arbitration

Celebrating graduation and another great international law year

Just before University of Georgia School of Law students entered the Spring 2019 exam period, we at the law school’s Dean Rusk International Law Center took a moment to thank and congratulate the many students with whom we work.

As listed below, more than 50 of them will earn JD or LLM  degrees later this month. We were delighted to celebrate their achievements.

Among those thanked were our Dean Rusk International Law Center Student Ambassadors, of the 1L, 2L, 3L, and LLM classes who assist the Center with administrative duties, events, and research.

Also recognized were the many students who have taken part in initiatives like the Global Externship At-Home or Overseas, the Global Governance Summer School, NATO Externship, the Women, Peace & Security Project, Southeast Model African Union, the Legal Spanish Study Group, Louis B. Sohn Professional Development fellowships, Atlanta International Arbitration Society reporting, the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition, the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot, and leadership in the International Law Society and in Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law conferences.

Thanks and congratulations to all!

Class of 2019

Michael Ackerman Vis Moot
Saif-Ullah Ahmed Global Governance Summer School, Student Ambassador
Marc Bennett LLM’19 transferring to JD’21 curriculum, summer 2019 Global Extern
Lauren Brown Global Extern, NATO Externship, Women, Peace & Security Project
Casey Callahan Global Governance Summer School, Global Extern, Student Ambassador
Shummi Chowdhury Student Ambassador, Southeast Model African Union
Jennifer Cotton Global Governance Summer School, Global Extern, Jessup Moot
James Cox Global Governance Summer School, Global Extern
Edward Mills Culver Global Governance Summer School
Cristina De Aguiar Martins LLM
Jerry Dei LLM
Erin Doyle Women, Peace & Security Project, Student Ambassador
Garret Drogosch Vis Moot
Nicholas Duffey Global Governance Summer School, Global Extern
Linda Emanor LLM
Sarah Flanders Vis Moot
Brad Gerke Global Extern
Maximilian Goos LLM
Allison Gowens Jessup Moot
Roger Grantham Jr. Jessup Moot
Brian Griffin Global Governance Summer School, Global Extern, Student Ambassador, Legal Spanish Study Group, AtlAS Rapporteur
Kathryn Hagerman Women, Peace & Security Project
Wade Herring III Global Extern, Global Governance Summer School, Student Ambassador, Sohn Professional Development Fellow
Amanda Hoefer Southeast Model African Union
Evans Horsley Global Governance Summer School
Bailey Hutchison Student Ambassador
Trung Khuat LLM
Kristopher Kolb Global Governance Summer School, Student Ambassador
George Ligon Global Extern
Zachariah Lindsey Global Extern
Ning “Hannah” Ma LLM
Darshini Nair LLM’19 transferring to JD’21 curriculum, Student Ambassador
Philicia Nlandu LLM’17 transfer to JD’19
Teresa Fariña Núñez LLM
Lyddy O’Brien Global Extern, Student Ambassador, Sohn Professional Development Fellow, Jessup Moot, Executive Conference Editor of the Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law
Nils Okeson Global Governance Summer School, Global Extern, Student Ambassador, Vice President of the International Law Society
Gilbert Oladeinbo LLM’17 transfer to JD’19
Paolo Cariello Perez LLM
Anh Pham LLM
Matthew Poletti Global Extern, Legal Spanish Study Group
Taylor Samuels Women, Peace & Security Project
Rosari Sarasvaty LLM, AtlAS Rapporteur
Miles Skedsvold Legal Spanish Study Group
Whayoon Song LLM
Nicholas Steinheimer Global Extern, Dean Rusk International Law Center
Amir Tanhaei LLM, AtlAS Rapporteur, Vis Moot coach
Morgan Renee Thomas Editor in Chief of the Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law
Ezra Thompson Global Governance Summer School, Global Extern
Benjamin Torres Jessup Moot
John James Van Why Senior Conference Editor of the Georgia Journal of International and Comparative Law
Rebecca Wackym GEO, Southeast Model African Union
Eric Wilder Women, Peace & Security Project

Georgia Law students compete in Vis arbitration moot in Vienna, Austria

A team of students once again represented the University of Georgia School of Law at the annual Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot in Vienna, Austria. (prior posts)

From left, this year’s team comprised Thomas Paris, Gretchen Edelman, Savannah Jane Story, and Graham Goldberg. Among those who supported their efforts were numerous coaches: 3L Michael Ackerman, LLM candidate Amirhossein Tanhaei, Georgia Law Dean Peter B. “Bo” Rutledge, Christopher Smith (Georgia Law JD’13) and Sara Sargeantson Burns, both attorneys at King & Spalding LLP.

