Banerji SA; she in turn tagged Cecilia Azar. This episode was also supported by the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) - Nigeria Branch, CRID-LawNet, the Lagos Chamber of Commerce International Arbitration Centre (LACIAC) and the Lagos Court of Arbitration (LCA).

Funke Adekoya SAN is a founding Partner at Nigerian law firm ǼLEX, one of the largest full service commercial law firms in Nigeria where she heads the Dispute Resolution practice group. She is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, also a Chartered Arbitrator, a past Chairman of its Nigerian Branch, and a member of the ICCA Governing Board. Funke has over 45 years’ experience in Litigation and Arbitration. Funke received her legal education at University of Ile, Nigeria and Harvard Law School (LL.M.). She was elevated to the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) in 2001. She has been a member of Nigeria’s Body of Benchers since 1999 and was elevated to Life Bencher in March, 2007. She is also a frequent speaker at conferences in the fields of litigation and arbitration.

Dr Yas Banifatemi was 'tagged' by Meg Kinnear. She discussed "Arbitration as a means of improving human rights protections at sea" with Dr Kabir Duggal and Amanda Lee. The recording is available here and Yas Banifatemi's presentation is available here. She was tagged by Meg Kinnear; she in turn tagged Prof. Diane Desierto.

Dr Yas Banifatemi is a partner and Co-Head of the International Arbitration practice at Shearman & Sterling. She also leads the firm’s Public International Law practice, and co-heads the firm’s Energy practice. She is widely recognized as one of the most prominent international arbitration and public international law specialists worldwide. Yas Banifatemi is a Vice-President of the ICC International Court of Arbitration, a member of the LCIA Court and a member of the SIAC Court of Arbitration. She is also a member of the ICSID Panel of Arbitrators, appointed by the Chairman of ICSID’s Administrative Council. Yas Banifatemi teaches at Harvard Law School, Yale Law School and Panthéon-Sorbonne University. In the Summer 2019, she gave a course at The Hague Academy of International Law on the powers of the arbitrator. She researches in the areas of public international law and international arbitration, and has authored numerous publications in, and regularly speaks about, both these fields. 

To find out more about the topic, you can download the White Paper of 5 May 2020 (updated) from the website of Human Rights at Sea (HRAS), which also has it in French. This initiative was reported here by Global Arbitration Review, as reproduced here (free access) with permission by HRAS.

Cecilia Azar discussed "Conflicts of Interest in International Arbitration: Debates and dilemmas surrounding third-party funding and party representation" with Dr Kabir Duggal and Amanda Lee. The recording is available here. Cecilia Azar was tagged by Funke Adekoya SAN; she in turn tagged Prof. Mohamed Abdel Wahab. This episode was also supported by Women Way in Arbitration - Latin America (WWA LatAm).

Cecilia Azar is a partner at Galicia Abogados, specializing in arbitration, mediation and legal proceedings relating to arbitration. She has specialized in the energy, infrastructure, construction and family/commercial mediation sectors over the past 10 years. Her clients include national and international companies involved in energy or construction and infrastructure projects. Her recent cases have covered complex legal disputes relating to distribution, technology transfer and international purchase and sale contracts. She was Secretary General and Counsel at the Arbitration Center of Mexico (CAM). She is currently Vice-President of the ICC Mexico Arbitration Commission and Chair of the Mexican Arbitration Institute (IMA). She has international experience as counsel for the Mediation in Mexico Project, sponsored by the American Bar Association and USAID. She has been recognized by Who’s Who and Chambers Latin America over the last 5 years.

Prof. Diane Desierto discussed "Invoking Climate Change, Environmental Law and Human Rights Law in International Arbitration: Utopia or Opportunity?" with Dr Kabir Duggal and Amanda Lee. The recording is available here. Prof. Diane Desierto was ‘tagged’ by Dr. Yas Banifatemi; she in turn tagged Prof. Catherine Rogers. This episode was also supported by the Philippine Institute of Arbitrators (PIArb).

Prof. Diane Desierto (JSD, Yale) is tenured Associate Professor of Human Rights Law and Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame, where she is also a Faculty Fellow in five of the University's institutes and centers (Kellogg Institute for International Studies, Klau Center for Civil and Human Rights, Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies, Nanovic Institute for European Studies, and Pulte Institute on Global Development), focusing on the teaching of international law, human rights, maritime security, and ASEAN Law. Concurrently, she is also Professor of International Law and Human Rights at the Philippines Judicial Academy of the Supreme Court of the Philippines, External Executive Director and ASEAN Law Visiting Professor for the University of the Philippines Graduate LLM Program in the Bonifacio Global City campus.

