Second Annual Enforcement of Arbitration Awards

Friday, September 21, 2018. Hilton Amsterdam – Apollolaan 138, Amsterdam, 1077 BG, Netherlands

 

 

Second Annual Enforcement of Arbitration Awards

Arbitration lawyers often talk of arbitration awards as if getting an award is the final step in the dispute.  In fact, obtaining an arbitral award can be relatively easy, compared with the task of enforcing it and collecting the amounts due from the other party.  Often, prospective or actual award debtors need to engage in litigation in one or more countries, or even seek pre-award relief, to get the money that is due to them.  It may even be necessary to bring proceedings against third parties, to challenge fraudulent conveyances or other activities intended to put the award debtor’s assets out of reach.

The conference will feature high-level discussion of the issues of award enforcement.  It will feature counsel experienced in representing both award creditors and debtors, as well as other professionals involved in asset identification and award enforcement.  The panelists will discuss recent court litigation in this field, including award enforcement litigation in Europe and North America involving or against foreign sovereigns (and state-owned entities), enforcement disputes involving assets in the Former Soviet Union, and current developments involving sovereign immunity.  Panelists will also discuss steps that may be taken in advance of awards, including obtaining attachments to secure payment and bonding requirements.

The conference will present four 90-minute panel discussions each with four to six speakers, including a moderator. Although panel members may present some prepared remarks, the bulk of the discussions will consist of interplay among speakers and the moderator as well as persons from the audience. The emphasis will be on communicating with the audience through discussions of actual cases.

The two panels in the morning panelists will describe the legal landscape and the strategies that should be taken at the outset of a dispute where enforcement is likely to be an issue. The second half of the program, after lunch (provided), will focus on current litigation and controversies over enforcement, plus challenges in the “end game” of enforcement.

Materials, including statutes, rules, articles and cases, to which reference is made in the conference will be provided.

CLE credit available.

Program

8:00 – 9:00        Registration

9:00 – 10:30      Session 1: Anticipatory Measures/Pre-Award/Pre-Judgement Strategies

Moderator: Lawrence Newman
Speakers: Ronald Brand, Dmitry Pentsov, Mathieu Raas, Angeline Welsh

Topics:

  • Pre-award attachments and freezing orders.
  • Possibilities and constraints.
  • Use of publicity.
  • The pre-requisites for pre-award freezing orders and attachments in European UK and North American jurisdictions.
  • Judicial assistance in aid of arbitration.
  • Illustrations of when pre-hearing freezing orders have been effective.
  • Special issues involving state parties.
  • Considerations involving third parties.
  • Rules about public disclosure of arbitral proceedings.

10:30 – 11:00 Networking Coffee Break

11:00 – 12:30     Session 2: The Practicalities of Enforcement – Lasting the Distance, “Partnering” With Specialists; Funders

Moderator: Wieger Wielinga
Speakers: Jurriaan Braat, Hakim Boularbah, Uwe Hornung, Sapna Jianghiani, Jef Klazen

Topics:

  • When is specialist “partnering” or funding useful and relevant?
  • What role (if any) do funders have at the enforcement stage, and how soon do parties need to start planning?
  • How best to use private intelligence services or specialist asset tracers.
  • What assets can be found (and not found) using publicly available means?
  • What role can the courts play in aiding identification of assets?

12:30 – 13:30      NETWORKING LUNCH

13:30 – 15:00      Session 3: Current Legal Challenges in Enforcement

Moderator: Timothy Nelson
Speakers:  Stephane Bonisfassi, Ruth Byrne, Sabin Konrad, George J. Pollack, Alex Yanos

Topics:

  • Recent developments and current cases involving enforcement of arbitration awards.
  • Can an award be enforced under the New York Convention even when it has been vacated, or challenged in the courts of the the seat?
  • Will courts outside the seat allow the award debtor to challenge the award (e.g. on grounds of fraud or illegality)?
  • What are the latest developments involving enforcement against state-owned enterprises and sovereigns?
  • Are states abusing criminal procedures as a means of resisting enforcement of awards?