Goldberg reflected on his Vis experience, which included not only the team’s competition in Vienna but also its runner-up finish in the Vis Pre-Moot that the Atlanta International Arbitration Society (AtlAS) sponsored in March:

“Over this past year, I’ve sharpened my oral and written advocacy skills more than I thought possible, and broadened my legal horizons to the world of international arbitration.”

Georgia Law Dean Bo Rutledge, student Katherine Larsen to speak to Atlanta International Arbitration Society on ECJ ruling, proposed treaty

Later this week, international arbitration expert Peter B. “Bo” Rutledge, Dean and Herman E. Talmadge Chair of Law at the University of Georgia School of Law, will co-present with 2L Katherine Larsen at a luncheon meeting of the Atlanta International Arbitration Society (AtlAS). The lecture, entitled “Achmea and the Proposed International Mediation Convention: Implications for the U.S. Lawyer,” will take place 12 noon-1:30 p.m. this Friday, April 5, at the Atlanta office of King & Spalding.

The presentation will discuss the recent decision of the European Court of Justice in Achmea v. Slovakia, the proposed Singapore Convention on Mediation, and the implication of these developments for lawyers in the United States.

The meeting is open to the public. Persons interested in attending who are not AtlAS members should RSVP to ruskintlaw@uga.edu. 

International arbitrators and mediators to speak at Georgia Law

We at the University of Georgia School of Law Dean Rusk International Law Center welcome international practitioners and scholars to campus today for an International Arbitration and Mediation Roundtable.

Panelists include: Dr. Christof Siefarth, Partner at the Cologne, Germany-based law firm GÖRG; Dr. Klaus Peter Berger, Professor of Law at the University of Cologne; and Dr. Beate Berger, Cologne-based attorney and mediator. They will discuss contemporary issues in international arbitration and mediation, as well as career paths and opportunities for interested students.

MediationRoundtable

From left, Christof Siefarth, Klaus Peter Berger, and Beate Berger

Co-sponsoring the event with the Dean Rusk International Law Center is the Alternative Dispute Resolution Society and the International Law Society.

Details here.

Atlanta International Arbitration Society to explore skills and cultures in upcoming conference

atlas-logoThe Dean Rusk International Law Center is delighted to serve as a cooperating entity for the 7th annual conference of the Atlanta International Arbitration Society (AtlAS). Next week’s conference will take place on Monday, November 12, and Tuesday, November 13, and will explore the theme “Skills and Cultures: the Road Ahead for International Arbitration.”

The first day of the conference will feature four Tertulia sessions — or roundtable discussions — that will focus on cultural norms in international arbitrations, and how those norms may be distinct in different parts of the world. These conversation will set the stage for the second day of the conference, which will consist of panels exploring the skills useful in today’s multicultural international arbitration practice.

3 photosSpeakers and participants will come to Atlanta from around the world, as detailed in the full program, and will feature keynote remarks by: Ann Ryan Robertson, International Partner, Locke Lord, Houston; David W. Rivkin, Partner, Debevoise & Plimpton, New  York; and Olufunke Adekoya, Partner, AELEX, Lagos.

The conference is bookmarked by two events aimed at young practitioners. On Monday before the Tertulia sessions begin, the AtlAS Young Practitioners Group will present a panel, “Document and Data Management (and Protection) In International Arbitration.” It will feature experts from Accra, Atlanta, Singapore, and Paris. On Wednesday following the conference, the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators Young Members Group and the Alliance for Equality in Dispute Resolution will co-host “Re-wiring the Brain: Practical Steps to Address Inclusion and Diversity in International Dispute Resolution.” It will feature speakers from Chicago, London, and Washington, D.C.

