The LCIA Court

President

Biographies

Paula Hodges KC - UK

Paula Hodges KC is an independent arbitrator based in London. Paula has sat as an arbitrator in a variety of cases since 2008.

Paula headed Herbert Smith Freehills' Global Arbitration Practice for almost two decades and has over 30 years' experience of advising on international disputes, particularly in the energy, telecommunications and technology sectors. She has acted as counsel in many jurisdictions (including London, Paris, Geneva, Zurich, Stockholm, the US, Canada, Dubai, Africa, Asia, Russia and the CIS) in ad hoc arbitration and proceedings under the auspices of the major arbitral institutions.

Paula has also been closely involved in several high profile cases before the High Court in London, and has also appeared before the Court of Appeal and House of Lords (now the Supreme Court).

Paula studied law at the University of Cambridge and graduated in 1986 with an M.A. in Law.

Paula was appointed Queen's Counsel (now King's Counsel) in 2014 and President of the LCIA Court in May 2019.

Kate Brown de Vejar - Australia (Mexico)

Kate is a Partner and Global Co-Chair of International Arbitration at DLA Piper, where she specialises in both international commercial and investor-State arbitration. An Australian and New York qualified attorney, resident in Mexico City since 2009, she has represented private corporations, sovereign states and state-owned entities in arbitrations under the leading institutional and ad hoc arbitration rules (ICSID, UNCITRAL, ICC, LCIA, ICDR, CANACO, JCAA). Kate also sits as an arbitrator.

Widely recognised for her experience and results handling complex, high profile disputes in the energy and infrastructure sectors, Kate is a graduate of Harvard Law School and the University of Queensland, is Vice President of ANZMEX (the Australia, New Zealand, Mexico Business Council), and is fluent in English, French and Spanish.

Raëd Fathallah - Lebanon/Canada (France)

Raëd Fathallah is a partner in Bredin Prat’s international arbitration group. He focuses his practice on acting as counsel and arbitrator in investment treaty and commercial arbitrations.

Over the past twenty years, he has conducted more than 150 cases under the major institutional rules (including ICSID, LCIA, ICC, OHADA, CRCICA, BCDR and DIAC) and subject to many different common law and civil law legal systems. He is particularly well known for his expertise in investor-State disputes and is listed on the ICSID Panel of Conciliators and Arbitrators.

Raëd is recognised by all major directories as a leading practitioner in the field of international arbitration and has been described as “one of the brightest minds of his generation” who delivers “first-class work”. In January 2014, he was awarded the prestigious biennial ASA Prize for Advocacy in International Arbitration.

A Lebanese and Canadian national, Raëd is admitted to practice as a Solicitor in England & Wales as well as Avocat in France and in Québec, Canada. He holds a Licence en Droit Civil from the University of Ottawa (L.L.L.), Master of Comparative Jurisprudence (M.C.J.) from New York University School of Law and Doctor of Philosophy (D.Phil) in Law from the University of Oxford.

Matthew Gearing KC - UK/Singapore

Matthew was at Allen & Overy for 24 years before commencing independent practice in May 2021. He is a King’s Counsel (England & Wales and is also one of the very few English KCs also called in Singapore. He is also admitted in Western Australia and is a Solicitor Advocate (Hong Kong). He acts as counsel and sits as arbitrator.

Matthew is a joint editor of "Russell on Arbitration" (23rd and 24th Eds.) a leading text book on arbitration in England & Wales. He is a past Co-Chair of the LCIA Young International Arbitration Group and a past Chairperson of the HKIAC.

David Joseph KC - UK

David is a barrister and Queen’s Counsel practising from Essex Court Chambers, London. He acts both as counsel and arbitrator and has extensive experience in a wide range of commercial practice, in particular in joint ventures, shareholder disputes, banking and financial instruments, telecommunications, mining, oil and gas, renewable energy, shipping and shipbuilding, investment disputes, and software technology claims. He regularly appears as counsel in the courts of England and Wales in many of the leading cases concerning arbitration claims and ancillary injunctive relief. David has also appeared at all levels as counsel in the courts of Singapore, Hong Kong, and the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court. David has argued well over 200 major international arbitrations world-wide. He also sits as arbitrator (party appointed and Chair) in numerous references in the major arbitration seats of the world.

David is presently Secretary of COMBAR and representative of the Bar of England and Wales on the Brexit Law Committee. David is the author of Jurisdiction and Arbitration Agreements and their Enforcement (3rd Edition, Thompson, Sweet & Maxwell). David is co -author and editor of Singapore International Arbitration, Law & Practice (2nd Edition, Lexis Nexis).

Christopher Lau SC - UK/Singapore

A Senior Counsel and Chartered Arbitrator, Christopher Lau is recognised as “obviously one of the most experienced arbitrators in Singapore” (Chambers Global Guide 2019) and is ranked by Chambers & Partners as one of the Most In Demand Arbitrators in the Asia-Pacific Region. His arbitration practice encompasses investment as well as all aspects of commercial disputes including construction, corporate, maritime, energy, communication, military & defence procurements involving the laws of various common and civil law jurisdictions. Christopher has also acted as mediator in both international and domestic commercial disputes.