15:00 – 15:30 Networking Coffee Break

15:30 – 17:00      Session 4: End game

Moderator: Marcus Green
Speakers:  Massimo Benedetelli, Elena Daly, Alexander Hansebout, Marnix Leijten

Topics:

  • Pursuing to the end – What does it take to last distance?
  • The “X” factor:  what “breaks” can be decisive, what are the strategies that close the deal?
  • From an award creditor perspective: “If you had your time all over again, what would you have done differently.”
  • From an award debtor perspective:  how does asset protection work and what strategies are legitimate to shield against enforcement?

~ Drinks Reception Following Conference

 

Register

Online Registration:

Enforcement of Arbitration Awards
$595.00

Enforcement of Arbitration Awards*
$375.00

*ONLY available to Full-Time Academics with no law firm affiliation, Government Employees, and Full-Time In-House Corporate Counsel.

PDF Registration Form

Co-Chairs

Marcus J. Green is the Director of Special Investments in Kobre & Kim’s New York office.  He advises clients on judgment enforcement, international asset investigations and recovery, and related debtor-creditor litigation.  Mr. Green helps clients realize value from court judgments and arbitral awards in distressed circumstances, including where debtors have undertaken complex asset protection structuring and, in investor-state disputes, where sovereign immunity may be implicated.  He develops and implements worldwide asset tracing and recovery plans on behalf of corporate, sovereign and individual clients.  These recoveries often involve coordinated efforts throughout the United States, Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe and Asia.

Timothy Nelson is a Partner in Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP’s New York office.  He represents clients in a variety of disputes involving cross-border and international law issues, including arbitrations before international bodies such as the American Arbitration Association/International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR), the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) and tribunals constituted under the Arbitration Rules of the United Nations Commission of International Trade Law (UNCITRAL).  Mr. Nelson regularly advises sovereign and corporate clients on public international law issues including under multilateral treaties such as the Energy Charter Treaty, bilateral investment treaties (BITS); and other international trade/investment agreements.  Recently, he successfully defended Atlantic LNG Co. of Trinidad and Tobago against a $250 million claim by an affiliate of Gas Natural Fenosa in a UNCITRAL arbitration based in New York, involving a dispute concerning a long-term LNG supply contract, with favorable merits and fee awards in October 2016 and March 2017.

Wieger Wielinga is Managing Partner of Omni Bridgeway which has been funding and managing complex litigation and arbitration (ICSID, UNCITRAL, ICC, SCC) for governments, insurers and multinationals since 1986.  He began his career in 1992 as an attorney at Loeff Claeys Verbeke (now Allen & Overy), where he specialized in litigation and insolvency matters.  He has extensive litigation and debt restructuring experience, including as court appointed receiver to the World Bank, the International Finance Corporation and international banks.

Faculty

Massimo Benedettelli is a partner of ArbLit, a Milan-based boutique which focuses on international arbitration and cross-border litigation. He is a Full Professor at University “Aldo Moro” of Bari, where he holds the Chair of International Law. Since July 2018 he is a member of the ICC Court of Arbitration upon designation of the Italian national committee. Before joining ArbLit, he was a partner at Freshfields, being a member of both the International Arbitration Group and the Corporate Practice Group. As one of Italy’s leading arbitration specialists, Professor Benedettelli has acted as counsel or sat as chairman, and sole or party-appointed arbitrator in numerous international and domestic arbitrations, both ad hoc and governed by institutional rules.  He has written extensively on private international law, arbitration law and EU law and has been invited to give a course at the Academy of International Law, The Hague, in 2022.

Michael Black QC is an international disputes lawyer specializing in international arbitration and offshore litigation both as Advocate and Arbitrator at XXIV Old Buildings.  While his practice is truly global, Mr. Black is well known for his Middle East practice, having acted throughout his career in cases concerning the Region.  An internationally acknowledged expert in civil procedure, he was retained to draft the procedure rules for the Dubai International Financial Centre Courts (“DIFC”) and was also consulted on the drafting of the DIFC Arbitration Law.  He was the first barrister to be admitted to the bar of the IDFC Courts and appeared in both the first trial (shareholder’ dispute) and the first appeal (appeal against freezing injunction).  Mr. Black has a broad commercial practice but has particular experience and expertise in: arbitration; construction & projects; energy, oil & gas; commercial litigation; civil fraud, asset tracing & recovery; banking and financial services; hedge funds and structured investment vehicles; insolvency; and company.