Prof. Desierto is active as international counsel on Philippines and Southeast Asia matters before the Permanent Court of Arbitration, the Human Rights Committee, the International Criminal Court, ASEAN, Philippine courts and regulatory agencies. She serves as a member of the editorial boards of European Journal of International Law and EJIL:Talk!, the Integrated Bar of the Philippines Law Journal, and the Indonesian Journal of International and Comparative Law. She is a Member of the Academic Council of the Institute of Transnational Arbitration and the UNCITRAL Academic Forum on ISDS Reform, a listed Arbitrator at the British Virgin Islands Arbitration Centre. Prof. Desierto has served as Expert for the drafting of the 2012 ASEAN Human Rights Declaration, the draft 2020 UN Convention on the Right to Development, and the 2019 Hague Rules on Business and Human Rights Arbitration, and authored over 100 publications (4 books, 50 law review articles, 20 chapters, essays and book reviews) with leading publishers in the United States, Europe, and Asia.

Prof. Mohamed Abdel Wahab was 'tagged' by Cecilia Azar. He discussed "Good Faith and Neighbouring Doctrines: Conceptual Considerations and Practical Applications in International Arbitration" with Dr Kabir Duggal and Amanda Lee. The recording is available here. Prof. Mohamed Abdel Wahab was tagged by Cecilia Azar; he in turn tagged Vladimir Khvalei. This episode was also supported by the Cairo Regional Centre for International Commercial Arbitration (CRCICA) and the DIFC-LCIA.

Prof. Mohamed Abdel Wahab is the Chair of the Private International law Department and Professor of International Arbitration at Cairo University. He is also: Vice President of the ICC International Court of Arbitration; Member of the ICCA Governing Board; Vice- Chair, IBA Arab Regional Forum; Member of the CRCICA Advisory Committee; Member of the Advisory Board, Mauritius International Arbitration Centre (MIAC); Member of the Board of Trustees of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb); Vice Chair, Academic Forum for Investor-State Dispute Settlement; Court Member of the CIMAC; Dean and Member of the Advisory Council of the Africa Arbitration Academy; and Member of the Governing Board of the International Council on Online Dispute Resolution (ICODR).

He is listed in all major legal directories as a star practitioner and a thought leader. He is listed in AFRICA’s 100 list of leading African arbitration practitioners, was selected by Africa Arbitration as the African Personality of June 2018 and by LACIAC (Lagos Chamber of Commerce International Arbitration Centre) as the Arbitration Personality in May 2019. He Received the LAW Magazine 2017 Award for the Best Legal Practitioner in Egypt, the 2018 ASA International Arbitration Advocacy Prize, the AYA Hall of Fame Award in London for the African Arbitrator of 2019, and, in February 2020, he received Lexology’s Client Choice International Award. He regularly writes and speaks on issues of international arbitration, and the leading treatise which he co-edits: ‘Online Dispute Resolution: Theory and Practice’ (2012), received the CPR Award for the Best Published Dispute Resolution Work (2013).

Prof. Catherine Rogers discussed "Does International Arbitration Enfeeble or Enhance Local Legal Institutions?" with Dr Kabir Duggal and Amanda Lee. The recording is available here. To find out more about the topic, it is based on an article of same title by Prof. Catherine Rogers and Christopher Drahozal, which is available for download here. Prof. Catherine Rogers was tagged by Prof. Diane Desierto; she in turn tagged Yemi Candide-Johnson SAN. This episode was also supported by Arbitrator Intelligence.

Prof. Catherine Rogers is a scholar of international arbitration and professional ethics at Penn State Law, with a dual appointment as Professor of Ethics, Regulation, and the Rule of Law at Queen Mary, University of London, where she is also Co-Director of the Institute for Ethics and Regulation. Her scholarship focuses on the convergence of the public and private in international adjudication, the intersection of markets and regulation in guiding professional conduct, and on the reconceptualization of the attorney as a global actor. Catherine teaches, lectures, and publishes on these topics around the world, including as an invited participant at two Stanford-Yale Junior Faculty Fora.

Catherine is a Reporter for the American Law Institute’s Restatement of the U.S. Law of International Commercial Arbitration. Before entering academia, Catherine clerked for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and practised international litigation and arbitration in New York, Hong Kong, and San Francisco.

Vladimir Khvalei discussed "Corruption in international arbitration: red flags, burden and standard of proof" with Dr Kabir Duggal and Amanda Lee. The recording is available here. Vladimir was tagged by Prof. Mohamed Abdel Wahab; he in turn tagged Dr. Michael Hwang SC. This episode was also supported by the CIS Arbitration Forum.

Vladimir Khvalei is a partner in the Moscow office of Baker & McKenzie and heads the firm’s CIS Dispute Resolution Practice Group. Mr. Khvalei is Vice-President of the ICC International Court of Arbitration and a member of the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA). Vladimir is Chairman of the Board of the Russian Arbitration Association and Chairman of the Arbitration Commission of the Russian National Committee of the ICC. Vladimir serves as a Member of the Board of the International Arbitration Court at the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Member of the Board of the Ukrainian Arbitration Association, Member of the Polish Arbitration Association, Member of the Austrian Arbitration Association, Member of the Governing board of the International Council for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA). Vladimir is a former Vice-Chair of the IBA Arbitration Committee (2013-2014).