He is further a member of, among others, the ICC Commission on Arbitration and ADR, KCAB’s International Arbitration Committee, the Council of the Mumbai Centre for International Arbitration and the Global Advisory Board of the New York International Arbitration Centre. Christopher is also an independent, non-executive director of the Board of Directors of Wing Tai Holdings Ltd. and an associate member of 3 Verulam Buildings.

Gabrielle Nater-Bass - Switzerland

Gabrielle Nater-Bass is a partner in the Litigation and International Arbitration Group at Homburger in Zurich. She is an experienced party counsel and arbitrator in international commercial arbitration proceedings, ad hoc and institutional, across a wide range of industries. She also regularly represents clients in investment treaty arbitrations and complex cross-border litigations.

Gabrielle Nater-Bass is listed on the panel of arbitrators of the ICC National Committee (Switzerland), the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC) and the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC). She is a board member of the Swiss Arbitration Centre, the Swiss Arbitration Association (ASA) and Vice President of the LCIA Court. She served as President of the Arbitration Court of the Swiss Chambers' Arbitration Institution (SCAI) from 2016 to 2020. Furthermore, Gabrielle Nater-Bass co-chairs the ICCA-ASIL Task Force on Damages in International Arbitration and was actively involved in the development of the DIA app (Damages in International Arbitration). Moreover, Gabrielle Nater-Bass is a member of the SIAC Users' Council, the Advisory Board of ArbitralWomen (former vice president) and the steering committee of the Equal Representation in Arbitration Pledge.

Gabrielle Nater-Bass received the Client Choice Award 2020 and 2021 in the category Arbitration & ADR (Switzerland).

Professor Maxi Scherer - Germany (UK)

Professor Maxi Scherer is a co-founder of ArbBoutique and a Professor of Law at Queen Mary University of London, where she holds the Chair for International Arbitration, Dispute Resolution and Energy Law. She has over 20 years of experience in international arbitration in both civil and common law systems. Maxi is admitted to the bar in Paris (France) and as a solicitor in England and Wales, and has represented clients and served as arbitrator or legal expert in more than 140 commercial and investor-State arbitrations. Her arbitrations regularly involve States, concern multi-billion amounts in dispute and are conducted in English, French and German. ‍Ranked by Who’s Who Legal, The Legal 500 etc. as a leading arbitration practitioner, she has been identified for many years amongst the top “Global Elite Thought Leaders” and described by peers as “one of the greatest and most complete arbitrators,” and “one of the very best in both commercial and investment arbitration proceedings.” She has received the 2023 GAR Award for “Best Prepared Arbitrator”.

‍Maxi is a Vice-President of the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA), Co-Chair of the IBA Subcommittee on Rules and Guidelines and holds many other public appointments and commissions of trust, including being a member of the panel of arbitrators of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) and the Governing Board of the International Council for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA). ‍Maxi is the General Editor of the Kluwer Journal of International Arbitration and publishes extensively in the field. In 2018, Maxi received the GAR Award for Best Speech or Lecture for her keynote on artificial intelligence and the transformation of decision-making.

Professor Dr Karl-Heinz Böckstiegel - Germany

Karl-Heinz is a past President of the LCIA; President of the International Law Association (ILA); Chairman of the German Institution of Arbitration (DIS) and past President of the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal, The Hague. After holding the Chair for International Business Law of Cologne University until 2001, he now works as an independent arbitrator and currently serves as Chairman or party-appointed arbitrator on international arbitral tribunals constituted under the rules of LCIA, ICC, ICSID, AAA, DIS, Swiss Rules, UNCITRAL, as well as ad hoc panels.

The Honourable L Yves Fortier CC OQ KC - Canada

Yves is the former Chair and Senior Partner of Norton Rose (formerly Ogilvy Renault) in Montréal. He is a graduate of Université de Montréal, McGill University and Oxford University (Rhodes Scholar). He is a past president of the London Court of International Arbitration and of the Canadian Bar Association. Yves was made Queen’s Counsel in 1976 and an Avocat émérite of Quebec in 2007. In 1984, he became an Officer of the Order of Canada and promoted to Companion in the Order in 1991.

From 1984 to 1989, he was a member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague. 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. In 2006, he became an Officer of l’Ordre National du Québec. During the last 25 years, Yves has acted as arbitrator and mediator in numerous international arbitrations under the auspices of all major arbitral institutions in the world.

Judith Gill KC - UK (Singapore)

Judith is recognised as one of the leading practitioners in the field of international arbitration and is listed as the second most highly regarded individual in the field in the 2014 edition of The International Who’s Who of International Arbitration. She joined Allen & Overy in 1983, qualifying two years later, and was made partner in 1992. She headed the Allen & Overy’s global international arbitration practice for 10 years from 2001 to 2011 and again from 2012 to 2013. On 1 May 2018, Judith left Allen & Overy to join barristers' chambers 20 Essex Street, as an arbitrator based in Singapore.

Judith has conducted cases under various sets of rules and subject to many different systems of law. In particular she has experience of arbitrations under the rules of the LCIA, the ICC, ICSID, DIAC, AAA, UNCITRAL, SIAC and the LMAA. She has particular experience of projects (specifically in the energy and infrastructure sectors), joint ventures, distributorships, investor protection disputes, insurance claims and warranty claims.

