Dear CIDRA Friends,

Welcome to the Chicago International Dispute Resolution Association’s 2012 edition Newsletter. We present you with updates on events CIDRA organized and held this year:

An Expert Witness View of International Arbitration

The Chicago International Dispute Resolution Association opened its fall program season on Thursday, October 18, 2012, with a continental breakfast presentation by John Levitske, Managing Director, Commercial Disputes of Duff & Phelps, at the firm's Chicago office on 311 South Wacker Drive, 10th Floor Conference Center, Chicago.

Mr. Levitske discussed Real World Experiences in International Arbitration: The Expert Witness' Perspective. John has served as an expert witness, consultant and co-arbitrator in various international arbitrations involving accounting, valuation, or economic damages issues. Mostly recently, he served as an expert witness in two international arbitrations in Europe and was selected to the Who's Who of International Commercial Arbitration - Experts 2011.

Fundamentals of International Arbitration

The NATO Summit in Chicago came off well in May, as did CIDRA's pre-summit briefing on the issues discussed. After that CIDRA returned to commercial law with an expert panel on the "Fundamentals of International Arbitration” on Tuesday evening, July 17 at Baker & McKenzie LLP, 300 East Randolph Street, Chicago.

The North American Alliance in the 21st Century: NATO was formed in 1949 in response to the threat posed by the Soviet Union. That threat largely disappeared with the Soviet collapse 20 years ago. The Alliance was intended not just to deter Soviet expansionism, however, but also to prevent the revival of nationalist militarism in Europe, and to encourage European political integration. In the words of the first NATO Secretary General, Lord Ismay, NATO's goal was "to keep the Russians out, the Americans in, and the Germans down." NATO's principal operational mission today is its International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan (echoing the decade of Soviet intervention there that began in 1979). What are NATO's other security and political goals? Should its membership continue to expand and with what consequences? How will Europe's financial and political challenges affect the Alliance's future?

Leading our conversation was DePaul Law School Professor Alberto R. Coll, Director of DePaul's European and Latin American Legal Studies Program. Before joining DePaul, Dr. Coll chaired the Strategic Research Department of the U.S. Naval War College, where he also served as dean of the Center for Naval Warfare Studies. During the first Bush administration he served as deputy assistant secretary of defense, overseeing the Defense Department's policy, strategy and resources in areas of special operations forces and "low intensity" conflict, including counterterrorism. Dr. Coll is the author of The Wisdom of Statecraft, among other books and articles on international relations and law. He graduated from Princeton University and University of Virginia Law School.

Lord David Hacking on "Meeting Crises in Arbitration Practice"

On Wednesday, April 18, 2012, CIDRA presented a breakfast discussion with British barrister and international arbitrator and mediator Lord David Hacking. Lord Hacking spoke on "Meeting Crises in Arbitration Practice." He also commented on Cape Flattery v. Titan Maritime, 647 F.3d 914 (9th Cir. 2011), the subject of CIDRA's recent Supreme Court amicus brief, and Jivraj v. Hashwani, a controversial English case on appointment of arbitrators with religious qualifications. This special event was at Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP, 525 West Monroe Street, Chicago and hosted by Alexander Vesselinovitch.

David Hacking is a Chartered Arbitrator in London. For the last 40 years, he has undertaken commercial litigation and arbitration cases. He was educated at Cambridge University and Inns of Court School of Law. He practices from Littleton Chambers and undertakes appointments as counsel, arbitrator and mediator in commercial disputes. Since January 2000 he has issued over 140 arbitration awards.

As Lord Hacking, he was a member of the House of Lords for 28 years and from 1989 to 1999 a Member of the House of Lords Select Committee on the European Communities. He was actively involved in the reform of English arbitration law and paved the way in Parliament for the 1979 UK Arbitration Act and played a prominent part during the passage through Parliament of the 1996 UK Arbitration Act.

Doing Business in Hong Kong, China & Asia: International Trade Transactions & Hong Kong's Dispute Resolution Service

In conjunction with the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, CIDRA hosted Teresa Cheng, Vice Chairperson of the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre and Vice-President of the ICC International Court of Arbitration at a breakfast on Monday, March 26, 2012. The event was held at the University Club, 76 East Monroe Street, Chicago and was featuring:

Ms Teresa Cheng, GBS, SC, JP, Vice Chairperson, Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre, shared her insights and extensive Hong Kong/ China experience in arbitration, mediation and Counsel to international companies doing business in China.

Mr Alfred Ho, Vice President, Global Financial Institutions & Risk Management, FirstMerit Bank, discussed issues and challenges faced by U.S. companies in international trade transactions with a focus on the China and Asia markets.

Mr Peter Baugher, President, Chicago International Dispute Resolution Association, & Partner, Schopf & Weiss LLP, moderated the Q&A and made introductory remarks.

Ramon Mullerat to Update CIDRA on ICC Rules

Our good friend, Ramon Mullerat, spoke on the new 2011 ICC Rules of Arbitration at CIDRA breakfast on Wednesday, March 14, 2012, at The John Marshall Law School, 315 South Plymouth Court, Chicago.

Mr. Mullerat is an attorney at Iuris Vallas law firm in Barcelona, Spain. In addition to being a former law professor at Barcelona University and an adjunct professor at the John Marshall Law School in Chicago, Mr. Mullerat has held many distinguished positions. These include the Presidency of the Council of the Bars and Law Societies of the European Union, Co-Chair of the Human Rights Institute of the International Bar Association, and Chairman of Commission 2020 of the International Bar Association. Mr. Mullerat is a world-renowned author and speaker, and an expert in international commercial arbitration. Please join us for what is sure to be an informative presentation and discussion. An English summary of Mr. Mullerat's recent paper on this subject could be found in the Archived Articles soon.

Loyola Willem Vis Arbitration Moot

  CIDRA and the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators were again sponsoring the Loyola Willem Vis Arbitration Moot. Law students were prepared for the Vienna and Hong Kong Vis Arbitration competitions at the Loyola University of Chicago School of Law Pre-Moot on Saturday, February 18, 2012. For information on the Vis: http://cisgw3.law.pace.edu/vis.html and www.cisgmoot.org (Hong Kong).

Arbitration of Foreign Investor Claims

Launching 2012 was San Diego School of Law Professor Ralph Folsom, speaking on "Arbitration of Foreign Investor Claims Against Governments," Friday, January 27, 2012, at John Marshall Law School, 315 South Plymouth Court, Chicago. Professor Folsom, whose two-volume Practitioner Treatise on International Business Transactions (3rd edition West) had just been published, delivered his 11th annual lecture on international business and trade law. 

ICC Arbitration Update

Litigator, arbitrator, former federal prosecutor James Ferguson of Mayer Brown LLP updated us on ICC arbitrations, Tuesday morning, January 31, 2012, at Mayer Brown LLP, 71 South Wacker Drive, Chicago. He illustrated his survey with case studies on Big Pharma arbitrations. Mr. Ferguson is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. He is also a registered neutral with the American Arbitration Association, the International Chamber of Commerce, and the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce.