Monday 14 April 2025
Anantara Palais Hansen Vienna
Schottenring 24, Wien 1010, Austria
JURIS Conferences invites you to register for our Leading Arbitrator’s Symposium, held annually during the Vis Moot competition in Vienna. This year marks the twentieth iteration of the conference and is commemorated with a new edition of the Leading Arbitrators’ Guide to International Arbitration.
The conference will feature a four-panel program with leading arbitration practitioners and scholars. They will address important questions about the evolving dynamics of international arbitration, including security, sustainability, the next generation of arbitrators, changes to arbitral rules, and more.
Registration
Registration includes refreshments, lunch, reception, and a digital copy of the new Leading Arbitrators Guide to International Arbitration – Fourth Edition and special discounts on the hardcover book. The fee does not include accommodations.
Pricing is available for individual sessions and half day attendance. Please contact our manager, Jessica Hernández (jhernandez@jurispub.com) for details.
* ONLY available to full-time academics [with no law firm affiliation], government employees, and full-time in-house corporate counsel.
*** Discount code must be entered at the time of registration in the “Special Requests/Comments/Discount Code” field. Note that due to system glitch price will not recalculate but rest assured by entering code correct amount will be charged. Codes may not be used retroactively.
Wire transfer inquiries contact events@jurispub.com
Continuing Legal Education: 7 hours of NYS CLE credit (transitional and non-transitional) in the Areas of Professional Practice a NYSCLE certificate of attendance will be provided upon request which may be used when applying for credit in other jurisdictions.
Student Rate: For traditional full-time students with current student ID; Contact JURIS Conferences at: events@jurispub.com for current rate.
Cancellations: 50% of the Registration fee will be refunded for any cancellation received in writing by JURIS Conferences LLC prior to the Monday 31 March 2025. No refund can be made for cancellations received after this date. You are welcome to send a substitute at any time. Please notify us if you plan to send a substitute since updated registration materials will be required.
Financial Aid:
Our Financial Aid policy is available here
Program
8:00 – 9:00 Registration Check-In – Coffee and Tea upon arrival
9:00 – 10:30 Working Session 1 – Initial Organization of the Arbitral Proceeding and Pre-Hearing Activities
Leader: Patricia Shaughnessy – Stockholm University
Panelists:
Claudia Benavides – Baker McKenzie (Colombia)
James Castello – Independent Arbitrator (Paris)
Doug Jones – Independent Arbitrator (London, Sydney, Toronto)
Kevin Nash – London Court of International Arbitration
Ann Ryan Robertson – Troutman Pepper Locke (Houston)
Discussion Topics:
- Is it advisable to schedule, at the first meeting, mid-stream procedures such as “check-ins” by the Tribunal or Kaplan Openings.
- Do parties take sufficient advantage of opportunities for early determinations?
- Challenges posed by the rapid expansion of AI technology.
- Are parties and arbitrators genuinely engaging in appropriate data protections processes? What are best practices in relation to cyber security, and how can we balance security demands and practical considerations, recognizing the differing expectations and preferences of all participants in an arbitration?
- What is the tribunal’s obligation regarding settlement? Are there different regional perspectives about this?
- Procedures for best presenting complex damages evidence – avoiding ships passing in the night.
- Practicalities of submissions: is sufficient thought given to optimizing the shape and form of submissions including numbering, hyperlinking, etc? What works best for one party or even both, may not be optimal for the arbitrators. How should their interests be balanced and is this adequately and transparently addressed for instance in the CMC?
- Third-party funding: at what stage should funding be disclosed and have standards developed sufficiently to allow sensible disclosure?
- There is increasing guidance on the use of tribunal secretaries, both in institutional rules and guidelines and in case law. Is practice changing and how can practice be improved further?
- Is sustainability the new diversity? Should we aim for comprehensive, industry wide standards based on more research and clear guidelines on the carbon footprint of arbitration or start with small steps regardless?