In 2009, Judith became only the second female solicitor advocate to be appointed a QC and the first in the field of international arbitration. She regularly acts as lead advocate in arbitration cases and also sits as arbitrator in a wide variety of arbitrations.

Her professional memberships include: Fellow, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators; Fellow, Institute of Advanced Legal Studies; Member, Advisory Board to the Arbitration Committee of the International Bar Association; Trustee of the British Institute of International and Comparative Law; Member, SIDRC International Advisory Board; Former Member, Board of Directors, AAA; Former Member, Board of Directors, SIAC; Former Co-Chair, Arbitration Committee of the International Bar Association; Former Chair, The International Arbitration Club; Former Member, ICC UK Arbitration Group.

Professor Dr Gerold Herrmann - Germany (Austria)

Gerold is known throughout the world of arbitration, both from his time as Secretary of UNCITRAL, in which role he served from 1991 to 2001, and having previously been Secretary of the UNCITRAL working group, which prepared the draft model law on international commercial arbitration. Gerold served as President of the LCIA Court from May 2001 until May 2004 and is now an Honorary Vice President of the Court. Gerold is currently President of ICCA (International Council for Commercial Arbitration). He is Honorary Professor of the University of Vienna.

Professor Jan Paulsson - Sweden/France/Bahrain (USA)

Jan holds the Michael Klein Distinguished Scholar Chair at the University of Miami School of Law. He is also the Faculty Chair of the Specialisation in International Arbitration and heads the newly-established International Arbitration Institute. Jan holds degrees from Harvard, Yale and the University of Paris. He has acted as counsel or arbitrator in over 500 hundred international arbitrations. He has conducted cases under many arbitration rules, as well as before the International Court of Justice.

He is President of the Administrative Tribunals of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and past President of the World Bank Administrative Tribunal. He is also the President of the International Council for Commercial Arbitration, a Vice-President of the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce, a member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, and a board member of the American Arbitration Association. He is the author of numerous publications, in particular co-author of the standard reference work ICC Arbitration (3rd edn 2000).

Professor William W Park - USA/Switzerland(USA)

Rusty is Professor of Law at Boston University, where he lectures on tax and banking. After Yale and Columbia, he practised in Paris until returning home to teach and to direct his university’s Center for Banking and Financial Law. He has held visiting academic appointments at Cambridge, Université de Dijon, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and University of Hong Kong. Rusty’s books include "International Chamber of Commerce Arbitration" (with Craig and Paulsson), "International Forum Selection", "International Commercial Arbitration" (with Reisman, Craig and Paulsson), "Income Tax Treaty Arbitration" (with Tillinghast) and "Arbitration of International Business Disputes".

Rusty has served on the NAFTA Financial Services Roster, the Appeals Tribunal for the Commission on Holocaust Era Insurance Claims, and the Claims Resolution Tribunal for Dormant Accounts in Switzerland. He recently retired as Co-Chair of the ABA Committee on International Commercial Dispute Resolution, has succeeded Johnny Veeder as General Editor of Arbitration International.

Ramūnas Audzevičius - Lithuania

Ramūnas Audzevičius is the partner and co-head of the Dispute Resolution practice at the law firm Motieka & Audzevičius based in Vilnius, Lithuania. He has more than 25 years of experience in solving business and regulatory disputes involving application of EU, international and foreign law, as well as shareholder conflicts and corporate investigations. Ramūnas’ practice also involves handling matters before the Court of Justice of the European Union, the European Court of Human Rights, the Supreme Court of Lithuania, the Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania, and the Court of Appeal. Ramūnas has been involved in advising clients in courts of the highest instances in the Baltic States and the CIS region.

He is a well-known arbitration figure in the region. His practice involves representation of the clients under UNCITRAL, ICC, SCC, LCIA, MKAS, GAFTA, FOSFA, CAS, Lithuanian Court of Arbitration and Vilnius Court of Commercial Arbitration rules.

Ramūnas sits as a party-appointed arbitrator in high-value SCC, ICC, LCIA and MKAS arbitrations. He is also appointed as law expert in numerous international arbitrations.

Ramūnas’s expertise is recognised by the leading international law directories The Legal 500, Chambers Global, Who‘s Who Legal, CEE Arbitration Powerlist and Global Arbitration Review.

Marie Berard - France/UK

Marie is a Partner with Clifford Chance LLP, specialising in international commercial arbitration. A British and French national based in London, she has acted as counsel for multinational corporations, governments, and individuals in over 50 international arbitration proceedings, with particular emphasis on the energy, oil & gas, construction and finance sectors. Marie also sits as a sole arbitrator, panel member and chair.

She is the Vice President of the LCIA European Users' Council, and a member of ICC UK Nominations Subcommittee. Marie is on the Editorial Board of the International Arbitration Law Review and Kluwer’s Journal of International Arbitration. She regularly contributes to UK arbitration updates circulated by International Law Office.

