Publish time: Thu May 12 17:13:14 CST 2016
With a growing number of Chinese enterprises going abroad, more and more enterprises start to have realistic necessity of participation in cross-border dispute resolution. It is therefore a significant issue for Chinese enterprises and their in-house counsels as to how they can better work on their international arbitrations. On the afternoon of April 20 2016, The 9th In-house Counsel Forum jointly held by the Beijing Arbitration Commission / the Beijing International Arbitration Center (the “BAC”) and the Center on China Corporate Legal Affair Management was just focused on this topic.
The forum was entitled “How to Manage Your International Arbitration Counsel”, which was moderated by Dr. Chen Fuyong, Deputy Secretary General of the BAC. Ms. Melanie Willems, Head of International Arbitration at Andrew Kurth LLP, Mr. Esly Markus, Partner of International Arbitration at Andrew Kurth LLP, Mr. Sun Wei, Arbitrator of the BAC and Partner of Zhonglun Law Firm and Mr. Thomas Tang, Arbitrator of the BAC, Senior Counsel of JunZeJun Law Offices and the former IBM (Great China) Chief Counsel were invited as keynote speakers.
Dr. Chen Fuyong The Forum
The event started with the welcome speech by Mr. Li Tiezheng, Chief Operating Officer of the Center on China Corporate Legal Affair Management. Mr. Li welcomed the attendees on behalf of the hosting institutions, stressed that the series event, jointly organized by the BAC and the Center on China Corporate Legal Affair Management, was a platform where senior professionals could share their experience and a stage where in-house counsels could have exchanges and communication.
Mr. Li Tiezheng
Ms. Melanie Willems spoke on handling the early stage of disputes on the basis of typical arbitration cases she has represented. She was of the opinion that in-house counsels should focus on contracts during the early stage of disputes, smartly making use of contractual provisions and learning about international arbitral proceedings as well as the features of the disputes, so as to select the right outside counsels according to the specific circumstances. She also stressed on a full assessment of risks prior to the initiation of arbitration, as well as an overall utilization of diversified dispute resolution mechanism to resolve disputes. Meanwhile, Ms. Willems gave constructive suggestions as to how lawyers prepare bidding documents and better show their competence to enterprises based on her extensive experience. She suggested that lawyers should highlight their expertise by providing the preliminary opinions and analysis of the cases.
Ms. Melanie Willems
Starting from a practical case, Mr. Esly Markus clarified the key issues enterprises should pay attention to when facing arbitration from perspectives of cost and time control as well as risk management in international arbitration. In particular, he stressed that it is important to have a sound understanding of international arbitration, reasonable enforcement of legal rights, and timely strategy adjustment when attending international arbitration proceedings. In addition, Mr. Markus made an introduction of the respective roles and responsibilities of in-house counsels and outside counsels in international arbitration from the perspective of the coordination and cooperation between in-house counsels and outside counsels. He was of the opinion that in-house counsels act as the key link between corporate decision makers and their outside lawyers, and can ensure an effective connection of resource and a smooth transfer of information. He suggested enterprises to set up a workgroup when dealing with international arbitrations, which is to be composed of various professionals and competent to provide strong support to outside lawyers.
Mr. Esly Markus
Thereafter, Mr. Sun Wei, Arbitrator of the BAC and Partner of Zhonglun Law Firm, made a presentation on cross-border collaboration of co-counselling. Through the eyes of a Chinese lawyer and based on his own experience, Mr. Sun made an in-depth analysis of the necessity of cross-border collaboration of lawyers and the difficulties thereof, as well as the assistance between international lawyers. He thought that lawyers from different jurisdictions should have strong teamwork spirit, and clear division of workload in order to produce advantages in their respective areas of expertise. Meanwhile, he also addressed on the roles that Chinese lawyers play in international arbitration. He pointed out that Chinese lawyers should become the core outside counsels of Chinese enterprises in international arbitration, providing the overall case management plan and acting as the key channel of communication between international lawyers and domestic enterprises.
Mr. Sun Wei
Mr. Thomas Tang clarified what international arbitration is like in the eyes of an arbitrator. He started his presentation by comparing the differences between international arbitration and domestic arbitration, and interpreted international arbitration proceedings from the perspective of arbitrator, with a detailed illustration as to how parties and counsels in international arbitration submit written materials, attend preliminary meetings and make pre-hearing preparations. He suggested Chinese enterprises to actively cooperate with the arbitral tribunals with respect to the procedure arrangement, and to submit written materials strictly in conformity with standards. He also pointed out that both the materials submitted and claims requested should be clearly targeted, and cross-examination of undue number of witnesses as well as offensive words and strategies during oral hearings should be avoided. Mr. Thomas Tang also introduced the process of arbitral tribunals’ deliberation and decision-making in international arbitration.
Mr. Thomas Tang
The presentations were followed by an active Q&A session between speakers and audience on issues such as the engagement of solicitors and barristers in arbitrations within the UK and British commonwealth, the practice of procedural orders in international arbitration.
Q&A session
As a platform of legal practice, the In-house Counsel Forum aims at the promotion of experience and connections sharing among in-house counsels and the improvement of their capability of dispute resolution design and dispute risks management, and by way of research and colloquia on issues in corporate legal risk management practice. The forum has attracted extensive attention from the community of in-house counsels ever since the launch thereof in 2012. We welcome more colleagues within the legal community and anyone interested in diversified dispute resolution to continue to pay attention to, and participate in, the BAC’s seminars and colloquia.