International arbitration often brings together arbitrators, counsel and parties from different jurisdictions with varying legal cultures and litigation practices – e.g. East vs West; Common Law vs Civil Law. Given this backdrop, what makes for effective advocacy in international arbitration? In this panel discussion, arbitrators and counsel from diverse legal backgrounds will share their views on how approaches to legal fact-finding may differ among various jurisdictions, and what one should accordingly bear in mind when conducting advocacy in an international setting. Aspects of international arbitration that the panellists may explore include:
1. Pleadings and written submissions;
2. Discovery and evidentiary procedures;
3. Oral advocacy and examination of witnesses; and
4. Other cultural considerations.
*This event is an in-person event.
Barrister, Advocate and Arbitrator
Toby Landau KC is a barrister, advocate and arbitrator, and a member of the Bars of England & Wales, Singapore, New York, the BVI and Northern Ireland, and registered in the DIFC. He practises in London as a sole practitioner and in Singapore from Duxton Hill Chambers (Singapore Group Practice). As Counsel, he has argued hundreds of major international commercial, investor-State and inter-state arbitrations, as well as ground-breaking cases in the highest courts of England, Singapore, Hong Kong, Pakistan and the Caribbean. Since April 2012, he has been a member of the Panel of Advisors to the Attorney-General of Singapore. As Arbitrator, he has extensive experience in commercial and investor-State disputes under most of the world’s leading ad hoc and institutional rules. He is Visiting Professor at Kings College London; a Vice President of the SIAC Court of Arbitration; Member of the Governing Board of ICCA; Fellow of the CIArb and Chartered Arbitrator; Vice-Chairman of the Saudi Centre for Commercial Arbitration; UK delegate to the UNCITRAL Working Group on Arbitration (1994-2013). He was a draftsman of the English Arbitration Act 1996, amongst many other laws and sets of rules. He holds a first-class law degree and a first class BCL from Oxford University (Eldon Scholar), and an LL.M. from Harvard Law School (Kennedy Scholar).
Partner, Schellenberg Wittmer Ltd
Elliott Geisinger heads Schellenberg Wittmer's International Arbitration Group. For almost three decades, he has acted as counsel and arbitrator in complex commercial disputes, in particular in investor-state cases and in international construction and engineering disputes. He also regularly represents clients in arbitration-related court proceedings, having argued several leading cases.
Elliott Geisinger was President from 2014 to 2019 of the Swiss Arbitration Association ("ASA"), one of the world's foremost thought leaders in international arbitration, and is now Honorary President. He is also a member of the Board of FRANCARBI.
Since 2015, Elliott Geisinger has been giving a yearly Certificate Course on international construction contracts at Istanbul Bilgi University, where he is the co-founder of the "Istanbul International Construction Conferences" project. He also teaches at the yearly course on Professional Arbitration Skills at the School of Law of the University of Aberdeen.
After graduating from the School of Law of the University of Geneva in 1986, where he then obtained a Master of Laws in 1990, Elliott Geisinger served as a teaching and research assistant in private international law from 1986 to 1992. He was a trainee and then an associate with another business law firm in Geneva before joining Schellenberg Wittmer in 1996 and becoming a partner in 2002.
Partner, Head – International Arbitration, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas
Shaneen has over three decades of experience in in complex commercial disputes, often with cross-border issues involved. She is dual qualified – as a solicitor in India and also in England & Wales. She is also an Advocate on Record, Supreme Court, and a Registered Foreign Lawyer of the Singapore International Commercial Court.
Shaneen focuses on arbitration (both domestic and international), having represented clients in proceedings administered by various international arbitral institutions as also in ad hoc arbitrations. She has also advised in relation to investor-state disputes.
Shaneen also has extensive experience in commercial litigation, having represented parties in various courts and tribunal across India, including the NCLT, High Courts and the Supreme Court of India.
She has acted in a wide variety of disputes relating to commercial contracts, post M&A, infrastructure and construction projects, financial and structured products, etc. Her expertise lies in advising parties in respect of their dispute resolution strategy and representation in multi-forum and multi-jurisdictional disputes.
Shaneen is appointed on the Council of the Mumbai Centre for International Arbitration (MCIA) and is an ambassador of Asia Pacific Arbitration Group of the International Bar Association (IBA). She was a Member of the Court of Arbitration of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) from 2018-2022. She is a member of the Expert Committee for setting up the proposed International Arbitration Centre for the GIFT International Financial Services Centre in Gujarat, India.
Shaneen is ranked for her arbitration practice by Who’s Who Legal – Arbitration, as a Thought Leader; Asia Law, The Legal 500, and, Chambers & Partners – Asia-Pacific, Benchmark Litigation, amongst others.
International Partner, King & Wood Mallesons
Jessica is a widely recognized leading international arbitration and dispute resolution specialist with close to 30 years' experience working with international arbitration institutions and leading firms. She is currently the joint global head of international arbitration practice of KWM.
Constantly ranked and recommended by leading legal media including Chambers, WWL, Legal 500, and ALB, Jessica is one of the very few leading international arbitration practitioners (acting as counsel and arbitrator) with dual qualifications (China and New York) as well as extensive cross-border dispute resolution experience between Chinese/Asian and Western parties.
Jessica focuses her practice on international arbitration, litigation and alternative disputes resolution. She sits regularly as arbitrator in commercial arbitration cases, and is listed on the international arbitrator panels of the SIAC, HKIAC, CIETAC, ICDR/AAA, AIAC, KCAB, CEAC etc. Jessica is a court member of SIAC Court of Arbitration, a member of the International/ Asia Advisory Committee of the AAA/ICDR, a member of the CEAC Advisory Board, Vice President of the UIA Litigation Committee and China Chapter Chair of NYSBA (New York State Bar Association) International Section.
Partner, Nishimura & Asahi
Chié Nakahara specializes in international litigation and arbitration. The disputes she typically handles relate to M&A, distributorship, licensing, franchising, and the termination of such continuous contracts, construction, product liability, corporate governance, intellectual property, finance and other commercial matters. She has acted in a large number of complex and high profile litigations and arbitrations. She serves as a panel of arbitrators at Korean Commercial Arbitration Board International, Singapore International Arbitration Centre, and also as a registered arbitrator at the Daiichi Tokyo Bar Arbitration Center.
WongPartnership LLP
Daniel Gaw is a Partner at WongPartnership LLP. His practice focuses on international arbitration and litigation. He has represented corporate clients and sovereign states in multi-billion-dollar disputes and investor-state arbitrations across various industries.
Daniel is currently an APAC member of the YSIAC Council. He was twice appointed as a Young Independent Counsel by the Supreme Court of Singapore to provide submissions on appeals raising significant legal issues of public interest. Previously, he was a Justices' Law Clerk at the Supreme Court of Singapore, an adjunct faculty of the Singapore Management University, and a Law Clerk for the Competition Appeal Board.