Dr Alfredo José Bullard González - Peru (Spain)

Alfredo Bullard has acted as arbitrator, counsel, and legal expert in more than 300 cases under the ICC, ICSID and IACA rules, among others. His practice focuses primarily on international arbitration, both commercial and investment. He is founding partner of Bullard Falla Ezcurra+ (2000), a boutique law firm specialised in Arbitration, and is in charge of the Madrid office. He is professor at various universities where he teaches Arbitration, Law and Economics, and Legal Skills.

Alfredo was President of the Commission that drafted the Peruvian Arbitration Act. From 2017 to 2021, he was member of the International Court of Arbitration of the ICC. Formerly, Alfredo was the President of the Tribunal for Defense of Competition and Protection of Intellectual Property (INDECOPI). He is member of the Board of Directors of the Latin American Arbitration Association (ALARB) and of the Board of Directors of the “Club Español e Iberoamericano de Arbitraje”.

Timothy G Cameron - New Zealand (USA)

Timothy G. Cameron is a partner in Cravath’s Litigation Department. He frequently leads his clients’ most challenging and business-critical disputes in international arbitral tribunals, as well as in arbitration and litigation throughout the US His practice includes advising on a wide variety of complex commercial matters, with a focus on complicated cross border issues, particularly for non US clients. He is also a seasoned trial lawyer, with additional extensive experience handling antitrust, securities, shareholder derivative, M&A, and product liability claims, as well as regulatory matters.

Mr Cameron received an LLB(Hons)/BCom and an MComLaw with first class honours from the University of Auckland, New Zealand, as well as an LLM from the University of Chicago Law School. He has been recognised by numerous publications for his arbitration and litigation work, including being repeatedly recommended by The Best Lawyers in America for international arbitration, commercial litigation and securities litigation, as well as being selected as one of Lawdragon’s “500 Leading Global Litigators.” Among other publications, he has authored a chapter in the book The Dispute Resolution Review since 2010. Mr Cameron is a member of the Board of the New York International Arbitration Center, and the Litigation Committee of the International Bar Association.

Cecilia Carrara - Italy

Cecilia Carrara has significant experience in the field of national and international, commercial and investment arbitration proceedings, both institutional and ad hoc, acting as counsel and as arbitrator. She further represents international and Italian companies in arbitration-related proceedings in front of the national courts, such as recognition and enforcement proceedings of arbitral awards. Cecilia has been admitted to practice before the Italian Supreme Court.

Cecilia also focuses on mergers & acquisitions, extraordinary corporate transactions and commercial contracts, mainly representing foreign clients investing in Italy. In particular, Cecilia is responsible for the Legance German desk, having a specific focus on German speaking countries and Eastern Europe.

Cecilia is a member of Legance’s Sustainability Committee.

Sean Yu Chou - Singapore

Chou Sean Yu is the Deputy Managing Partner of WongPartnership and Head of the Firm's Litigation & Dispute Resolution Group. He is also the Head of the Banking & Financial Disputes Practice and a Partner in the International Arbitration, Financial Services Regulatory, and Malaysia Practices.

Sean Yu is on the Panel of Arbitrators of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre, the Asian International Arbitration Centre, the Korean Commercial Arbitration Board, the Maldives International Arbitration Centre, the Japan Commercial Arbitration Association and the Hainan International Arbitration Court. He is a Chartered Arbitrator of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and a former Chairman of the Board of its Singapore Branch.

Utku Cosar - Turkey

Utku Coşar is an independent arbitrator at Arbitration Chambers with offices in New York, London and Istanbul. She specialises in commercial and investment arbitration and has extensive experience in energy, finance, shareholders’ and post-M&A/joint venture-related disputes, and investment arbitrations.

Prior to joining Arbitration Chambers, Utku was the senior partner at Coşar Avukatlik Burosu in Istanbul, acting as counsel in numerous high-profile international cases and sitting selectively as arbitrator.

Utku is a member of the LCIA Court and the Arbitration Court of the Swiss Arbitration Centre; Vice Chair of the IBA’s International Arbitration Committee; and a fellow at the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb). She serves on the editorial board of Dispute Resolution International, the journal of the dispute resolution section of the IBA, and on the ICCA Publications Advisory Board.

Utku has been ranked in the first band and top tier for dispute resolution lawyers in Turkey by Chambers and The Legal 500 from 2008 to the present. She is a graduate of Georgetown University, with two LLM degrees in law and international legal studies, and is admitted to practise in New York and Turkey.

Anand Desai - India

Anand has been the Managing Partner of DSK Legal since its inception in April 2001. With over three decades of wide-ranging experience in both contentious and non-contentious work across a wide range of practice areas, he has been a respected and sought-after counsel serving several large Indian and multinational corporations, business leaders and HNI’s, including Bollywood A-listers.

Anand’s expertise is recognised not only for his Dispute Resolution work but also for Mergers & Acquisitions / Private Equity, Real Estate, Insolvency & Restructuring, White-Collar Crime, Media & Entertainment, and Technology work. He appears as lead counsel in several significant international and domestic arbitrations, and domestic litigations in various Courts. He is widely regarded as a professional who takes a fair and practical approach to enable resolution of matters wherever possible.

