The ROAP Finals on 11 December 2020 brought to a close the inaugural editions of our advanced remote oral advocacy and cross-examination courses, by featuring the most persuasive and skilled participants on each course: Vanessa Moracchini and Trisha Mitra, with experts Nikki Coles and Vladimir Nefediev from the cross-examination course, and Clàudia Baró Huelmo, Elizabeth (“Lizzie”) Chan, Heather Clark and Camilla Gambarini from the oral submissions course (see their bios below).
The finalists were assessed by a panel of world-class arbitrators consisting of The Honorable Charles N. Brower (President), Wendy Miles QC and Professor Stephan W. Schill (short bios below).
Introductory and closing remarks were delivered respectively by Hafez Virjee, President of Delos, and Reza Mohtashami QC, Chair of the ROAP Steering Committee.
This inaugural ROAP edition was dedicated to the late Professor David D. Caron. Find out more about him below.
For a write-up of the ROAP 2020 Finals, see Elizabeth Chan and Anna Jermak, “Dispute Resolution’s Inaugural Remote Oral Advocacy Programme Finals, on 11 December 2020, by Webinar” (ArbitralWomen Newsletter, Issue 44 p. 32, February 2021).
with the support of:
Professor David D. Caron served as a Member of the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal, until his passing in February 2018; he also served as a Judge ad hoc on the International Court of Justice. He was previously the Dean of the Dickson Poon School of Law of King’s College London and, until his passing, was a member of the faculty.
Prof. Caron was a Founding Advisor of Delos, and a member of the court of the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA), the Institut de Droit International and the Board of Editors of the American Journal of International Law. He was further a member of Chambers at 20 Essex Street and a Bencher of Inner Temple. He was formerly the C. William Maxeiner Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of California, at Berkeley, and had served as the President of the American Society of International Law from 2010 to 2012. Prof. Caron received his Doctorate in Law from the University of Leiden.
THE ROAP 2020 FINALS TRIBUNAL
The Hon. Charles N. Brower’s 55-year career in the law has combined extensive practice at the bar with distinguished public service, both national and international. For nearly 40 years he has focused on public international law and international dispute resolution. As counsel or arbitrator he has handled cases on all six continents, principally under the rules of the ICC, UNCITRAL, LCIA, AAA, United Nations Compensation Commission, ICSID, Stockholm Chamber of Commerce, Insurance and Reinsurance Arbitration Society and LMAA.
Charles started his career with White & Case LLP in New York, before serving for four years in the United States Department of State in Washington, DC, concluding as its Acting Legal Adviser. He then rejoined White & Case LLP, co-founding its Washington, DC office, where his practice came to be comprised almost exclusively of substantial international arbitrations.
He has served continuously since 1983 as a judge of the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal in The Hague, The Netherlands. That service was interrupted for some months in 1987 by White House service as Deputy Special Counsellor to President Reagan. Charles resumed partnership in White & Case LLP from 1988 until joining 20 Essex Street in 2001. Since 2014 he has also served as a Judge ad hoc at the International Court of Justice.
Wendy Miles QC is a specialist in international arbitration and dispute resolution with a focus on private and public international law.
With over 25 years of experience, Wendy has advised on international law matters and conducted arbitrations under all the major institutions and ad hoc. She has advised a wide range of multinationals, including corporates, sovereign States and State entities and multilateral State organisations.
Wendy has assisted clients across numerous sectors, including energy, natural resources, banking, insurance, financial services, gaming, manufacturing, pharmaceutical, licensing, telecommunications and construction. She has sat as arbitrator since 2005, as sole, co-arbitrator and chair under most major arbitral institutions.
In the field of climate change and finance, Wendy acts as global coordinating counsel to various major corporates in relation to climate change transition, disclosure, reporting, compliance and investment. She regularly advises investors and States in respect of climate related physical, transition and litigation risk. She works closely with a number of States in relation to climate transition regulatory structures to mobilise finance and formulate climate investment policy. She also works closely with the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and has represented it at the Conferences of the Parties on climate since 2015.
Prof. Stephan W. Schill is Professor of International and Economic Law and Governance at the University of Amsterdam, specializing in international investment law and investor-State dispute settlement. He is admitted to the bar in Germany and New York, is a Member of the ICSID List of Arbitrators, and acts regularly as arbitrator in investor-State arbitrations. He also serves as Co-Editor-in-Chief of The Journal of World Investment and Trade and General Editor of ICCA Publications and the Yearbook of Commercial Arbitration.
THE ROAP 2020 FINALISTS
Clàudia Baró Huelmo is an associate in the arbitration team at Withersworldwide. She specialises in public international law and international arbitration. She has acted as counsel for States and corporate entities in international arbitration proceedings, mainly under ICSID and UNCITRAL Rules, and has extensive experience in the energy and financial services sectors. She advises European, Middle Eastern and American States in public international law matters such as statehood, State succession, territorial and maritime boundaries, new approaches to trade treaties with the United Kingdom post-Brexit, business and human rights, international institutional law, WTO law, and sanctions. She holds an LLM with distinction in Public International Law from the London School of Economics and Political Science. Prior to that, she graduated top of her class from the Autonomous University of Barcelona. She later joined the faculty and taught Public International Law, International Criminal Law, International Institutional Law and International Human Rights Law. Follow on Linkedin.