10:30 – 11:00 Networking Coffee/Tea Break
11:00 – 11:10 Keynote Address on Occasion of 20th Annual Leading Arbitrators Conference: Lawrence W. Newman – Baker McKenzie (New York)
11:10 – 12:40 Working Session 2 – Effective Presentation of Evidence
Leader: Todd Wetmore – Three Crowns (Paris)
Panelists:
Cecilia Flores Rueda – FloresRueda Abogados (Mexico City)
Stephen Jagusch – Quinn Emanuel (London)
Aisha Nadar – Advokatfirman Runeland (Stockholm)
Timothy G. Nelson – Skadden (New York)
Stefan Riegler – Wolf Theiss (Vienna)
Discussion Topics:
- What are best practices in relation to virtual hearings; are these now the default for case management conferences? When is it appropriate for the arbitrators to require these over objection of a party?
- When are tribunal-appointed experts useful; should they always appear at a hearing and be subjected to questions about his or her conclusions?
- Do the Prague Rules add anything, or is there a predominating style of taking evidence in international arbitration, i.e., have we arrived at a Lex naturalis arbitri void of cultural differences?
- Is it always necessary to have an oral hearing? When is summary disposition permissible (or necessary)?
- Who controls the length of a hearing? Should arbitrators impose their views or defer to the parties?
- Are there too many witnesses, too many documents – is advocacy lost among the detail?
- How can the tribunal or parties control tactical decisions by parties not to cross-examine key witnesses?
- Is witness conferencing effective? Is this only for experts? Are there particular circumstances when it is most appropriate? Inappropriate?
12:40 – 14:00 Networking Luncheon
14:00 – 15:30 Working Session 3 – Next Generation Leading Arbitrators
Leader: Filip Boras – Baker McKenzie (Vienna)
Panelists:
TBA
Discussion Topics:
- How to get first appointments in high-profile cases?
- What should the new generation of leading arbitrators do differently than previous generations to succeed?
- How important is the predictability of decision making in the selection of an arbitrator? How to overcome this if a young arbitrator has no sufficient track record of existing awards?
- How to give clients the comfort of appointing a young arbitrator?
- Is service as a Tribunal secretary useful? Necessary?
- What was the most useful advice panelists have received about how to preside as chair?
15:30 – 16:00 Networking Coffee/Tea Break
16:00 – 17:30 Working Session 4 – Tribunal Deliberations and Dynamics
Leader: Grant Hanessian – Independent Arbitrator (New York)
Panelists:
Wulf Gordian Hauser – Hauser Partners (Vienna)
Gabrielle Nater-Bass – Homburger (Zurich)
Carmen Nuñez-Lagos – Independent Arbitrator (Paris & Madrid)
Cesar Pereira – Independent Arbitrator (Sao Paulo)
Janet Walker – Independent Arbitrator, York University (London, Toronto, and Sydney)
Discussion Topics:
- Are there best practices as to how a Tribunal should organize its work? Does the efficiency of the arbitration as to the delivery of the award depend entirely on the chairman? What can the wing arbitrators do to increase efficiency and assure quality?
- To what extent should, or must, arbitrators disclose that they are using secretaries? If the arbitrators want to use secretaries and disclose their identity and involvement, how should they do it? Are arbitrators complying with the ICC’s note applicable to arbitrators and secretaries? What can parties and counsel do if they are not aware of certain arbitrators’ practices in this regard until after they appoint them? Or the chairman, whom they may not have appointed?
- What can be done if an arbitrator is not doing his or her work as the case proceeds or is not paying attention in the course of the proceedings? What if this is the chairman?
- Should the arbitrators deliberate on the award immediately after the final evidentiary hearing? After receiving the post-hearing briefs? After post-hearing oral argument? Should the arbitrators meet in person? Or by telecommunication? Should arbitrators discuss among themselves the merits of the cases as they proceed? Should such discussions be mandatory? Avoided? Casual or structured (for example, “What did we learn today?”).
- What should the third arbitrator do if the other arbitrators discuss the case or meet without him or her?