Anand is ranked as the only “Eminent Practitioner”, being the highest ranking under Dispute Resolution – Mumbai based, in Chambers Global and Chambers Asia-Pacific. He is also highly ranked in various international publications including Who’s Who Legal, Asialaw, IFLR, and Legal 500 and was recognised by Asian Legal Business as one of Asia’s Top 15 Litigators in 2023. He is listed in ‘100 Legal Luminaries of India’ by LexisNexis, and recognised in India Business Law Journal’s “The A-List 2022” as a Legal Icon.

He has served as the National President of the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce and as President of TIE Mumbai, and is actively involved with several NGOs as a member of the Board or Advisory Board.

Artem Doudko - Russia/UK

Artem Doudko FCIArb, a solicitor-advocate, is a Partner and Head of Russia & CIS Disputes in the London Disputes and Risk Practice at Osborne Clarke LLP. Artem focuses on international arbitration and litigation involving Russian and/or CIS issues as well as advising Russian-speaking clients. Artem has a strong reputation and profile in his field and has been recognised as a Global Leader in the Who's Who Legal: Arbitration 2020 directory. Artem is identified as a Next Generation Partner and described as a "sharp-minded litigator" and as "very experienced in Russia and CIS-related arbitrations" in Legal500 UK 2020.

Artem is the Vice Chairman of the Board of the Russian Arbitration Association and a member of the Board of the Ukrainian Arbitration Association. He is a representative of the Anglo-Russian Law Association and a member of the executive committee of the Russia CIS Arbitration Network. Artem is a founder of "RYUMKA", a member of the London and Moscow committees of the Commercial Litigators' Forum ("CLF"), a member of the organising committee of the London International Disputes Week ("LIDW"), and a member of the Membership Committee of the Silicon Valley Arbitration & Mediation Center ("SVAMC").

John Fellas - USA/UK

John Fellas is a full-time arbitrator at Fellas Arbitration and an adjunct professor at New York University School of Law, teaching international commercial arbitration. He has over three decades of experience in international dispute resolution, and has acted as counsel and has served as co-arbitrator, chair or sole arbitrator in arbitrations all over the world, under all the major arbitration rules, and across a range of sectors. John is recognised as a leading international arbitrator by all the major legal directories including Chambers USA where he is ranked as “one of the best—his reputation is phenomenal and deserved.” He was recognised by Best Lawyers the Best Lawyer in New York for International Commercial Arbitration in 2019, and the Best Lawyer in New York for International Governmental Arbitration in 2022. He received a BA (Hons.) in law from the University of Durham, and both an LLM and an S.J.D. from Harvard Law School.

Agis Georgiades - Cyprus

Agis is a partner and head of the dispute resolution team at Christos Georgiades & Associates LLC in Cyprus. His practice focuses on international litigation and arbitration. He has extensive experience in dealing with complex commercial, construction, energy, IP and fraud cases. His is regularly briefed by international law firms to represent clients as counsel in litigation and arbitration proceedings in Cyprus and abroad. He also acts as arbitrator and mediator. Agis lectures on the law of evidence at the University of Nicosia. He is a member of the Supreme Court’s Committee for Amending the Civil Procedure Rules. He is a Barrister of Lincoln’s Inn, a Fellow of CIArb and an Accredited Mediator. He is the author of several publications on arbitration, mediation, civil procedure and international law.

Dany Khayat - France/Lebanon (France)

Dany Khayat has been admitted to practice at the Paris Bar for some 25 years. He leads the Litigation and International Arbitration practice in the Paris office of Mayer Brown and is the co-leader of the Global Middle-East dispute practice at Mayer Brown.

Dany has been involved in more than 70 commercial arbitration proceedings across the world, under various applicable laws, whether institutional or ad hoc. Dany has a special focus on investor/State disputes having been involved in more than 25 ISDS cases, on behalf of investors or States, including remarkable victories. Dany also frequently sits as arbitrator in cases in English, French or Arabic and acts in arbitration-related proceedings, as well as enforcement matters, before the French courts. Dany has been teaching international arbitration and ISDS for more than 15 years.

Álvaro López de Argumedo - Spain

Álvaro López de Argumedo joined Uría Menéndez in 1992 and has been a partner since 2003. He is the coordinator of the Firm’s Litigation and Arbitration Department. He focuses his practice on domestic and international arbitration, international civil litigation and mediation. He has considerable experience in the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments and arbitral awards, as well as in interim measures in judicial and arbitration proceedings. He has taken part in over 50 international and domestic arbitration proceedings before the main arbitral institutions (ICC, LCIA and CAM among others), particularly in matters relating to construction, energy distribution and M&A, as well as in judicial proceedings regarding those sectors. He is a member of both the Governing Board and the Mediation Commission of the Club Español del Arbitraje (CEA), Officer of the IBA’s Arbitration Committee (and President of its Soft Law Commission) and member of the UIA’s International Arbitration Committee.

Melissa Magliana - Italy/Switzerland (Switzerland)

Melissa Magliana is a partner and a co-chair of the international arbitration group at LALIVE. She has experience in both common and civil law jurisdictions, holds legal degrees in US and Swiss law, and advises and represents clients in ad hoc and institutional arbitration proceedings under all major rules of arbitration. She also acts as arbitrator.

Melissa is a member of the board of ASA (the Swiss Arbitration Association) and represents Switzerland in the UNCITRAL working group dedicated to dispute settlement (working group II). She is a former member of the court of the Swiss Arbitration Centre and of its executive committee.

