33rd Annual ITA Workshop and Annual Meeting

Overview

The ITA Workshop, held in Dallas on the third Thursday in June every year since 1989, is widely recognized as the leading conference in the field in the United States. As one participant summarized succinctly, “It is the forum in which legitimate top practitioners gather annually. Thus, the topics are sophisticated, the networking is legitimate, and the social element is valuable.” The Workshop now begins on the preceding Wednesday afternoon, with membership meetings and activities continuing into the following Friday.

At the conclusion of the Workshop on Thursday evening, members of the ITA Advisory Board, the Workshop faculty and their guests mix a bit of business with pleasure at the Advisory Board Annual Dinner. On Friday morning, members of the Advisory Board, Academic Council, ITAAR Board of Reporters, ITAFOR Moderators and Contributors, and the Workshop faculty reassemble for the annual open discussion ITA Forum and other membership activities.

The Workshop this year will explore ethical issues facing arbitrators in international arbitration and how they and the other stakeholders in the process deal with them. 

Conference Co-Chairs

Mimi M. Lee
Managing Counsel, Litigation
Chevron Upstream
San Ramon

Prof. Loukas Mistelis
School of Law, Queen Mary University of London
London

Ank Santens
White & Case LLP
New York

Robert Reyes Landicho
Young ITA Roundtable Chair
Vinson & Elkins LLP
Houston

Highlights

We invite you to join us, our renowned faculty, members of ITA and Young ITA and colleagues from around the world online for the virtual 33rd Annual ITA Workshop on Wednesday and Thursday, June 16-17, including:

• The keynote address on Arbitrator Ethics in International Arbitration by Constantine Partasides (London)
• An ensuing panel on emerging codes of conduct for arbitrators in ISDS with Prof. Catherine Rogers (Milan), Laurent Lévy (Geneva) and Nassib G. Ziadé (Manama)
• An expert panel on arbitrator conflicts and disclosures with Julie Bédard (New York and Sao Paolo), Mia Essien (Lagos), Lord Mance (London) and Vladimir Khvalei (Moscow)
• A debate on arbitrator challenges for tactical reasons with Prof. Chiara Giorgretti (Washington, DC), Melanie van Leeuwen (Paris) and James Hosking (New York)
• The Young ITA Roundtable, including a review of best practices in document production and a debate on arbitrator “double-hatting”
• A Virtual Welcome Reception featuring an international arbitration trivia contest. Your team could become the ITA Trivia Champion!

Schedule and Faculty

The Workshop will explore various ethical issues facing arbitrators in international arbitration and how they and the other stakeholders in the process deal with them. We will explore these issues through a keynote address on arbitrator ethics followed by a roundtable discussion regarding the various emerging codes on arbitrator ethics in investor-State dispute settlement; a panel discussing various conflicts of interests and disclosure scenarios with audience voting; and finally, a debate and audience voting of the motion “Challenges of arbitrators have been on the rise, often for tactical reasons, and they should be discouraged.” The Young ITA Roundtable will then explore the differing attitudes and approaches to issues of document production, and will discuss practical, ethical or privacy dilemmas that may arise in the course of disclosure. The Roundtable will conclude with a debate on whether the “double hatting” issue that arises in ISDS needs to be addressed in codes of conduct or institutional rules.

Wednesday, June 16

11:00-11:10 am CDT

WELCOME TO THE WORKSHOP

• Joseph E. Neuhaus, ITA Chair, Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, New York
• T.L. Cubbage, President, The Center for American and International Law, Plano

11:10-11:20 am

TRIBUTE TO EMMANUEL GAILLARD

• Yas Banifatemi, Gaillard Banifatemi Shelbaya Disputes, Paris
• Philippe Pinsolle, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP, Geneva
  

11:20-11:25 am

Break

11:25-11:30 am

INTRODUCTION TO THE PROGRAM AND KEYNOTE SPEAKER

• Mimi M. Lee, Prof. Loukas Mistelis, Ank Santens, Workshop Co-Chairs

11:30-12:45 pm

KEYNOTE: REGULATING ARBITRATOR ETHICS: GOLDILOCKS' GOLDEN RULE

• Constantine Partasides QC, Three Crowns, London

ROUNDTABLE ON EMERGING CODES OF CONDUCT FOR ARBITRATORS IN ISDS
Various issues raised by the draft UNCITRAL/ICSID Code of Conduct for Adjudicators in Investor-State Dispute Settlement and other emerging codes regulating arbitrator conduct in ISDS will be discussed.

