DEPARTMENT PROFILE

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP

Arbitration (International)

3 ranked lawyers

Band 5

Europe-wide

Europe 2022 View ranking table

chambers review

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Ranked Lawyers

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What the team is known for

Respected international arbitration group led from the Paris and Geneva offices. The combined experience of the firm's teams in Paris, London and Düsseldorf enables the firm to handle commercial arbitration seated across all key arbitration centres in Europe. Individuals across Orrick's European network lead ECT or BIT claims in which investors seek damages from European states. The firm also assists with any challenges to arbitral awards arising in German, Swedish or French courts.

Strengths

Clients say that the lawyers are "excellent on the strategy and in understanding complex technical matters and presenting them in an easily understandable way."

Sources praise the lawyers' ability to appreciate the "high-level direction of the case as well as their attention to detail."

Work highlights

Defended the Republic of North Macedonia in a PCA-administered UNCITRAL arbitration initiated by Gokul Das Binani and Madhu Binani.

Notable practitioners

Charles Kaplan has notable experience on the investor side of ECT cases brought against European governments. He is a partner in Orrick's Paris office.

Standout mandates for Michael Bühler include his advice on Swedish court proceedings seeking to set aside arbitral awards issued in relation to gas price reviews. He also has experience in intra-EU BIT claims. Clients highlight his strategic approach, saying: "He can put himself in other side's shoes and therefore can anticipate their way of thinking."

Siegfried Elsing serves as arbitrator on investment and commercial cases, with extensive expertise in ICSID, ICC and UNCITRAL proceedings. He is active in matters involving sovereign states in Central Asia and the Middle East. Sources say that "he is well prepared, very effective in his questioning of witnesses and pragmatic in his approach."

Department Information

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Overview

Orrick’s international arbitration practice acts for corporations, state-owned entities and governments in complex, high-value disputes arising from transnational investments and transactions. Their arbitration practitioners work in highly-specialized, multilingual teams (English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Arabic) with an understanding of the business strategies and priorities of Orrick’s energy and infrastructure, finance, and technology clients. They arbitrate million- and billion-dollar disputes relating to M&A and financial structuring transactions, turn-key infrastructure construction projects, worldwide commodities trading contracts, telecommunications and IT agreements, oil & gas, including long-term natural gas supply price reviews, renewable energy projects in solar and wind, life sciences licensing and intellectual property matters. Orrick also represents both investors or States in ICSID, UNCITRAL and ad hoc arbitrations arising out of bilateral or multi-lateral investment treaties, including the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT). Orrick’s lawyers act as arbitrators, whether party-appointed, sole or chair; have helped draft the rules for the ICC, OHADA and DIAC and have decades of experience in complex settlement negotiation, mediation and conciliation. They obtain from national courts provisional measures ancillary to arbitration, enforce awards against assets traced through investigation, and conduct proceedings to set aside arbitral awards.