Kevin Nash - Canada (UK)

Kevin Nash is the Director General of the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA). The Director General fulfils the role of Chief Executive Officer, with day-to-day responsibility for the conduct of the business of the LCIA, serves as the principal point of contact between the institution and its Board and Court, and represents the LCIA on the international stage.

Kevin joined the LCIA after 13 years in Singapore where he served as the Registrar of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC). Prior to his time in Singapore, Kevin worked at a prominent ‘Seven Sister’ law firm in Toronto, Canada.

Recognised for being ‘in a league of his own’ who ‘knows everything there is to know about international arbitration’ Kevin is listed by Who’s Who Legal as a Global Leader and a National Leader for Singapore and the United Kingdom. Peers and clients have described him as a ‘rock star of arbitration’ who is ‘smart and practical’ and ‘willing to get his hands dirty and do the hard work’.

Kevin is qualified as a Barrister and Solicitor with the Law Society of Ontario.

Godwin Omoaka SAN - Nigeria

Godwin Omoaka, SAN, is a Partner in the Dispute Resolution Practice Group at Templars in Lagos, Nigeria. Godwin has over twenty (20) years of active experience in domestic and international arbitration, mediation relating to a wide range of disputes in the oil and gas industry, construction industry, taxation, anti-bribery, and corruption. He has a stellar track record in arbitration, as well as other forms of alternative dispute resolution such as mediation and expert determination. He has acted as counsel in both institutional and ad hoc arbitrations.

Godwin is recognised by all major directories including The Legal 500, Chambers and Global, and IFLR1000 as a leading arbitration practitioner in Nigeria. He was elevated to the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (the equivalent of King's Counsel) in 2019 and is the current President of the Institute of Chartered Mediators and Conciliators (ICMC) Nigeria.

Godwin is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, the Institute of Construction Arbitrators of Nigeria and the Institute of Chartered Mediators and Conciliators. He is also a CEDR accredited mediator.

Nania Owusu-Ankomah - Ghana

Nania is a litigation and arbitration practitioner and a Partner at Bentsi-Enchill, Letsa & Ankomah, a first tier law firm in Ghana. She regularly advises and represents clients in a range of high value litigation and arbitration disputes, and is particularly noted for her innovative approach to solving complex legal issues. She has served as a Member of the Electronic Communications Tribunal of Ghana, quasi-judicial body that hears appeals in respect of the regulation and licensing of telecommunications companies, television and radio stations in Ghana. Nania sits as an arbitrator and is listed on CPR’s Panels of Distinguished Neutrals and the Ghana ADR Hub List of Arbitrators.

She is a board member of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce International Arbitration Centre, a Councillor of the LCIA Africa Users’ Council and was recently appointed Co-Chair of the Africa Arbitration Group of the IBA Arbitration Committee, after serving as Editor of the IBA Arbitration Committee Newsletter. She has been recognised as one of Africa’s 50 Most Promising Young Arbitration Practitioners (2020) by the Association of Young Arbitrators and was named a Rising Star by Africa Arbitration (July 2019). She has also been featured as a ‘Woman to Watch’ by the African Institute of Women in Law and was part of the Task Force for the Commonwealth International Arbitration Study commissioned by the Commonwealth Secretariat.

Nania is a lecturer in Alternative Dispute Resolution at the Ghana School of Law. She is called to the bar in England and Wales and in Ghana.

Dharshini Prasad - Singapore (UK)

Dharshini is a partner in the International Arbitration Group at Willkie Farr & Gallagher. She is triple qualified to practice in Singapore, England and Wales and New York and regularly draws on her multi-jurisdictional experience to advice clients on complex, high-value disputes with a cross-border element. Dharshini has acted as counsel in several billion dollar arbitrations in different industries, from energy and mining to technology, pharmaceuticals and private equity, and for clients in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and the Americas. Clients and peers commend Dharshini for being a “brilliant and talented advocate” (Who’s Who Legal) and “a very intelligent, driven and relentless professional” with “deep knowledge about the international arbitration forum and strong analytical skills” (Legal500 UK).

Apart from her work as counsel, Dharshini has an active practice as arbitrator and sits on the Board of Editors for the AAA Dispute Resolution Journal. She teaches seminars on energy and investor-State arbitration at Queen Mary University and has previously taught at New York University (Paris) and the London School of Economics, SIAC and Austrian arbitration academies. Between 2018-2020, Dharshini served as Executive Secretary on the Commonwealth Secretariat’s study on international arbitration across the Commonwealth, which resulted in a first of its kind report of over 650-pages with chapters on the arbitration landscape in each of the 53 Commonwealth members States. She also represented the Government of Somalia at the third consultation of the ICSID Rule Amendments process in 2019. Prior to her appointment to the LCIA Court, Dharshini was involved in the work of SIAC for several years, including to help draft the 2016 Arbitration Rules and 2017 Investment Arbitration Rules.

Kamal Shah - Kenya/UK

Kamal is an arbitration partner, and the Head of Stephenson Harwood's Africa and India groups. He has been the President and Vice President of the African Users’ Council of the LCIA between 2016-2023, and is a Court Member since 2018, having been re-elected in May 2023. He is also a Court Member of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce International Arbitration Centre. Kamal is a Board Member of the Eastern Africa Association and the Rhino Ark UK.