Stéphane Bonifassi is the founding member of Bonifassi Avocats, Paris.   With more than 26 years of criminal court experience, he has developed a unique sense of what investigative tactics can be used in concert with litigation tools to track, locate and recover misappropriated or hidden assets.  He has emerged as a leader in this evolving practice area.  Mr. Bonifassi concentrates his practice on complex, international financial crimes. Mr. Bonifassi has been recognized as a “dean of the Parisian Bar” for his mastery of all aspects of the French legal system paired with his ability to manage corresponding proceedings abroad.

Hakim Boularbah is a Partner in the Brussels office of Liedekerke Wolters Waelbroeck Kirkpatrick.  He specializes in the field of complex and international dispute resolution.  Mr. Boularbah is recognized as an expert in civil and commercial litigation and arbitration at national, European and international levels.  He has broad experience in dealing with mass claims litigation.  Mr. Boulbarbah has an extensive practice in enforcement of foreign judgments and in obtaining provisional measures, as well as in opposing them.  He has assisted the Belgian Economy FPS (Ministry), in drafting the bill on class actions.  In 2011, he was appointed as member of a group of European experts set up by the European Commission to draft a proposal for regulation on cross-border attachment of bank accounts.

Jurriaan Braat is a Partner and Managing Director of Omni Bridgeway in Geneva.  He is responsible for Omni Bridgeway’s legal team and activities.  Mr. Braat has 20 years of experience in assessing and coordinating litigation and enforcement proceed litigation and enforcement proceedings globally against corporates and sovereigns in political risk countries.    He has unique expertise in successfully negotiating settlements with governments, government officials and corporates in a large number of jurisdictions.  Before joining Omni Bridgeway, Mr. Braat practiced as a litigator with the international law firm DLA Piper, where he specialized in the field of international trade, cross-border litigation, insurance, insolvency and banking law.  He advised on insolvency and bankruptcy matters, was appointed as receiver in several bankruptcies, and qualified for the Dutch Supreme Court Bar.

Ronald A. Brand is the Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg University Professor and John E. Murray Faculty Scholar at the University of Pittsburgh Law School.  Professor Brand represented the United States at Special Commissions and the Diplomatic Conference of the Hague Conference on Private International Law that produced the 2005 Convention on Choice of Court Agreements.  His scholarship includes over a dozen books and many articles in major journals,  including: Transaction Planning Using Rules of Jurisdiction and the Recognition and Enforcement of Judgments (Hague Academy of International Law, Pocketbook Series, 2014).  Professor Brand has been a Fulbright Scholar at the Universiteit Brussel, a Research Scholar at the Institute for Advanced Studies at the University of Bologna, and a visiting professor at the University of Augsburg. He has lectured on international trade and business law matters at universities in the USA and abroad.

Ruth Byrne is a Partner and solicitor advocate in the London office of King & Spalding.  She specializes in international commercial disputes across a wide range of industry sectors.  Ms. Byrne has advised clients on disputes arising in multiple jurisdictions (notably in Africa, the Middle East and Eastern Europe) and from a wide range of different industry sectors including energy, construction, manufacturing and retail, asset management and banking.  She has appeared as counsel in arbitrations under all of the leading institutional rules (ICC, LCIA, AAA/ICDR, SCC, Swiss Rules and ICSID) as well as ad hoc  arbitrations and sits regularly as arbitrator.  Ms. Byrne appears frequently in the English High Court, in particular in proceedings in support of arbitration, as well as more generally in international commercial litigation.  Ms. Byrne advises on questions of public and private international law.

Elena Daly is an expert on Eurozone and emerging market sovereign debt management and investments, with an unusually rich transatlantic experience at the intersection of law, business and finance. Ms. Daly is the founder and Principal of EM Conseil, an independent consultancy.  EM Conseil provides strategic and legal risk assessment advice to institutional clients on sovereign debt management matters, prospective investments (fixed income and private equity), workouts of distressed financial investments, as well as best practices in corporate governance and compliance. Ms. Daly served in General Counsel, strategy and risk-related senior positions at alternative investment funds at Citigroup, Fortress Group and Nomura International PLC.  She advised the NYSE board on international issues.

