AtlAS

Invitation to virtual AtlAS Lecture this Thursday, cosponsored by our Center and featuring international arbitration expert Horacio Grigera Naón

The University of Georgia School of Law Dean Rusk International Law Center is honored to host the 5th annual Atlanta International Arbitration Society Lecture at 6 p.m. this Thursday, April 23. The event will be held remotely this year due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation.

Delivering the lecture will be Dr. Horacio Grigera Naón, whose expertise in international arbitration spans more than 30 years, and who is now serving as a Distinguished Practitioner in Residence and the Director of the International Commercial Arbitration Center of the Washington College of Law, American University, Washington, D.C.

Grigera Naón’s previous positions include Secretary General of the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce and Senior Counsel for the International Finance Corporation. He holds LL.M. and S.J.D degrees from Harvard Law School, LL.B and LL.D. degrees from the School of Law of the University of Buenos Aires, and is a member of the Bars of the Argentine Federal, New York, District of Columbia and United States Supreme Court Bars.

This lecture series began in 2016 in honor of Glenn Hendrix, the founding president of the Atlanta International Arbitration Society, a non-profit organization that seeks to grow the international arbitration community in the southeastern United States. AtlAS sponsors the annual event in conjunction with academic institutions in the region – including Georgia Law, a founding AtlAS member.

This year’s event will begin with introductory remarks from AtlAS President Philip W. “Whit” Engle and Georgia Law Dean Peter B. “Bo” Rutledge.

Joining AtlAS and Georgia Law’s Dean Rusk International Law Center in presenting this year’s event is King & Spalding LLP, a founding law firm of AtlAS.

Registration for the free event is required and available here.

Georgia Law Dean Bo Rutledge, student Katherine Larsen publish commentary on promise of new international mediation treaty

A new treaty seems poised to raise the profile of mediation as a way of resolving disputes, according to commentary by the dean and a student researcher here at the University of Georgia School of Law.

Coauthoring the Daily Report article, entitled “Singapore Convention Presents an Opportunity for Georgia in Mediation,” were international dispute resolution expert Peter B. “Bo” Rutledge, Dean and Herman E. Talmadge Chair of Law at Georgia  Law, and 3L Katherine Larsen.

The United States belongs to a number of treaties – most notably, the UN Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, concluded in New York in 1958 and so known as the New York Convention – that make make arbitration awards enforceable. This membership, the article observed, “has given arbitration a comparative advantage over other forms of dispute resolution.”

But that could change once the 2018 UN Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation – named the Singapore Convention in recognition of the city where it was concluded last December –  enters into force. Some predict that could happen within a year, the authors wrote, then focused on the significance of this for the state of Georgia:

“Much like it adopted an international arbitration code, the state should consider enacting an international mediation law tied to the provisions of the Singapore Convention. Such legislation could enhance Georgia’s appeal as a mediation forum and build upon its reputation as a jurisdiction hospitable to business, including the resolution of business disputes.”

The full commentary is available here. A Global Atlanta news report on a related talk that Dean Rutledge delivered at the annual conference of the Atlanta International Arbitration Society is here.

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. 

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 hosts Hendrix Lecture by arbitration expert, Geneva Professor Gabrielle Kaufmann-Kohler

The University of Georgia School of Law Dean Rusk International Law Center is honored to host the second annual Hendrix Lecture of the Atlanta International Arbitration Society at 6 p.m. Monday, March 27, 2017, at its Atlanta campus, 3475 Lenox Road N.E.

Delivering the lecture will be Gabrielle Kaufmann-Kohler (left), a Professor of Law at the Geneva University Law School in Switzerland. Known worldwide for her expertise in international arbitration, she has:

► Acted in over 200 international arbitrations, mainly as an arbitrator; and

► Appeared on numerous institutional arbitration panels, including those of the International Chamber of Commerce, International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes, American Arbitration Association, London Court of International Arbitration, Singapore International Arbitration Centre, and the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission.

A partner at the Geneva law firm Lévy Kaufmann-Kohler, she formerly practiced law at Schellenberg Wittmer and Baker & McKenzie. She is a member of the Bars of Geneva and New York and of the American Arbitration Association, and  is the Honorary President of the Swiss Arbitration Association.

The Hendrix Lecture is named for Glenn P. Hendrix (right), a partner in the Atlanta office of Arnall Golden Gregory LLP and a founder of the Atlanta International Arbitration Society, also known as AtlAS. Georgia Law is among the founding member organizations of the Society, a non-profit organization that seeks to grow the international arbitration community in the southeastern United States.

This year’s Hendrix Lecture is jointly presented by AtlAS and the Dean Rusk International Law Center, and is part of the law school’s Georgia Women in Law Lead (Georgia WILL) initiative. It is cosponsored by Georgia Law’s Women Law Students Association and its International Law Society. Cooperating entities include the Atlanta Center for International Arbitration and Mediation, the Washington, D.C.-based American Society of International Law, JAMS, the Vienna International Arbitration Centre in Austria, and the International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution in New York City.

Registration, snacks, and drinks will begin at 6:00 p.m., and the lecture will begin at 6:30. There will be a reception to follow. A few seats still remain; please register and join us!