- Compromises – how imperfect is a unanimous award? Should the tribunal accommodate the potential dissenting arbitrator? If so, how? For example, with respect to the award of legal fees? What does a dissent accomplish?
- When should, or may, the arbitrators rule on the basis of theories or arguments that the parties have not made? What if the arbitrators believe that parties have not understood the precedents they cite, or the facts they refer to, in the same way as the arbitrators do? When should the arbitrators go to the parties and ask for their comments? Should there be a difference between legal and factual issues?
- What should the arbitrators do if they do not understand certain expert testimony? For example, damages evidence? Should they ask the parties for comments? What if they are working under a deadline to get the award out? Or they don’t want to confess their inability to understand the evidence?
- To what extent may arbitrators do their own research on matters of general knowledge, such as how certain machines in the case actually work? Or how certain financial investments function?
Faculty
Conference Co-Chairs
Grant Hanessian is an independent arbitrator in New York, specializing in international, investor-state and complex commercial disputes. Mr. Hanessian has acted as arbitrator and counsel in a wide range of commercial and treaty disputes arising under the laws of many common and civil law countries and public international law. Prior to July 2020, he was a partner at Baker McKenzie, where he practiced for 33 years, and served as global co-head of the firm’s International Arbitration Practice, head of its International Arbitration Practice in North America and head of its New York office Litigation Department.
Patricia Shaughnessy: Professor at Stockholm University, is a member of the ICC Court, the ICC Commission, formerly the Vice-Chair of the SCC Board, and a government-appointed expert on the 2019 revisions to the Swedish Arbitration Act. She is the President of the VIS Moot Organization and serves as an arbitrator, expert, and consultant in legal development projects. She practiced for ten years in the US and served as a US Supreme Court fellow.
Speakers
Claudia Benavides Galvis is the global chair of Baker McKenzie’s dispute resolution practice group. She is a highly regarded expert in international arbitration, domestic arbitration and transnational litigation. She has over 25 years of extensive experience handling complex litigations and arbitrations related to construction and infrastructure projects in various sectors (many of them related to the energy sector), post-acquisition disputes related to a variety of industries, controversies related to distribution and supply agreements and general breach of contract.
Filip Boras heads the Dispute Resolution Practice Group in the Baker McKenzie Vienna office and is a member of the firm’s global International Arbitration Steering Committee. His experience covers a wide variety of disputes related to Central & Eastern Europe, including international commercial and investment arbitration before all major institutions and ad hoc tribunals. He is widely recognized as a leading lawyer for dispute resolution in Central & Eastern Europe.
Wulf Gordian Hauser is Senior Partner of Hauser Partners Rechtsanwälte. His main areas of practice are international commercial arbitration, mergers and acquisitions and capital markets. He was Austrian member of the ICC court from 2012 – 2018 and has served in over 100 arbitrations. His arbitration activities focus on post M&A-disputes, construction, technology, corporate and private foundations.
Stephan Jagusch KC is Global Chair of Quinn Emanuel’s International Arbitration Practice. He specializes in international commercial and investment treaty arbitration, having acted as adviser and advocate in dozens of ad hoc and institutional international arbitrations, conducted in many countries around the world, and subject to a wide variety of governing substantive and procedural laws. A great many of Stephen’s cases have been for or against sovereign states or substantial multinational organizations, and he has been lead counsel in many of the world’s leading investment treaty cases.
Gabriel Nater-Bass is a Partner at Homburger in Zurich. Her practice focuses on international commercial arbitration and litigation. She is an experienced party counsel and arbitrator in ad hoc and institutional arbitration proceedings (ICC, Swiss Rules, LCIA, DIS, and others). She also represents clients in complex state court litigations.
Timothy G. Nelson is a Partner in the New York office of Skadden Arps. Mr. Nelson represents clients in a variety of disputes involving cross-border and international law issues, including arbitration before several major international bodies. Mr. Nelson’s international litigation and arbitration experience includes disputes involving contracts, international trusts, partnerships (limited and general) and corporate law, as well as cases falling under the 1980 Vienna Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG).