Kamal is highly ranked in the Legal directories including The Legal 500, Chambers UK and Global and IFLR1000, and was listed in the Lawyer’s Hot 100 list of leading lawyers in the UK for 2009 and 2014. He has been in the Africa and Arbitration Power lists for the Legal 500, and in Who’s Who Legal: Arbitration - Future Leaders for the past few years. In addition to Africa, Kamal has extensive experience of advising Indian corporates and Government entities. He has been recognised as a leading name by the India Business Law Journal for several years.

Kamal acts for governments, government entities, national and independent energy companies, banks and financial institutions, private corporations and high net worth individuals in a range of arbitrations and litigations as counsel as well as arbitrator. He has experience in a diverse range of sectors and industries including energy, banking and finance, projects and infrastructure, tech and fintech, Agriculture and FMCG.

Shai Sharvit - Israel

Shai is an Israeli lawyer based in Tel-Aviv, Israel. He holds an LL.B. from Tel-Aviv University Law School and a joint LLM from Tel-Aviv University and UC Berkeley law schools. He is an Of Counsel in the international arbitration and transnational litigation practice group of Gornitzky & Co., one of Israel's leading law firms. Shai’s practice focuses mainly on counsel work in international arbitration and complex commercial disputes, which have cross-border or multi-jurisdictional aspects, in a wide variety of fields, including construction, insurance, shareholders’ disputes, D&O liability, IP, class actions, real estate, professional negligence, product liability, and contractual disputes.

Shai advised and represented clients in international arbitrations, conducted under the AAA-ICDR, ICC, ICSID and LCIA Arbitration Rules, and acted as a foreign legal expert in disputes before foreign courts, including US Federal and State Courts in various cases. Shai Holds various positions in arbitral institutions, including the ICC Commission on Arbitration and ADR, ICC Belt and Road Commission and the Israeli Institute of Commercial Arbitration, where he was a member of the committee drafting the Institute's international arbitration rules.

George Spalton KC - UK

George Spalton KC is a barrister and arbitrator based in London. He was called to the Bar of England & Wales in 2004 and was called to the BVI Bar 2015. He was appointed as King’s Counsel in 2021 and was nominated for barrister of the year by The Lawyer in 2024.

His practice focuses on complex, multi-jurisdictional commercial disputes (both litigation and arbitration) and also investor/state work. He has extensive expertise across a range of underlying practice areas and sectors - whether civil fraud, M&A disputes, commodities, insurance, energy/mining related work, sports and offshore work. He has acted as Lead Counsel in a number of heavy and high-profile trials in recent years, including a successful 20 week trial in London (worth $1BN) and an investor-state claim worth $100BN+.

George is a Vice President of the LCIA European Users’ Council and sits on the Executive Committee of the English Commercial Bar Association (COMBAR). He is a graduate of Oxford University (MA) and Columbia University, New York (LLM).

Christopher Style KC - UK

Christopher Style is a King’s Counsel and arbitrator practicing at One Essex Court. He has more than 35 years’ experience of International dispute resolution, including acting as counsel and arbitrator in institutional and ad hoc references with seats in many of the centres of International arbitration. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and one of the UK’s representatives on the ICC Commission on Arbitration.

Between 1977 and 2012, Christopher Style practised at Linklater’s in London. He became a partner in 1985 and held a number of senior management positions. He acquired solicitor’s higher courts rights of advocacy in 1997 and was appointed silk in 2006. He was called to the Bar to develop his practice as arbitrator in international commercial arbitration. He has been rated a leading practitioner by Chambers, the Legal 500 and GAR.

Anna-Maria Tamminen - Finland

Anna-Maria specialises in dispute resolution, with a special focus on complex, international disputes. She currently represents parties in mediations, national and international arbitrations, as well as administrative and civil litigations both in Finland and Sweden. She has also acted for clients before the ECJ and the Finnish and Swedish Supreme Courts. She has worked with clients active in many industries, including telecoms, energy and renewables, forestry, construction, pharmaceuticals, logistics, technology and financial services.

Anna-Maria also acts as arbitrator in both international and domestic disputes. She has acted as sole arbitrator, co-arbitrator and chairperson in over 30 international arbitrations. Anna-Maria is trained in both common and civil law legal systems and is admitted to practice as an attorney both in Finland and the State of New York. Due to her training and work experience in Finland, Sweden, Austria, United Kingdom and the United States, Anna-Maria has an in-depth understanding of both common and civil law legal systems.

Sami Tannous - UAE

Sami is an international arbitration specialist focusing on international commercial arbitration and investor-State arbitration. He has represented clients in arbitrations under all major arbitration rules including the ICC, LCIA, ICSID, DIAC, SCC and UNCITRAL rules, with seats in London, Paris, Dubai, DIFC, Geneva, The Hague and Washington.

Sami has particular expertise of disputes involving the Middle East and North Africa. His experience includes advising clients on a broad range of commercial disputes including joint venture and shareholder agreements, SPAs, production sharing agreements and distribution/agency agreements, in various sectors including oil and gas, banking, real-estate, telecoms, defence, travel, media, and construction.