Alexander Hansebout is a Partner in the Brussels office of Altius.  He specializes in domestic and international dispute resolution.  Mr. Hansebout has extensive experience in complex litigation concerning a broad range of issues, including commercial and contractual matter; tort liability; the cross-border recovery of (distressed) debt; insolvency-related matters; the enforcement of foreign judgments and arbitral awards.  He also has in-depth knowledge of the termination of (exclusive) distribution, agency, franchising and brokerage agreements in their respective international contexts  Mr. Hansebout provides pre-litigation counsel and conducts negotiation, mediation and litigation before the national courts and the Court of Justice of the European Union.  He has been involved in numerous arbitration cases (ICC, CEPANI, NAI and ad hoc), both representing the parties and as an arbitrator.

Uwe Hornung is a Partner in the Frankfurt office of Clifford Chance.  He is a member of the Commercial Litigation Group and specializes in litigation as well as national and international arbitration proceedings with industrial, corporate or transactional background.  Mr. Hornung has served as an arbitrator in ICC-, Stockholm- and DIS Arbitration proceeding as well as pleaded before the European Court of Justice.

Sapna Jhangiani is a Partner in the Singapore office of Clyde & Co.  Her key area of focus is international arbitration.  She works in various sectors including hospitality, shipbuilding and trade and commodities.  Ms. Jhangiani has managed arbitrations spanning a wide range of industries, and governed by all the main institutional rules, including the SIAC, ICC, HKIAC, SCMA, LCIA, UNCITRAL and DIAC.  Qualified at the Bar of England and Wales, she practiced in London, New York and Dubai, before relocating to Singapore in 2011.  She has substantial advocacy experience and has represented clients in trials and applications before arbitral tribunals, the UK Civil Courts (including the Supreme Court), and the Courts of the DIFC.  In addition, she has several appointments as an arbitrator.

Jef Klazen is a partner at the global disputes and investigations firm, Kobre & Kim; he focuses his practice on international judgment and arbitration award enforcement, as well as related cross-border asset tracing and recovery.  He advises companies and individuals on how to enforce and otherwise monetize judgments and has particular experience with enforcements arising out of investor-state disputes that may involve state immunity. With degrees in both U.S. and international law, Mr. Klazen is able to help clients develop and execute a global asset-tracing and recovery strategy, which may include the Americas, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa and offshore jurisdictions. Before joining Kobre & Kim, Mr. Klazen practiced with Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP in New York. He also served as a judicial clerk for Judge Betty B. Fletcher on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Seattle, Washington, and worked at the International Court of Justice and at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in The Hague, Netherlands.

Sabine Konrad is a Partner in the Frankfurt office of McDermott Will & Emery LLP.  She focuses her practice on international dispute resolution, with an emphasis on commercial international arbitration and public international law. Ms. Konrad advises investors and governments in matters of investment protection. She also acts as arbitrator in investment treaty arbitration and international commercial arbitration cases. In 2007 and again in 2013, Ms. Konrad was designated by the government of the Federal Republic of Germany to the Panel of Arbitrators of the World Bank’s International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). She is a member of the roster of arbitrators of the International Development Law Organization (IDLO), the list of practitioners of the Vienna International Arbitral Centre (VIAC), the Panel of Arbitrators and the Panel of Mediators of the Asian International Arbitration Centre (AIAC), the Panel of Arbitrators of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) as well as the Panel of Arbitrators of the Hong Kong International Arbitration Center (HKIAC). She was also appointed by the president of SIAC to serve as a member of its Users Council.

Marnix Leijten is a Partner in the Amsterdam office of De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek.  He is a noted specialist in cross-border litigation and international arbitration.  His experience includes a wide variety of high stakes international disputes, commercial and investor state arbitrations, as well as complex enforcement and setting aside disputes.  Mr. Leijten was the Dutch member of the ICC International court of Arbitration from 2006-2015, and has been Vice-President of the Court since 2015.  He is co-chairing the ICC Commission’s Task Force on Emergency Arbitration.  Mr. Leijten is an active member of the ICC Institute of World Business Law, the ICC Commission on Arbitration, of ICCA and of the IBA Arbitration Committee.