Moderator: Ank Santens, Workshop Co-Chair

Panelists:

• Prof. Catherine A. Rogers, Università Bocconi & Queen Mary, Milan and London
• Laurent Lévy, Lévy Kaufmann-Kohler, Geneva
• Nassib G. Ziadé, Chief Executive Officer, Bahrain Chamber for Dispute Resolution, Manama

12:45-12:50 pm

Break

12:50-2:05 pm

ARBITRATOR CONFLICTS OF INTEREST AND DISCLOSURES
This panel will consider various scenarios and discuss whether they constitute a conflict of interest and require disclosure. The panelists will stake out their positions and there will be electronic voting by the audience. Areas for discussion will be whether the IBA Guidelines on Conflict of Interest provide sufficient and appropriate guidance for these scenarios. Regional and institutional differences in the approach to arbitrator disclosures will also be discussed.

Moderator: Prof. Loukas Mistelis, Workshop Co-Chair

Panelists:

• Julie Bédard, Skadden Arps, New York and Sao Paolo
• Miannaya Aja Essien, Principles Law, Lagos
• Vladimir Khvalei, Baker McKenzie, Moscow
• Lord Jonathan Mance, 7 King’s Bench Walk, London

2:05-2:10 pm

Break

2:10-2:40 pm

MOTION: “CHALLENGES OF ARBITRATORS HAVE BEEN ON THE RISE, OFTEN FOR TACTICAL REASONS, AND THEY SHOULD BE DISCOURAGED”
The motion will be debated by two debaters, following which there will be audience voting and a brief Q&A.

Moderator: Prof. Chiara Giorgetti, University of Richmond School of Law, Washington, D.C.

For: James Hosking, Chaffetz Lindsey, New York

Against: Melanie van Leeuwen, Derains Gharavi, Paris

Audience Vote

Q&A via chat

2:40-2:45 pm

Concluding Remarks

• Mimi M. Lee, Dr. Loukas Mistelis, Ank Santens, Workshop Co-Chairs

2:45-3:00 pm

Break

3:00-4:15 pm

WORKSHOP WELCOME RECEPTION AND INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION TRIVIA EVENT

Our virtual Welcome Reception will feature an international arbitration trivia contest. Categories will include historic arbitration, international claims settlement, arbitrator “celebrities” and pop culture in arbitration disputes. Form your team in advance (up to 8 persons) or join a team assigned at the event. Your team could become the ITA Trivia Champion!

Thursday, June 17

YOUNG ITA ROUNDTABLE
Presented by Young ITA

10:30–10:35 am CDT

WELCOME TO THE YOUNG ITA ROUNDTABLE

• Catherine Bratic, Young ITA Communications Chair, Hogan Lovells LLP, Houston
• Karima Sauma, Young ITA Mentorship Chair, Executive Director, International Center for Conciliation and Arbitration (AmCham Costa Rica), San Jose

10:35-11:30 am

DOCUMENT PRODUCTION – AGREEING TO PROCEDURAL RULES AND IMPLEMENTING BEST PRACTICES IN DOCUMENT PRODUCTION
There is considerable latitude for a narrow or broad scope of disclosure and document production obligations in an international arbitration—through party agreement, Procedural Orders, or by other means. When setting such rules, however, there remains a divide in attitudes and approaches.

Some practitioners seek to define disclosure obligations as broadly as possible, arguing that the “relevant to the dispute” or possibly “material to the outcome of the dispute” terms in the IBA Rules on the Taking of Evidence in International Arbitration call for wide disclosure of documents.

Others argue for a more restrictive approach. In addition to the release of the “Prague Rules,” which was an effort to counteract the “growing Americanization” of document production under the IBA Rules on the Taking of Evidence in International Arbitration, some practitioners also argue for a limitation on the types of intrusive searches on companies or State parties that would drive up the overall cost of the arbitration or would promote “fishing expeditions.”

Whichever approach is chosen, parties often confront complex ethical or practical issues that arise during document disclosure. Some issues may be shaped by, for example, the differing ethical obligations that vary by jurisdiction (e.g., the duty to disclose documents that are damaging to one’s case). Other issues may arise in the form of limitations on disclosure due to privacy law, or similar considerations.

This panel will exchange views on these topics, including how these standards should be applied, and offer practical tips for practitioners.