Yemi Candide-Johnson SAN discussed "Intra-Africa trade and the future of commercial dispute resolution on the continent" with Dr Kabir Duggal and Amanda Lee. The recording is available here.

He was tagged by Prof. Catherine Rogers; he in turn tagged Samaa Haridi. This episode was also supported by the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) - Nigeria Branch, CRID-LawNet, the Lagos Chamber of Commerce International Arbitration Centre (LACIAC) and the Lagos Court of Arbitration (LCA).

Charles Adeyemi (Yemi) Candide-Johnson SAN is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, a former chairman of the Section on business Law of the Nigeria Bar Association, a past president of the Lagos Court of Arbitration, the chairman of the Nigerian Mortgage Refinance Corporation, and the convenor of the Nigerian Justice Reform Project. He is also a commercial litigator and international commercial arbitrator who has chaired, co-arbitrated and conducted arbitrations under the ICC, LCIA and LMAA Rules, in addition to domestic and ad hoc arbitrations in the construction, oil and gas, banking and Islamic banking industries.

Dr Michael Hwang SC discussed the "Referral of Judgment Payment Disputes to Arbitration" with Dr Kabir Duggal and Amanda Lee. The recording is available here. He was tagged by Vladimir Khvalei; he in turn tagged Kevin Kim. 

Dr Michael Hwang SC currently practices as an international arbitrator and mediator based in Singapore. He was the Chief Justice of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Courts from 2010 to 2018. He sits as arbitrator in domestic and international disputes, including investment treaty disputes, under a wide variety of arbitral rules. Michael was called to the Singapore Bar in 1968, when he joined Allen & Gledhill. He became a partner in 1972 and retired from the firm in 2002 after serving as head of its Litigation and Arbitration Department for 10 years.

Michael’s past appointments include: a former Vice Chairman of the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), a former Vice President of the International Council for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA), a former member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA), a former Court Member of the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA), a former panel member on the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) Panel, and a former Trustee of the Dubai International Arbitration Centre (DIAC). He has also served as a United Nations Compensation Commissioner (adjudicating claims against Iraq arising from the First Gulf War) and a Vice-Chair of the International Bar Association’s (IBA) Arbitration Committee, as well as a Council Member of International Council of Arbitration for Sport (ICAS). He is on the Users Council of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) and Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC), and is also a Board Member of the Swiss Arbitration Association (ASA) and the Hainan international Arbitration Court. Michael has also previously served as Singapore’s Non-Resident Ambassador to Switzerland and Argentina, as a Judicial Commissioner (fixed-term High Court Judge) of the Supreme Court of Singapore, and as President of the Law Society of Singapore.

Michael has published two books of essays on international arbitration, which are available for download from http://www.mhwang.com/.

He was educated at undergraduate and postgraduate levels at Oxford University, where he was a college scholar by open competitive examination. He has also been conferred an Honorary LLD by the University of Sydney where he commenced his legal career as a Teaching Fellow.

In this final episode of Season 1, Dr Kabir Duggal and Amanda Lee welcomed surprise guests Chiann Bao, Christopher Campbell, Thomas Granier, Rekha Rangachari, Patricia Saiz, Hafez Virjee and Jeffrey Zaino, for a discussion of innovation, Delos, challenges of arbitration, the pandemic, and diversity, sprinkled with light banter. The recording is available here.

Samaa Haridi discussed “Legal Privilege in International Commercial Arbitration” with Dr Kabir Duggal and Amanda Lee. The recording is available here. She was tagged by Yemi Candide-Johnson SAN; she in turn tagged Amb. (r.) David Huebner. 

Samaa A. Haridi is a common and civil law trained, trilingual partner in the International Arbitration Group of Hogan Lovells.  Ms. Haridi has significant experience representing corporations and financial institutions from various parts of the world, and represents parties in international commercial and investment arbitration proceedings under the arbitration rules of all the major arbitral institutions.  Ms. Haridi also frequently sits as an arbitrator in international commercial and investment disputes.

Ms. Haridi has been ranked by clients and peers in Chambers USA and Chambers Global for International Arbitration. She has been singled out by clients for her “brilliant,” “really, really phenomenal,” “no-nonsense and impressive” approach, and regularly handles commercial and investor-state arbitrations involving the Middle East with a “very good sense of diplomacy.” Sources also acknowledge her as being “hard-working and very entrepreneurial,” as well as a “unique practitioner with unique skills” who delivers “clear and intelligent arguments.”  She is also recognized by The Legal 500, and by Who’s Who Legal: Thought Leaders – Arbitration 2020.