Three University of Georgia School of Law students will serve as rapporteurs for the conference; we look forward to posting their reflections on the conference in due course.

 

Georgia Law students compete in Vis arbitration moot in Vienna

University of Georgia School of Law students traveled to Austria last week to take part in the 25th Annual Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot.

Pictured above in Vienna is the hardworking Georgia Law team that joined 366 other teams from across the world. From left: students Garret Drogosch, Wheaton Webb, Lanier Flanders, and Michael Ackerman, along with student coach Victoria Barker and attorney coach Sara S. Burns, an associate at the Atlanta office of King & Spalding.

International arbitrator Wallgren-Lindholm to speak at Georgia Law

We at the University of Georgia School of Law Dean Rusk International Law Center look forward to welcoming renowned international arbitrator Carita Wallgren-Lindholm to campus this Thursday, March 8. She will speak on “Due Process and Ethics in International Arbitration: What Rules and How to Apply Them” from 11:50 a.m.-12:50 p.m. in Room A-120, Hirsch Hall.

Wallgren-Lindholm is Chair of the Commission on Arbitration and Alternative Dispute Resolution of the International Chamber of Commerce, and has served as a member of that commission since 1996. She has also been a member since 2012 of the International Chamber of Commerce International Court of Arbitration. She is a founding partner of Lindholm Wallgren, a law firm based in Helsinki, Finland.

Cosponsoring her talk is the International Law Society, Georgia Law’s chapter of the International Law Students Association.

Details here.

In passing: David Caron (1952-2018)

The sudden news of the passing of my dear friend and colleague, Dr. David Caron, fills me with sad thoughts and happy memories.

Years ago, when I was starting out in international law, David – then a chaired professor at Berkeley, the law school an hour’s drive from my own – was a pillar of support. He was the 1st scholar to accept my invitation to speak at the 1st conference I organized, anchoring debate on “Reconstruction after Iraq” and publishing in our Cal-Davis journal an important analysis of claims commissions as a transitional justice tool.

Warm and witty, David once sent me a handwritten note of thanks for the “lovely bouquet” of pre-tenure reprints he’d received from me.

Both of us transplants from Back East, David and I shared an enthusiasm for California and enjoyed helping to cultivate a close-knit Left Coast international law community – even as we took part in events and activities across the globe.

David’s achievements truly are too numerous to mention. Among many other things, he was an inspiring President of the American Society of International Law, from 2010 to 2012. About the time he completed that term, he took emeritus status at Berkeley, and he and his wife, Susan Spencer, embarked on new adventures – 1st as Law Dean at King’s College London.  (A distinguished international arbitration specialist (see GAR obituary here), he had practiced at London’s 20 Essex Street Chambers since 2009. David, a proud graduate of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, also was a noted expert on the law of the sea.) In 2016, he was appointed a member of  the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal.

It was in this last capacity that I last saw David. The Global Governance Summer School sponsored by my current institution, the Dean Rusk International Law Center at the University of Georgia School of Law, brought us to The Hague not many months ago. The highlight of our legal-institution briefings was the half-day we spent as David’s guests in the lovely mansion that houses this 37-year-old claims tribunal. (It was not his 1st visit with Georgia Law students; David took part in our International Colloquium in 2008, and in the ASIL Midyear Meeting we hosted in 2012.)

With breaks for tea and biscuits – David was ever the gracious host – our students were treated to a candid discussion between David and Dr. Hossein Piran, Senior Legal Adviser. The two had served as tribunal law clerks years earlier, and the respect they showed one another provided an invaluable lesson about the promise of civil discourse and of the pacific settlement of international disputes.

That lesson is a most fitting way to commemorate David’s passing.

Pictured above, during our June 2017 visit to the Iran-U.S. Claims Tribunal, front from left: Ana Morales Ramos, Legal Adviser; Hossein Piran, Senior Legal Adviser; Kathleen A. Doty, Director of Georgia Law’s Dean Rusk International Law Center; David Caron, Tribunal Member; and Georgia Law Professor Diane Marie Amann, Faculty Co-Director of the Dean Rusk International Law Center. Back row, students Nicholas Duffey, Lyddy O’Brien, Brian Griffin, Wade Herring, Jennifer Cotton, Evans Horsley, Casey Callaghan, Kristopher Kolb, Nils Okeson, James Cox, and Ezra Thompson. This tribute is cross-posted from Diane Marie Amann.

An adventure in Germany: GEO student Nick Duffey on his externship at GÖRG

This is the 1st in a series of posts by University of Georgia School of Law students, writing on their participation in our 2017 Global Governance Summer School and Global Externship Overseas initiatives. Author of this post is 2L Nick Duffey.

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Before my Global Externship Overseas, I had an interest in transnational business, taxation, and trade, but I did not understand how businesses from different countries resolved their disputes. After spending my 1L summer working at GÖRG, a law firm in Cologne, Germany, it is amazing how much more perspective I have on international business law and practice.

International business transactions affect our everyday lives, from the products we use to the services we need to maintain our lifestyles and businesses. Most transactions, whether for the manufacture and shipping of products or for services rendered by a party from one nation to another, contain arbitration clauses or provide for another means of alternative dispute resolution. These dispute resolution mechanisms were the precise focus of my work at GÖRG.

My favorite project during my internship was an emergency arbitration at the 20170707_134329.jpgInternational Chamber of Commerce Court of Arbitration. The entire process, from start to finish, lasted only fifteen days. During this intense period, I was given a particular issue to research, and I was thrilled when the material I found was cited by the arbitrator in the order. The opportunity to see the whole arbitration action from start to finish, and to be integrated into the team working on the project, was very interesting.

I also worked on a project to compare the cost and rates of various arbitration institutions with the cost of litigating in the German court system. The goal was to determine the price at which each arbitration institution broke even with German courts. This required a lot of math and conversion of different currencies. Ultimately, I wrote a memo on my findings and created a presentation to demonstrate to clients the value of arbitration.

20170702_200454.jpgLiving and working in Germany was an adventure. The GÖRG building sits just north of the Deutzer Brücke, a bridge over the Rhine River in Köln; that is, Cologne. It is a modern building with seven floors. I shared an office with a German intern, and she was very helpful when I had questions about the German courts and legal system. I am also grateful to Christof Siefarth, a partner at the firm and an LL.M. graduate of Georgia Law, for his mentorship during the course of the summer and for organizing my externship.

In my free time, I had the chance to participate in cultural events and to travel within Germany. During Kölner Lichter, an annual festival of lights, people from all over Germany flocked to the city to watch the boat parade on the Rhine. I took a day trip south of Köln to visit Castle Drachenfels, a beautiful castle with a rich history. I also spent a weekend in Berlin, a must-see city in Germany. I enjoyed wonderful brunches until late in the afternoon, and visited sights such as the Brandenburg gate, Museum Island, and the Berlin Wall memorial, including the East Side Gallery.

Participating in a GEO at GÖRG is one of the best decisions I have ever made.  I have a new interest in arbitration, and I plan to apply to work at an international arbitration center this coming summer. I look forward to building a career in this field because I want to better understand the way businesses clash and resolve issues on an international level. This summer was amazing not only because I garnered valuable practical legal experience, but also because I got to do so on a wonderful adventure that I will remember for life.

Georgia Law team in Vienna for Vis International Arbitration Moot

Delighted to introduce the representatives of the University of Georgia School of Law who are competing this week in Vienna, Austria, at the 24th Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot. They continue a long Georgia Law tradition of participation in this annual event.

At either end are two Associates at King & Spalding LLP in Atlanta: Sara Sargeantson Burns, team coach, and Christopher Smith, who was a member of Georgia Law’s Vis team while earning his J.D. degree here; in the middle is 3L Emily Cox, a member of last year’s competition team and this year its student coach. Also pictured, from the left of Burns to right, are 2L team members Jared Magnuson, Victoria Barker, Maria Kachniarz, and Wheaton Webb.

Viel Glück!