Robert Wachter

Practice Areas

Robert Wachter co-heads Shin & Kim’s International Dispute Resolution Practice Group together with Mr. Kyung Don Lee. He has acted as counsel or arbitrator in international arbitration cases brought under all of the major arbitration rules, including the ICC, KCAB, VIAC, Swiss Chambers, SIAC, LCIA, SCC, JCAA and UNCITRAL arbitration rules.

Mr. Wachter has lectured as an adjunct professor at Seoul National University School of Law, the Supreme Court of Korea (Judicial Research and Training Institute), and Ewha Womans University. He served as the Lex Mundi Asia-Pacific Vice Chair for the Litigation, Arbitration and Dispute Resolution Group from 2018 to 2021 and the Global Chair Elect for the same group from 2021 to 2024. He regularly participates in conferences and seminars on international arbitration. He has published various academic articles about international arbitration and Korean law.

Career

Shin & Kim LLC (2024-Present)

Lee & Ko LLC (2015-2024)

Kim & Chang (2014-2015)

Graf & Pitkowitz Rechtsanwälte GmbH, Vienna (2012-2014)

Yulchon LLC (2005-2011)

O'Melveny & Myers LLP, San Francisco (1998-2004)

Ashford &Wriston, Honolulu (1997-1998)

Law Clerk to the Hon. Samuel P. King (D. Haw.) (1996-1997)

Professional Memberships

California Bar

Publications

South Korea, in Handbook on Third Party Funding in International Arbitration, Second Edition (Juris 2024) (co-author)

Res Judicata: Claims that could have been brought in a first proceeding, but were not brought until a second proceeding, in in Austrian Yearbook of Int’l Arb (Klausegger et al., eds. 2023)

Expert insights: A roundtable on arbitration trends in Korea, Burford Quarterly (2023 Issue #1) (contributor)

Toward a codified evidentiary attorney-client privilege in Korea (Lexology 2022) (co-author) Court allows lessee to terminate commercial lease as COVID-19 force majeure (Lexology 2021) (co-author)

Court allows lessee to terminate commercial lease as COVID-19 force majeure (Lexology 2021) (co-author)

Arbitration agreement survives franchise law challenge, ILO Newsletter (Lexology 2021) (co author)

Another imaginary arbitral institution, ILO Newsletter (Lexology 2021) (co-author)

Korea, in Asia Arbitration Guide ‒ 7th Extended and Revised Edition (Respondek, ed. 2021) (co-author)

Confidentiality in International IP Arbitration, in Global Arbitration Review: The Guide to IP Arbitration (Pierce and Gunter, eds. 2020) (co-author)

Korea, in Lex Mundi Global Attorney-Client Privilege Guide (2020) (co-author)

Korea, in Asia Arbitration Guide ‒ 6th Extended and Revised Edition (Respondek, ed. 2019) (co-author)

South Korea, in The Baker McKenzie International Arbitration Yearbook (12th ed. 2019) (co-author)

South Korea, in The Baker McKenzie International Arbitration Yearbook (11th ed. 2018) (co-author)

South Korea, in The Baker McKenzie International Arbitration Yearbook (11th ed. 2018) (co-author)

South Korea, in Handbook on Third Party Funding in International Arbitration (Juris, 2018) (co-author)

Introduction to the KCAB International Rules and Practice, in Dispute Resolution Journal (Vol. 17, Juris 2017) (co-author)

South Korea, in International Encyclopedia of Agency & Distribution Agreements (Augustín Jausas ed., supp. 32, Kluwer Law International) (co-author) (2017)

South Korea, in GAR Know how: Investment Treaty Arbitration 2016 (co-author)

South Korea, in Corporate Laws of the World: A Handbook (Wegen, Barth & Spahlinger, eds. 2013) (co-author)

On the Inherent Powers of Arbitral Tribunals in International Commercial Arbitration, in Austrian Yearbook of Int’l Arb 65 (Klausegger et al., eds. 2012)

Ethical Standards in International Arbitration: Considering Solutions to Level the Playing Field, 24 Geo. J. Legal Ethics 1143 (Fall 2011)

Confidentiality in International Arbitration: Including a Korean Law Perspective, 1 Dong-A J. of Intl. Bus. Trans. L. 63 (2010) (co-author)

Hedge Funds in Korea, in Hedge Funds and the Law 398 (Richard Frase ed. 2010) (co-author)

Real Estate Law, in Korean Business Law: The Legal Landscape and Beyond 251 (Jasper Kim ed. 2010) (co-author)

Development and Taxation of Real Estate Investment Trusts: South Korea, Asia-Pacific Tax Bulletin, Vol. 11 No. 6 (2005) (co-author)

An Analysis of the Standing and Jurisdiction Prerequisites for Direct Appeal of Agency Action to the Circuit Court after Bush v. Hawaiian Homes Commission, 17 U. Haw. L. Rev. 375 (1995)

Education

Work Highlights

Infrastructure and Construction

Represented a nuclear power producer in an intellectual property dispute over the right to export nuclear power plants (KCAB Rules)

Represented an investor in a public private partnership (PPP) infrastructure dispute against a Korean regional government (ICC Rules)

Represented a Korean municipal government in a public private partnership (PPP) construction dispute brought by the investor (ICC Rules)

Represented a rolling stock producer in a joint venture and intellectual property licensing dispute against an Indian manufacturer (ICC Rules)

Represented a Korean supplier in a construction dispute against a Russian contractor for an electricity generation plant in India (SCC Rules)

Represented an American subcontractor against the Korean contractor in a construction defects dispute involving a collapsed structure (ICC Rules)

Represented a European party in a dispute against its Korean consortium partner in connection with the construction of a steel production plant (KCAB Rules)

Represented a Korean insurance company in a dispute over refurbishment of a nuclear power plant reactor (UNCITRAL Rules)

Represented a Korean power producer in a defects dispute with a foreign steam turbine manufacturer (KCAB Rules)

Represented a Korean construction company in a costs and delay dispute for an infrastructure project in Thailand

Represented a Korean construction company against a US supplier in a dispute related to the construction of a refinery in the UAE (ICC Rules)

Life Sciences

Represented a Korean biotechnology company in a dispute related to its patent licensing contract with a Swiss pharmaceutical company (Swiss Rules)

Represented a Korean pharmaceutical company in a drug development and licensing dispute against a Russian pharmaceutical company (LCIA Rules)

Represented a European pharmaceutical company in a dispute with one of its former distributors (Vienna Rules)

Represented a foreign pharmaceutical company in a licensing dispute with a Korean company concerning a development-stage therapy under consideration by the US FDA (ICC Rules)

Represented a Swiss implant company in an IP technology transfer dispute against a Korean company (ICC Rules)

Intellectual Property

Represented a nuclear power producer in an intellectual property and export control dispute over the right to export nuclear power plants (KCAB Rules)

Represented a Korean licensor in a software licensing dispute with the US licensee (ICC Rules)

Represented a Chinese online gaming company in a licensing dispute against a Korean gaming company (ICC Rules)

Represented a Korean energy company in a software licensing dispute against a European ERP software publisher (UNCITRAL Rules)

Represented a Korean broadcasting company in a dispute against one of its encryption software providers (UNCITRAL Rules)

Represented a Korean party against a German party in a joint venture and intellectual property rights dispute where the joint venture company produced products used in the semiconductor manufacturing process (ICC Rules)

Offshore, Shipping and Shipbuilding Disputes

Represented a Korean shipbuilding company in a dispute against a European components supplier for vessels to be supplied under a military procurement contract (ICC Rules)

Represented an offshore engineering and construction company in a dispute concerning relating to a single-point mooring (SPM) anchoring and undersea pipeline installation project (ICC Rules)

Represented a Korean steel pipes producer in a dispute against a Norwegian shipping company over a long term contract of affreightment (SIAC Rules)

Telecommunications

Represented a Korean telecommunications company in a dispute against a US supplier under a defense procurement contract (KCAB Rules)

Represented a U.S. telecommunications company in a shareholders dispute against an Indonesian media company (ICC Rules)

Distributorship and Franchising

Represented a Korean telecommunicating company in a contract dispute with a European software publisher (ICC Rules)

Represented a European distributor in a termination compensation dispute against a Korean optical components manufacturer (KCAB Rules)

Represented a European pharmaceutical company in a dispute with one of its Scandinavian distributors (Vienna Rules)

Represented a Korean medical device manufacturer in a distributorship dispute with its former European distributor (ICC Rules)

Represented a Japanese restaurant franchisor in a dispute against its Korean franchisee (ICC Rules)

Represented a Korean restaurant franchisor in a dispute against its Vietnamese franchisee (KCAB Rules)

M&A and Tax

Represented a US company in an M&A dispute in connection with the sale of its Korean subsidiary to another Korean company (ICC Rules)

Represented a Korean company in a post-closing M&A dispute against a European luxury brand company (KCAB Rules)

Represented a Swiss implant company in debt-to-equity conversion dispute against a Korean company (ICC Rules)

Represented a Korean company in a tax indemnity dispute with a U.S. technology company (ICC Rules)

Shareholders and Joint Venture

Represented a Korean steel slag producer in a joint venture dispute with its Canadian partner (ICC Rules)

Represented a European industrial liquid logistics company in a joint venture dispute with its Korean partners (ICC Rules)

Represented a Korean telecommunications company in a shareholders dispute against an Indonesian media conglomerate (ICC Rules)

Represented a German automotive company in a shareholders dispute with the controlling shareholder in a Korean automotive company (JCAA Rules)

Long Term Supply Contracts

Represented a Korean subsidiary of a European industrial gas supplier in a dispute against a Korean steel producer arising under a long term supply contract (ICC Rules)

Represented an Eastern European electricity producer in a long term supply agreement dispute brought by a Swiss energy company (Vienna Rules)