Lawrence 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 courts and before arbitration tribunals. Served as arbitrator in cases under the rules of the AAA/ICDR and the International Chamber of Commerce. Co-editor of The Leading Arbitrators’ Guide to International Arbitration which is the basis of the Leading Arbitrators Symposium on the Conduct of International Arbitration.
Carmen Nunez-Lagos is an independent arbitrator and the Spanish appointee to the ICSID arbitrators’ panel. She has over 34 years’ experience in international business disputes, acting both as arbitrator and counsel. She started her career in 1990 and was a partner at Hogan Lovells LLP in Paris until June 2019, when she decided to serve full-time as an independent and professional arbitrator. She has acted in more than 200 international arbitration proceedings on behalf of industrial groups and States.
Cesar Pereira is an arbitrator, counsel, and legal expert specializing in resolving disputes involving states and state-owned entities (SOEs) in concessions, construction, or government contracts. Pereira focuses on conflicts between states or SOEs and investors, both domestic and international. He has authored articles including ‘Arbitration as a Tool for Government Contracts’ (2022), ‘The Brazilian Model of Investment Arbitration’ (2023), and ‘The Development of Arbitration Involving State Parties in Brazil – Comparative Remarks with Latin America’ (2022). He has acted as counsel, arbitrator, and legal expert witness in international and domestic cases, totaling around 60 proceedings until the end of 2023. Pereira’s extensive academic work includes over 100 articles and several books. He has been a visiting scholar at Columbia University, University of Nottingham, and George Washington University.
Stefan Riegler is Partner and head of Wolf Theiss’ Disputes team. Mr. Riegler specializes in advising companies on commercial disputes, especially in the energy, construction and infrastructure sectors; he is also experienced in handling corporate, post-M&A and banking disputes. Stefan has acted as counsel and arbitrator under major arbitration rules, such as the ICC, VIAC, DIS and Swiss Rules, as well as in ad hoc arbitration proceedings. Stefan serves on the Board of the Vienna International Arbitral Centre (VIAC) and is an active member of the ICC Commission on Arbitration, among several other international arbitration organizations. He also served as President of the Board of the Austrian Arbitration Association (ArbAut) in 2022 and 2023. Additionally, Stefan has authored numerous publications on arbitration and is on the editorial board of various arbitration journals.
Ann Robertson is Counsel at the Houston office of Troutman Pepper Locke. Having served as the 2021 global president of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, Ann is a leader in the field of international arbitration. She is an experienced chair, party-appointed, sole, and emergency arbitrator. As counsel, Ann appears as an advocate, designs dispute resolution mechanisms, enforces arbitral awards, and advises and negotiates settlements.
Todd Wetmore is a partner in the Paris office of Three Crowns. With over 25 years of experience, Todd has handled some of the most challenging and complex commercial cases, appearing as counsel or arbitrator in over 50 major international arbitrations. He is a recognized specialist in infrastructure and construction disputes, and regularly acts as counsel and arbitrator in commercial disputes in the energy, technology, manufacturing, mining, and commodities sectors. His recent experience includes disputes relating to foreign military sales, upstream oil and gas pricing and production agreements, automobile distribution, pharmaceutical development agreements, as well as joint venture and post-M&A disputes. Todd’s vast experience as an arbitrator includes appointments under the ICC, UNCITRAL, LCIA, and Swiss Rules. Todd is a Vice-President of the ICC Court and is qualified in England, France, and Canada.
Accommodations
Anantara Palais Hansen Vienna – Guest rooms are available at special conference rates from April 13th until April 15th, 2025.
*Booking Link coming shortly.*
Hotel Contact Information:
Anantara Palais Hansen Vienna
Schottenring 24, Wien 1010, Austria
Hotel Reservations Contact:
Tel: +43 1 236 1000 8040
E-mail: groups.palaishansen@anantara.com
*Refer to JURIS Conferences Leading Arbitrators’ Symposium