She is currently serving as an officer in a number of arbitral organizations, including as Court Member of the ICC International Court of Arbitration, representing Egypt, Senior Vice-Chair of the Arbitration Committee of the International Bar Association, Vice President of the LCIA Arab Users’ Council, and Advisory Committee Member of the Cairo Regional Centre for International Commercial Arbitration (CRCICA).  Ms. Haridi also is a frequent speaker at conferences around the globe.

Born in Switzerland, Ms. Haridi grew up in Belgium, Egypt, Morocco, and France.  She holds a  Diplôme d’Etudes Approfondies in Private International Law and International Business Transactions from the University of Paris I (Sorbonne); and an LL.M. in Comparative Law from the University Of San Diego School Of Law, where she was a Sorbonne Scholar.

Ms. Haridi is a member of the bars of New York, California, and England & Wales. She is fluent in French and Arabic and is also conversant in Spanish.

Kevin Kim discussed “The Gangnam Principle in International Arbitration” with Dr Kabir Duggal and Amanda Lee. The recording is available here. He was tagged by Dr Michael Hwang SC; he in turn tagged Alvin Yeo SC.

Kap‐You (Kevin) Kim is a senior partner at Peter & Kim in Seoul. He was previously a senior partner at Bae, Kim & Lee LLC, where he worked for the past three decades in various roles, including as the co‐founder and head of the International Arbitration Practice and the head of the Domestic and International Disputes Group.

Over the past 30 years, Kevin has acted as counsel, presiding arbitrator, co-arbitrator or sole arbitrator in more than 300 cases of international arbitrations under various arbitration rules. Presently, he is involved in several investment and commercial arbitrations. Among other positions that he holds, Kevin is presently Vice President of the ICC International Court of Arbitration, Advisory Board Member of the International Council for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA) and Chairman of the Korean Commercial Arbitration Board’s (KCAB) International Arbitration Committee. In the past, Kevin has served as Secretary General of ICCA (2010–2014), member of the LCIA Court (2007–2012) and Vice Chair of the IBA Arbitration Committee (2008–2010).

Amb. (r.) David Huebner discussed “Existential Threat or Basic Hygiene: A Framework for Considering Greater Transparency in Commercial Arbitration” with Dr Kabir Duggal and Amanda Lee. The recording is available here. He was tagged by Samaa Haridi; he in turn tagged Prof. Nayla Comair-Obeid.

Ambassador (r.) David Huebner, C.Arb, FCIArbis an international arbitrator who has handled more than 200 arbitrations in three dozen jurisdictions around the world.  He has particular expertise in technology, life sciences, telecom, new energy, infrastructure, and investment disputes, and the Silicon Valley Arbitration & Mediation Center has regularly named him to its “Tech List” of the “world’s most accomplished technology neutrals.” He sits on the panels of the principal international and regional commercial arbitration institutions and was appointed to the ICSID panel of arbitrators by President Obama.

His career has included serving as the U.S. Ambassador to New Zealand & Samoa, chairman & CEO of an international law firm, founding managing partner of law offices in Shanghai, special policy assistant to a parliamentarian in Japan’s National Diet, and chair of the California Law Revision Commission for two governors (Davis and Schwarzenegger). 

He has a career-long commitment to inclusiveness and diversity, and CPR conferred on him its Outstanding Contribution to Diversity Award for 2020.  Among other honors, his diplomatic passport and other artifacts were taken into the Smithsonian Institution’s permanent collection of American history, as the first openly LGBTQ person knowingly confirmed by the U.S. Senate to a senior diplomatic or national security position in the history of the Republic.

A graduate of Princeton University (summa cum laude) and Yale Law School, Amb. Huebner is a licensed solicitor in England & Wales, member of the Bars of California, New York, and DC, Fellow of the College of Commercial Arbitrators, Chartered Arbitrator and Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, and life member of the Council on Foreign Relations.  He has lectured on international law, IP, and arbitration at universities in China, Germany, New Zealand, and the U.S. and is active in a wide range of professional organizations, including serving on the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators’ Board of Trustees as the Trustee for the Western Hemisphere. 

Alvin Yeo SC discussed “Indirect Investments in Investor-State Dispute Settlement” with Dr Kabir Duggal and Amanda Lee. The recording is available here. He was tagged by Kevin Kim; he in turn tagged Dr Crina Baltag.

Alvin Yeo SC is the Chairman & Senior Partner of WongPartnership LLP. He was appointed Senior Counsel of the Supreme Court of Singapore in 2000 at the age of 37, the youngest ever to be so appointed. Alvin graduated from King’s College London, University of London, and was admitted to the English Bar (Gray’s Inn) in 1987 and the Singapore Bar in 1988. His main areas of practice are litigation and arbitration in banking, corporate/commercial, investment and infrastructure disputes. Alvin is a member of the Court of the SIAC, the ICC Commission and a fellow of the Asian Institute of Alternative Dispute Resolution, the Singapore Institute of Arbitrators and the Singapore Institute of Directors, and a former member of the LCIA Court and the IBA Arbitration Committee. He is also on the panel of arbitrators in various arbitral institutions, including the HKIAC, ICDR, KCAB, SCIETAC and the Singapore Institute of Arbitrators’ Panel for Sports in Singapore. Alvin is also appointed to the Governing Board of the Centre for International Law at the National University of Singapore.

