The Legal 500

Work Department

Litigation – commercial, arbitration, ADR, mediation, international commercial arbitration, international corporate investigations and defence.

Position

Partner in the firm’s international dispute resolution group and international corporate investigations and defence group, based in the London office; his practice focuses on complex litigation and international arbitration matters, internal investigations, in particular regarding compliance with corrupt practices legislation, as well as conducting compliance assessments and creating and implementing appropriate compliance programmes and procedures. Mr Seeger has experience in a variety of international arbitration and English High Court matters in a wide range of sectors, as well as experience in the field of internal investigations, compliance advice and white-collar crime. Recent representations include: Ferrostaal AG, a global provider of industrial services in plant construction and engineering, in an extensive internal compliance investigation relating to allegations of corruption and other wrongdoing in several jurisdictions; numerous clients on compliance issues arising from the implementation of the new UK Bribery Act, including reviewing and devising compliance manuals and programmes; a leading energy group on potential exposure under current UK bribery legislation; representation of the late Badri Patarkatsishvili, a prominent and very wealthy Georgian businessman and presidential candidate, in disputes with the Georgian government and his principal heirs and family in claims in six jurisdictions concerning substantial assets; Siemens AG’s audit committee in connection with a worldwide investigation into possible corrupt payments to government officials leading to an early settlement with the US and German authorities; Occidental Exploration and Production Company in its successful defence to a jurisdictional challenge against a US$75m UNCITRAL arbitration award brought by the Republic of Ecuador in the English High Court and Court of Appeal; a European media company in a multimillion-dollar ICC arbitration sited in Amsterdam regarding its ownership interest in a major television station in the Ukraine, including co-ordinating and participating in related local court proceedings; a multinational petroleum company in an ICC arbitration regarding the construction of a preferential purchase rights provision in an international joint operating agreement based on the 1990 AIPN Model Form; a major US construction and engineering corporation in adjudication and arbitration proceedings in London relating to a delay and disruption claim in connection with a PFI project; and a South East Asian defence agent in ad hoc arbitration proceedings in London against a major US defence contractor for wrongful termination. Mr Seeger’s wide-ranging dispute resolution experience also includes arbitrations under the LCIA, UNCITRAL and the City Disputes Panel Rules, a jurisdictional challenge in the High Court to a derivative shareholder action and proceedings relating to an alleged monopoly contravention. Additional cases on which he has advised include the co-ordination of a defence strategy for a major online gambling provider across various European jurisdictions for alleged breaches of local licensing legislation, including a complaint to the European Commission.

Career

Spent five years working in the international arbitration, dispute resolution and EU/competition law groups at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer; admitted to practice in England and Wales 2000; Debevoise and Plimpton, London 2003; partner 2008.

Languages

German, Greek, French.

Education

University of Oxford (1996 MA law with law studies in Europe); Institut d’Etudes Européennes, Université Libre de Bruxelles (1997 Diplome d’Etudes Complémentaires and Diplome d’Etudes Spécialisées en Droit Européen).