Lawrence W. Newman is Of Counsel in Baker & McKenzie’s New York office.  He practices mainly in the areas of international litigation and arbitration and has represented clients in cross-border disputes in courts and before arbitration tribunals. Mr. Newman serves as arbitrator in cases under the rules of the AAA/ICDR and the International Chamber of Commerce. He is the author and editor of many books and articles on international litigation, including The Leading Arbitrators’ Guide to International Arbitration, which is the basis for the Leading Arbitrators Symposium on the Conduct of International Arbitration, held every year in Vienna. He is an advisor to the ALI Restatement of U.S. Law of International Commercial Arbitration and a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, in which he is a member of the Practice and Standards Committee and Chair of the Arbitration Subcommittee. He is Chair of the International Arbitration Club of New York.

Dmitry A. Pentsov is a Partner at Geneva office of FRORIEP Legal SA. Mr. Pentsov is actively involved in the Firm’s dispute resolution practice, with a particular focus on disputes related to Russia and other republics of the former USSR. He is a member of the New York State Bar Association, of the St Petersburg City Bar Association, and of the Geneva Bar.

George J. Pollack is a Partner in the Montreal office of Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg.  He advises public and private companies on extraordinary remedies, debt recovery, the enforcement of foreign arbitration awards and judgments, sovereign immunity claims, shareholder rights and oppression remedies, and contractual disputes. Mr. Pollack also counsels on investigation and litigation arising out of  data breaches and other cyber-related matters.  His wide-ranging practice includes specialty insurance litigation, such as coverage from disputes involving business interruption, product liability, professional liability and other liability claims.  As one of Canada’s leading transportation law practitioners, Mr. Pollack routinely advises on international issues, acting on instructions from insurance markets and leading international law firms.  He represents clients at all levels of court and appears before administrative tribunals and commissions of inquiry.  Clients value his extensive dispute resolution experience and regularly call on him to represent them in arbitrations and meditations.

Mathieu Raas is a senior associate in the Dispute Resolution Practice Group of Baker McKenzie Amsterdam. He has substantial experience in national and international contracting, litigation and arbitration. He combines in-depth knowledge on contract and company law with a keen eye for pragmatic solutions.

Angeline Welsh is a Barrister with Matrix Chambers.  She specializes in international arbitration (commercial and investment treaty) and public law.  She has acted as counsel on complex arbitrations conducted under a wide range of institutional rules, across sectors as diverse as energy, telecoms, construction and finance and in jurisdictions across the world.  Ms. Welsh, who is admitted to the bars of England and Wales and Belize and also sits as arbitrator, has particular expertise in court applications relating to arbitration, including anti-suit injunctions, interim relief in support of arbitration and enforcement of arbitral awards.  Prior to joining Matrix,, Ms. Welsh was counsel and solicitor advocate in the International Arbitration Group at Allen & Overy LLP, spending time in the London and Hong Kong offices and on secondment to the LCIA.

Alexander A. Yanos is a Partner in the New York and Washington, D.C. offices of Alston & Bird.  With 20 years of experience litigating and arbitrating commercial, financial, and treaty-based disputes, Alex brings a wealth of knowledge to clients facing any variety of dispute worldwide.  Fluent in six languages, he also advocates for clients in disputes involving sovereigns and frequently handles multijurisdictional cases involving securities, banking, antitrust, and insurance.  As co-leading of Alston & Bird’s International Arbitration & Dispute Resolution Team, Mr. Yanos focuses on complex international disputes in court and before arbitral tribunals.  His practice includes commercial, financial, and treaty-based disputes, particularly in the energy and mining sectors and in Latin America.  He obtained a finding of unlawful expropriation in one of the largest investment treaty cases ever filed before the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) in an arbitration against Venezuela.  Mr. Yanos has considerable experience representing clients in the securities, banking, antitrust, and insurance industries facing multi jurisdictional disputes.

Accommodations

Travel and hotel expenses are not included in the registration fees.  Participants are responsible for making their own travel arrangements and hotel reservations.

Hilton Amsterdam

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