Dr Crina Baltag discussed “Recoverability of In-House Counsel Costs in International Arbitration” with Dr Kabir Duggal and Amanda Lee. The recording is available here. She was tagged by Alvin Yeo SC; she in turn tagged Prof. Loukas Mistelis.

Dr Crina Baltag is Senior Lecturer in International Arbitration at Stockholm University and qualified attorney-at-law since 2004, with extensive practice in various aspects on international dispute resolution, private and public international law. She is member of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce Arbitration Institute (SCC) Board. Crina’s publications include The Energy Charter Treaty: The Notion of Investor [Wolters Kluwer, 2012]; ICSID Convention after 50 Years: Unsettled Issues [Wolters Kluwer, 2017]; The Future of Investment Treaty Arbitration in the EU [co-editor, Wolters Kluwer, 2020] etc. and numerous publications in leading legal journals and reviews, including on the Denial of Benefits in Investment Law [co-author; Max Planck Encyclopaedia of International Procedural Law , Oxford University Press, 2019].

Dr Baltag is the editor of Kluwer Arbitration Blog, co-managing editor of ITA Arbitration Report and member of editorial boards of prestigious journals in the field, including of the Journal of International Arbitration. She has been appointed in numerous arbitrations, as sole arbitrator and co-arbitrator under the rules of the ICC, LCIA, SIAC, and CCIR-Romania. Crina holds a PhD degree in International Arbitration from Queen Mary University of London (UK), LL.M in International Commercial Arbitration Law from Stockholm University (Sweden), M.Sc. in International Business from Academy of Economic Studies (Romania), LL.B. from University of Bucharest (Romania).

Prof. Nayla Comair-Obeid discussed “Robust Arbitrators: How to Deal with Dilatory/ Guerilla Tactics During the Course of the Arbitral Proceedings” with Dr Kabir Duggal and Amanda Lee. The recording is available here. Prof. Comair-Obeid was tagged by Amb. (r.) David Huebner; she in turn tagged Larry Shore.

Professor Dr. Nayla Comair-Obeid is a founding partner of Obeid Law Firm and a head of the firm’s dispute resolution practice. Author of ‘The Law of Business Contracts in the Middle East’, Prof. Comair-Obeid is Professor at the Lebanese University, she publishes prolifically and is regularly invited to lecture at world-renowned academic institutions where her articles and scholarly publications are often cited as reference works.

Throughout her career, Prof. Comair-Obeid has held and continues to hold prominent positions in several major international arbitration institutions. Most recently, Prof. Comair-Obeid was elected as International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Executive Board Member. Prior to this, she was appointed as a member of China’s International Commercial Expert Committee of the Supreme People’s Court in August 2018. Prof. Comair-Obeid is also a Member of the LCIA Court, Trustee of the Cairo Regional Centre for International Arbitration, Council Member of the Institute of World Business Law of the ICC and a Member of the ICSID panel of arbitrators and conciliators. Prof. Comair-Obeid was also appointed in 2018 as Companion for the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb). She was elected President of the CIArb in 2017, after chairing its Board of Trustees in 2014. Prof. Comair-Obeid also served as Commissioner at the United Nations Compensation Commission in Geneva from 2002 to 2005.

A specialist in international business law and Islamic and Middle Eastern legislation, Prof. Comair-Obeid is admitted to the Beirut and Paris bar and she is an associate member of 3 Verulam Buildings (3VB). She regularly serves as counsel or arbitrator in complex international arbitrations conducted in Arabic, French, or English, both ad hoc and under a variety of international arbitration rules. Prof. Comair-Obeid is also often called upon as a legal expert on various aspects of Lebanese law and Middle Eastern legislations in foreign courts and arbitral proceedings. Prof. Comair-Obeid is referred to as “pre-eminent in her field” and a “leading authority in international arbitration” by international legal publications.

Prof. Loukas Mistelis discussed “The Role of Experts in Investment and Commercial Arbitration” with Dr Kabir Duggal and Amanda Lee. The recording is available here. Prof. Mistelis was tagged by Dr Crina Baltag; he in turn tagged Judge Joan Donoghue.

Prof. Loukas Mistelis is the Clive Schmitthoff professor of transnational law and arbitration; director of the Institute of Transnational Commercial Law, former director of the School of International Arbitration (2002–2019) at Queen Mary, University of London; and founding partner of Mistelis & Haddadin, an arbitration and commercial law consultancy. He is an acknowledged authority in dispute resolution and a high-profile arbitration academic and practitioner. He is listed in WWL: Arbitration (2006–) and The Legal 500 Arbitration Powerlist as a highly regarded individual.