Elizabeth (“Lizzie”) Chan is an Associate at Three Crowns, specialising in international commercial arbitration and international investment arbitration. She is triple-qualified in England and Wales (as a Solicitor-Advocate), New York and Hong Kong. Before joining Three Crowns, Lizzie worked in the international arbitration group of a large law firm in its New York and Hong Kong offices. She also interned at the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre. Lizzie is an ArbitralWomen Board Director and teaches the LLM programmes at LSE and Queen Mary University of London. She obtained her LLM from Yale Law School as a Fulbright Scholar. She served as an editor of the Yale Journal of International Law and was part of the Yale team in the Willem C. Vis (East) International Commercial Arbitration Moot. Lizzie received a BA (French and Political Studies) and LLB(Hons) from the University of Auckland. Follow on Linkedin.
Heather Clark is a Legal Adviser for Judge Herbert Kronke at the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal (IUSCT) in The Hague. Prior to joining the IUSCT, Heather was an associate at White & Case LLP in London, Paris, and New York where she worked in the international arbitration group and primarily on construction and engineering disputes. She was also previously an Assistant Legal Counsel at the Permanent Court of Arbitration and a patent agent at Ridout & Maybee LLP in Ottawa. Heather obtained her JD from Osgoode Hall Law School and is qualified in Ontario, New York, and England and Wales (Solicitor). She also holds degrees in engineering physics from Queen’s University and physics from The University of Auckland. She is a Canadian and New Zealand citizen. Follow on Linkedin.
Nikki Coles is a Senior Director with Alvarez & Marsal’s Disputes and Investigations practice in London. She is an experienced forensic accountant, with over 20 years of accounting experience, of which 18 is in dispute resolution matters and financial investigations. Nikki has extensive experience in expert witness engagements, covering valuations, loss of profits, breach of contract, and sale and purchase disputes, in the context of domestic litigation and international arbitration under the major fora (ICC, ICSID, LCIA, UNCITRAL, CEPANI, HKIAC, SIAC). She has also been involved in many accounting and regulatory investigations. Follow on Linkedin.
Camilla Gambarini is a Senior Associate at Withers in London. She is qualified to practise in Italy and England and Wales, and specialises in international investment treaty and commercial arbitration under the CAM, CIAC, ICC, ICSID, LCIA and UNCITRAL arbitration rules. Her public international law experience includes advising on the protection of investments under international investment treaties, sanctions, boundary disputes, natural resources and human rights. She served as a Co-Chair of Young ICCA (2018-2020) and is on the board of the American Review of International Arbitration at Columbia Law School, on the Lexis PSL Arbitration Consulting Editorial Board and is an Editor of Jus Mundi Wiki Notes. She is a recommended Lawyer in 2020, 2021 Legal 500 UK (International Arbitration and Public International Law) and is recognised in Who’s Who Legal (Arbitration 2021: Future Leaders -Non-Partners). She holds a Master’s Degree from Columbia Law School, a Master in International Law from the Graduate Institute and a Laurea Magistrale from Università Cattolica of Milan. She speaks English, French, Italian, and Spanish, and is learning Russian. Follow on Linkedin.
Trisha Mitra: she is an Associate with the International Arbitration group at Shearman & Sterling LLP, Paris. She is dual-qualified as a Solicitor in England and Wales (pending admission) and Advocate in India. She has experience working as counsel and tribunal secretary in investment and commercial arbitrations under major institutional rules such as ICSID, UNCITRAL, ICC LCIA and SIAC. She has represented clients across diverse industry sectors such as renewable energy, oil and gas, construction, mining, telecommunications, information management and pharmaceutical. Trisha has previously worked with Professor Pierre Tercier, the international arbitration group of a leading law firm in London and top disputes practices in India. She is the Co-Managing Editor of the European Investment Law and Arbitration Review, teaches at the Advance Program in International Investment Law of the Paris Bar School and is the India representative in the Asia-Pacific Forum for International Arbitration. Trisha obtained her LL.M. in International Dispute Settlement (MIDS) as a Hans Wilsdorf Scholar and received her B.A, LL.B. from Symbiosis Law School with an Advocate SK Jain Scholarship for Topper of B.A., LL.B. Follow on Linkedin.
Vanessa Moracchini: she is an associate in the London office of Three Crowns LLP. Her practice encompasses both international commercial and investment treaty arbitration, with a focus on cases involving Europe and Latin America. She has represented parties and served as tribunal secretary in disputes in the renewable energy, electrical power, petroleum, construction, and banking industries. She has acted in arbitrations heard under a range of rules and administered by different institutions, including the ICC, SCC, PCA, and ICSID. Prior to joining Three Crowns, Vanessa trained in the dispute resolution practices of two international law firms based in Paris. She has also interned at the United Nations Office of Legal Affairs Treaty Section in New York City and at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in San José. Vanessa qualified in Paris, and speaks English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese. Follow on Linkedin.
Vladimir Nefediev: he is a Partner in the PwC forensics practice in Central and Eastern Europe, based in Moscow. He primarily focuses on disputes analysis and investigations. He has been working at PwC since 2004 and during his career has spent four years on international secondment in the Middle East. Vladimir has a breadth of experience covering breach of contract, breach of warranties, loss of profit claims, construction claims, disputes arising after acquisitions and disposals of business and expert determination work, many aspects of accounting and financial matters in the course of disputes. He has acted as an expert witness for states and corporate entities in local and international arbitration proceedings. Vladimir has led various expert witness engagements under ICSID, DIFC –LCIA and UNCITRAL rules. Vladimir is a fellow member of ACCA and graduated from the Russian Economic Academy named after G.V. Plekhanov. Follow on Linkedin.
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Find out more about the ROAP programme here.