Moderator: Cameron Sim, Young ITA Asia Chair, Debevoise & Plimpton, Hong Kong

Panelists:

• Pelin Baysal, Partner, Baysal & Demir Legal, Istanbul
• Marcela Berdion-Straub, Lead Counsel – Litigation, TotalEnergies, Houston
• Samuel Pape, Young ITA UK Chair, Senior Associate, Latham & Watkins, London
• Natascha Tunkel, Partner, KNOETZL, Vienna

11:30-11:35 am

Break

11:35-12:35 pm

DEBATE: SHOULD “DOUBLE HATTING” BE PERMITTED IN INVESTOR STATE DISPUTE SETTLEMENT?
This debate will focus on “double-hatting” in ISDS, where an individual may act concurrently or subsequently as counsel and arbitrator in cases raising the same or similar legal issues.

Issues include issue conflicts, a lack of impartiality or independence (potentially arising out of a system of reciprocity and “clubbyness”), or the possibility that an arbitrator may be predisposed toward applying or interpreting standards of protection in a way that may be useful later in their role as counsel (e.g., an expansive or restrictive definition of Fair and Equitable Treatment, etc.). But the jury is still out regarding whether double hatting poses any material conflicts issues, except in rare and exceptional circumstances. Some practitioners take the view that blanket restrictions on counsel sitting as arbitrator (or vice versa) would be impracticable or detrimental to the practice of international arbitration, e.g., by significantly reducing the pool of potential arbitrators, etc.

One debater will argue that double hatting generally should not be allowed, and that it would be desirable for codes of conduct or institutional rules to restrict the practice. The other debater will argue that double hatting presents no material issues (except in rare circumstances) and thus should generally be permitted, and that restrictions need not be codified in codes of conduct or institutional rules.

The three commentators will then unpack the key points of the debate and provide further insight into this complex issue.

Moderator: Karima Sauma, Young ITA Mentorship Chair, Executive Director, International Center for Conciliation and Arbitration (AmCham Costa Rica), San Jose

Debaters: John D. Branson, Squire Patton Boggs, New York and Alexander Slade, Vinson & Elkins LLP, London

Commentators:

• Dr. Veronika Korom, Queritius; Assistant Professor of International Business Law, ESSEC Business School, Paris and Budapest
• Kate Brown de Vejar, Global Co-Chair of International Arbitration, DLA Piper, Mexico City
• Dr. Aloysius (Louie) Llamzon, King & Spalding, New York and Washington, D.C.

12:35-12:45 pm

CLOSING REMARKS

• Joseph E. Neuhaus, ITA Chair

Other Annual Meeting Activities

Wednesday, June 16

8:00 - 9:00 am CDT

Young ITA Committee Annual Meeting

9:00 – 10:30 am CDT

Executive Committee Annual Meeting

Thursday, June 17

9:00 - 10:00 am CDT

• ITA Arbitration Report Board of Reporters Annual Meeting
• ITA in Review Board of Editors Annual Meeting
• ITA In-House Counsel Task Force Meeting

1:30 – 2:00 pm CDT

Advisory Board Annual Meeting

2:00 – 3:00 pm CDT

Advisory Board Annual Reception

Friday, June 18

9:00 - 10:00 am CDT

• Americas Initiative Committee Annual Meeting
• Academic Council Annual Meeting

10:30 - 11:25 am CDT

Friday Morning Forum - Session 1

11:25 - 11:35 am CDT

Break

11:35 - 12:30 pm CDT

Friday Morning Forum - Session 2

1:00 - 2:00 pm CDT

Executive Committee Planning Meeting

TX MCLE Credit

This program is approved by the State Bar of Texas for a total of 5.0 hours, of which 4.0 credit hours will apply to ethics/professional responsibility credit. Course ID Number: 174124123.

MCLE credit will not be requested in any other jurisdiction, but attendees may be able to obtain credit in other jurisdictions by self-applying for credit or through reciprocity rules. ITA in-person conferences are typically accredited by all mandatory CLE states, but MCLE rules, including rules governing online programs, vary in each jurisdiction. Certain programs, subjects, and formats may not receive credit in certain jurisdictions and there may be specific rules regarding who may earn credit or the maximum number of credit hours that may be earned with specific formats. Please review the MCLE regulations and rules of your jurisdiction and contact your regulatory entity if you have specific questions about the jurisdiction’s MCLE rules.

Sponsorship Opportunities

Sponsorship Opportunities have been revised to recognize the special business pressures on our corporate and firm members this year, and to fit the online format, with new benefits and reduced rates ranging from $3,000 to $1,500.

For further information, please contact ITA Sponsorships Coordinator Lilly Hogarth at lhogarth@cailaw.org.

Other Information

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