Prof. Larry Shore discussed “Text, Context, and Justice: Contract Interpretation by Arbitrators” with Dr Kabir Duggal and Amanda Lee. The recording is available here. Larry Shore was tagged by Prof. Nayla Comair-Obeid; he in turn tagged Dr Stephan Wilske.

Prof. Larry Shore is the head of the BonelliErede international arbitration practice group. He is resident in the firm’s Milan, Italy, office. Previously, Larry was a partner at the Herbert Smith (London, New York City) and Gibson Dunn (New York City) law firms. He began his career in the law as a litigation associate at Williams & Connolly in Washington, D.C.  He also worked as an attorney adviser in the U.S. Department of State’s Office of the Legal Adviser.

Larry’s law degree is from Emory University, where he was editor-in chief of the Emory Law Journal. He has a doctorate in American History from Johns Hopkins University and earned his undergraduate degree from the same university as Michael Jordan.

Larry has principally practiced in the international arbitration area since 1995. In addition to his work as counsel and arbitrator, he has taught as an adjunct lecturer at New York University School of Law and the Washington College of Law (American University, Washington, D.C.), and he was Chair of the New York City Bar’s International Law Committee from 2012-2014.

Among Larry’s publications in the arbitration field are his co-authorship of International Investment Arbitration: Substantive Principles (Oxford U. Press, 2d edition, 2017); and “Do Witness Statements Matter – And if so, How Can They Be Improved?“, in A.J. van den Berg, ed., Legitimacy: Myths, Realities, Challenges; ICCA Congress Series No.18 (Wolters Kluwer, 2015).

Judge Joan Donoghue discussed “Arbitrators as Flamingos of Many Colors” with Dr Kabir Duggal and Amanda Lee. The recording is available here. Judge Donoghue was tagged by Prof. Loukas Mistelis; she in turn tagged Judith Levine.

Judge Joan Donoghue has been a member of the International Court of Justice since 2010. She has also served on investor-state arbitral tribunals and ICSID annulment committees. Before joining the ICJ, Judge Donoghue held a number of positions at the United States Department of State, culminating in the role of Principal Deputy Legal Adviser, the senior career attorney at the State Department. While at the State Department, she supervised legal work related to the negotiation of investment treaties, as well as advocacy in the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal and North American Free Trade Agreement investor-state arbitration. Judge Donoghue has taught international law courses at several U.S. law schools and has taught investment law in the UN’s regional training program in Africa.

Judith Levine discussed “Arbitration in Absentia: How to Deal with Non-participation in International Disputes” with Dr Kabir Duggal and Amanda Lee. The video is available here. Judith was tagged by ICJ Judge Joan Donoghue; she in turn tagged Catherine Amirfar.

Judith Levine is an independent arbitrator with over 20 years of dispute resolution experience in the fields of public international law, foreign investment, and commercial contracts. She brings valuable insight from her work in both private practice and for public institutions.

Judith has acted as presiding arbitrator, sole arbitrator, and co-panellist in disputes at the International Chamber of Commerce, Singapore International Arbitration Centre and the Court of Arbitration for Sport. She is also a Vice President of the Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration, a member of the Commonwealth Secretariat Arbitral Tribunal, Australia’s National Sports Tribunal and the Disciplinary Board of the UN Special Tribunal for Lebanon.

Now based in Sydney, Judith worked for over a decade at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague where, as Senior Legal Counsel, she administered some of the world’s most complex interstate, investor-state and contract disputes, including the Abyei, South China Sea, Yukos and Bangladesh Accord arbitrations. She also represented the PCA at UN climate talks and UNCITRAL Working Groups. Prior to joining the PCA in 2008, Judith practised international arbitration at White & Case LLP in New York, representing sovereign States and private parties. Earlier in her career, Judith served with the International Court of Justice, the Australian Attorney-General, and the High Court of Australia.

Judith has written and presented widely on diverse issues in dispute resolution, including arbitral procedure, investment arbitration, public international law, ethics, climate law, and business and human rights.

A national of Australia and Ireland, Judith obtained her Master of Laws from New York University (on a Hauser Global Scholarship and Fulbright Award) and a combined Bachelor of Arts (with French Major) and Bachelor of Laws (with University Medal) from the University of New South Wales in Australia. Who’s Who Legal identifies Judith as a leader in international arbitration, recognising her reputation for being “very smart, extremely well organised” and having “excellent judgement”.

Dr Stephan Wilske discussed “The Phenomenon of the Ailing Arbitrator and Its Consequences” with Dr Kabir Duggal and Amanda Lee. The recording is available here. Stephan Wilske was tagged by Prof. Larry Shore; he in turn tagged Prof. Pierre Tercier.

Dr Stephan Wilske advises national and international clients on arbitration and cross-border litigation. He has acted in numerous arbitrations (national and international) with an emphasis on project-related disputes, post-M&A disputes, joint ventures, investment arbitrations and general commercial law.