Sami has been based in Dubai for over ten years. Before relocating to Dubai, Sami worked in Freshfields’ Paris office, and in London.

Patrick Taylor - UK/Ireland (UK)

Patrick Taylor is a partner in the London office of Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, Co-Chair of Debevoise’s Africa practice, and is part of Debevoise’s France Desk. He has been representing parties in disputes throughout the world for more than 20 years, focusing on commercial and investment treaty arbitration, and working frequently on matters relating to the energy, pharmaceuticals, and telecommunications industries. Patrick regularly advises companies, investors and States on investment protection and investment dispute settlements in high-risk jurisdictions, tax-related disputes, fiscal and legislative stabilisation rights, shareholder, joint venture, distribution, licensing, post-M&A and general contractual disputes, as well as complex damages analysis. Patrick also sits frequently as an arbitrator. He is qualified in England & Wales as a solicitor-advocate, and in Ireland.

Patrick is recommended by the directories as a leading practitioner for arbitration. He is a current member of the IBA’s Arbitration Subcommittee on Investment Arbitration, and past member of the IBA’s Arb40 Subcommittee and IBA Arbitration Subcommittee on Arbitration and Insolvency. As well as regularly presenting and publishing on international dispute resolution issues, Patrick teaches on investment arbitration at Science Po in Paris. Patrick is bi-lingual in English and French, and fluent in Spanish, working and presenting regularly in each of these languages.

Nicolas Wiegand - Germany (Hong Kong)

Nicolas specialises in international commercial and investment arbitration with a focus on corporate, joint venture, IP, sales and distribution as well as the life sciences, energy, technology, construction and infrastructure sectors.

Having lived and worked for many years in both civil law (Germany, Switzerland) and common law (Hong Kong, Singapore, California, New York, Australia) jurisdictions, Nicolas is experienced in handling cases under both legal traditions. Alongside his work as a party representative, Nicolas is a very experienced arbitrator. To date, he has sat in well over 40 cases covering a wide range of both civil and common law jurisdictions and seated at the major arbitration hubs worldwide.

Nicolas has been head of the CMS Hong Kong presence and the firm’s arbitration practice in the Asia-Pacific region for almost a decade. In January 2020, he has been appointed as co-head for the firm's dispute resolution practice, and in January 2024, Nicolas has also become the head of the firm's US representative office and arbitration practice.

Johanna Wirth - Germany

Johanna is a partner in Hengeler Mueller’s international arbitration group. She primarily acts as counsel and arbitrator in domestic and international arbitration proceedings with particular focus on energy, technology, banking & finance and post-M&A disputes. Her major clients include companies in the energy and telecommunication sector, as well as German and international financial institutions. In addition to her arbitration work, Johanna advises her clients on a variety of international law issues and in compliance matters.

Johanna is admitted to the German Bar and the New York Bar. She is a graduate from Humboldt University Berlin and holds a Master of Law in Corporate Law (LLM) from the New York University School of Law. Her expertise has been recognised in various international and German rankings. She regularly speaks and writes on international dispute resolution issues.

Robert Wisner - Canada

Robert Wisner is a litigation partner at McMillan LLP and its Co-Chair, International Arbitration. His practise focuses on international dispute resolution and corporate litigation. Robert has argued numerous cases before international arbitral tribunals seated in venues throughout Canada, the United States, Asia and Europe. He has also appeared at all levels of court in Ontario and other Canadian jurisdictions. Robert has also served as arbitrator in domestic and international commercial disputes.

Many of Robert’s cases have involved matters of international law, shareholder remedies or complex commercial contracts, including M&A, joint venture, shareholder, supply and services agreements. Robert has been described "as ‘a leader in his field' through his premier international commercial and investor state arbitration work" (Who's Who Legal 2012). Chambers Canada ranks Robert in Band 1 of the leading individuals in arbitration and other legal directories have consistently recognised Robert’s work in the areas of international arbitration, cross-border business litigation and disputes relating to the Global Mining sector. Many of Robert's clients are involved in the mining, energy, aviation, infrastructure or telecommunications sectors.

Byung-Chol (B.C.) Yoon - Korea

Byung-Chol (B.C.) Yoon is a partner at Kim & Chang and the co-chair of the firm’s International Arbitration and Cross-Border Litigation Practice. Mr. Yoon has extensive experience in international arbitration and cross-border disputes. He has represented the firm's clients in a broad range of fields such as mergers and acquisitions, overseas investments, construction and joint venture in more than 200 arbitration cases in various jurisdictions, under various rules.

He served as a court member of the ICC International Court of Arbitration after serving as a member of the SIAC Board from 2009. He currently serves on the arbitration panels of ICSID, SIAC, ICDR, HKIAC and KCAB. In addition to his international career, his arbitration expertise has been highly valued in Korea where he was the President of the Korean Council for International Arbitration (KOCIA), playing a key role in promoting international arbitration and revising the KCAB’s International Arbitration Rules. At the same time, he served as the Secretary General of the Seoul International Dispute Resolution Centre (Seoul IDRC).

The LCIA Court

President

Vice Presidents

Honorary Vice Presidents

Other Members

Biographies