Stephan studied at the Universities of Tübingen, Aix-en-Provence (Maîtrise en Droit 1986) and Chicago (LL.M.; Casper Platt Award 1996). He was admitted to the German bar in 1997 and has been a partner at Gleiss Lutz since 2002.

He was admitted in New York and in Germany in 1997, to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in 2007, to the U.S. Supreme Court in 2009 and to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in 2010. Stephan has been an international advisor to the Korean Institute of Technology and the Law (KITAL) since 1999, Advisory Committee Member of the Swiss Arbitration Academy (SAA) since 2008, Senior Committee Member of the Contemporary Asia Arbitration Journal since 2009, International Correspondent (Germany) of the Revista Română de Arbitraj (Romanian Arbitration Review) since 2009 and a member of the Editorial Board of ARBITRATION – The International Journal of Arbitration, Mediation and Dispute Management (since 2018). He has also been a member of the SIAC Users Council since 2016. Stephan has been a lecturer at the University of Heidelberg since 2008 and at the University of Jena since 2015. In Spring 2010, he was a Visiting Professor at the National Taiwan University College of Law.

He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb) and of the Asian Institute of Alternative Dispute Resolution (AIADR), a member of the Expert Panel of Neutrals of the Mediation and Conciliation Network (MCN) India and of the American Law Institute (ALI). Since 2019, he is a Vice President of the CAAI Court of Arbitration and a member of the ICC Task Force “Addressing Issues of Corruption in International Arbitration”.

Prof. Pierre Tercier discussed “Inside the Black Box: What Happens During the Deliberations and the Drafting of an Award” with Dr Kabir Duggal and Amanda Lee. The recording is available here. Prof. Tercier was tagged by Dr Stephan Wilske; he in turn tagged Julie Bedard.

Prof. Pierre Tercier is a Professor emeritus at the University of Fribourg and Honorary President of the International Court of Arbitration of the ICC. He now works mainly as an independent arbitrator. For over a generation, Pierre Tercier has been one of the most respected legal scholars in the Switzerland. He has authored more than 250 legal writings, focusing on contract law and international arbitration, among which there are several treatises that have become instant classics.

Pierre Tercier has extensive experience in international arbitration, having chaired the ICC International Court of Arbitration and having served many times in ICC cases. He was also Chairman of the Swiss Commission on Competition, the Swiss Cartel Commission and the Swiss Insurance Law Society. Prof. Tercier has researched and taught law at many universities, including Cambridge University, Columbia Law School, the Max-Planck Institute for private international law in Hamburg and the Universities of Paris I (Panthéon-Sorbonne), Paris II (Panthéon-Assas) and Paris IV. He also has been Dean of Fribourg University Law School.

Catherine Amirfar discussed “Cybersecurity and International Arbitration: A Wake-up Call” with Dr Kabir Duggal and Amanda Lee. The recording is available here. Catherine was tagged by Judith Levine; she in turn tagged Matt Gearing QC.

Catherine Amirfaris Co-Chair of the Public International Law Group and sits as a member of the Firm’s Management Committee. She is the current President of the American Society of International Law (ASIL) and co-hosts a podcast, “International Law Behind the Headlines.” With over twenty years of litigation experience, Ms. Amirfar is recognized as a top practitioner in international disputes globally. Her practice focuses on international commercial and treaty arbitration, international litigation and public international law. She regularly represents states, international organizations, nongovernmental organizations, and multinational companies and appears in U.S. courts and before international courts and arbitration tribunals, including the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Ms. Amirfar serves as a Member of the U.S. Department of State’s Advisory Committee on International Law, the Council on Foreign Relations, the Advisory Committees of the American Law Institute for the Restatement (Fourth) of Foreign Relations Law of the United States and for the Restatement of the U.S. Law of International Commercial Arbitration. She is a member of the Governing Board of the International Council for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA), the leading global organization of international arbitrators and arbitration practitioners, and serves as Co-Chair of the ICCA-ASIL Task Force on Damages in International Arbitration. She is also a member of the Court of Arbitration of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre and the International Centre for Dispute Resolution of the American Arbitration Association. From 2014 to 2016, Ms. Amirfar served as Counselor on International Law to the Legal Adviser at the U.S. Department of State in the Obama Administration, for which she received the State Department’s Superior Honor Award in recognition of her contributions to the Department.

In this final episode of Season 2 and of the year, Dr Kabir Duggal and Amanda Lee welcomed surprise guests Saadia Bhatty, Jonathan Lim, Mercy Okiro and Tafadzwa Pasipanodya, alongside Hafez Virjee, for a discussion of damages in international arbitration, renewable energy claims and the impact of Enka v Chubb on determination of the law governing arbitration agreements. The recording is available here.

In this first Episode of TagTime Season 3, Matthew Gearing QC discussed “Appeals on Questions of Law – Worth the Trouble?” with hosts Dr Kabir Duggal and Amanda Lee. The recording is available here. Matt was tagged by Catherine Amirfar; he in turn tagged Yoshimi Ohara.

Matthew Gearing QC is a partner in Allen & Overy’s Global Arbitration group. He is widely regarded as a leading arbitration practitioner; in particular he was appointed Queen’s Counsel (England & Wales) in February 2014. Matthew has acted in many complex and high-profile arbitrations around the world, both commercial arbitrations and investment treaty arbitrations. His experience includes arbitrations under the ICC, UNCITRAL, SIAC, HKIAC, KLRCA, SCC, LCIA and ICSID Rules.

Matthew was Chairperson of the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre from 2017 to 2020. In addition, he is a past Co-Chair of the LCIA Young International Arbitration Group. He is on the HKIAC, SIAC and KLRCA panel of arbitrators. He is also on Prime Finance’s panel of Dispute Resolution experts.

Julie Bédard discussed “Who Decides: Courts or Tribunals? Arbitrability in International Arbitration” with Dr Kabir Duggal and Amanda Lee. The recording is available here. Julie was tagged by Prof. Pierre Tercier; she in turn tagged Ndanga Kamau.

Julie Bédard is head of Skadden’s International Litigation and Arbitration Group for the Americas. She is a member of Skadden’s Policy Committee, the firm’s governing body. Fluent in French, Spanish and Portuguese, Ms. Bédard practices in four languages in complex international litigation and arbitration matters.

Trained in both civil and common law, Ms. Bédard represents clients in federal and state courts in the US and has served as counsel in various international arbitration proceedings. She frequently counsels management and supervisory boards in corporate governance, internal investigations and U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act matters. In 2020, Ms. Bédard was named as an arbitrator for the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement’s dispute settlement mechanism. She is a member of the Court of Arbitration of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre.

Ndanga Kamau discussed “The State in International Arbitration: Immunity, Sovereignty & Other Salient Issues” with Dr Kabir Duggal and Amanda Lee. The recording is available here. Ndanga was tagged by Julie Bédard; she in turn tagged Prof. Maxi Scherer.

Ndanga Kamau is an international lawyer specialising in international dispute settlement, public international law, and private international law. She sits as an arbitrator in institutional and ad hoc arbitrations, and represents clients in international disputes. In addition to her representation work, Ndanga advises clients on dispute avoidance, risk mitigation, drafting dispute resolution clauses, and developing dispute resolution strategies.

Ndanga is Vice President of the ICC International Court of Arbitration, President of the ICC Africa Commission, a member of the IBA Arbitration Committee, a PRIME Finance Expert in Dispute Resolution, and a member of the Executive Committee of the Foundation for International Arbitration Advocacy (FIAA). She is also Director of Programmes of the African Association of International Law (AAIL), in which capacity she attends meetings of UNCITRAL WG III on Investor-State Dispute Settlement Reform.

Yoshimi Ohara discussed “When Arbitration Meets IP Disputes – Settling Global Patent Disputes in a Single Arbitration” with Dr Kabir Duggal and Amanda Lee. The recording is available here. Yoshimi was tagged by Matt Gearing QC; she in turn tagged Andrés Jana.

Yoshimi Ohara is a Partner at Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu. Her practice focuses on international arbitration, international complex litigation and mediation. She represents both domestic and foreign clients in international arbitration in various venues under the rules of the ICC, AAA/ICDR, SIAC and JCAA. With a strong corporate and IP background, she has extensive experience in dealing with disputes covering a wide range of subjects, including joint ventures, M&A, energy, construction, technology transfer, intellectual property, shipping, sales and distribution. Ms. Ohara also serves as an arbitrator in international arbitration. She has contributed to shaping soft law in international arbitration through IBA activities.

Andrés Jana discussed “Applying Substantive Law in International Arbitration: Is There a Case for Harmonization?” with Dr Kabir Duggal and Amanda Lee. The recording is available here. Andrés was tagged by Yoshimi Ohara, he in turn tagged Eduardo Damião Gonçalves.

Andrés Jana is a founding partner at Chilean law firm Bofill Mir & Alvarez Jana. Between 1996 and 1998 he was the Director of Legal Studies of the Central Bank of Chile. He obtained his LL.M. from Harvard University and graduated summa cum laude from the Law School of the Universidad de Chile.

He has vast experience as counsel, arbitrator and expert in international disputes involving commercial, investment and international public law issues, before the ICJ, ICSID, the ICC, the LCIA, the AAA, the SCC, the PCA, and several ad hoc tribunals; as well as domestic courts in different jurisdictions. Jana is the Chilean delegate before the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law, where he participated in the revision and adoption of the UNCITRAL arbitration rules (2010, the rules of transparency in arbitrations between investors and states (2013) and currently chairs the work of the WG on Expedited Arbitration.