Event information
The Legal 500 looks forward to welcoming you back to the second edition of the Commercial Arbitration Summit. This year we will be looking at a number of increasingly critical, inter-related practices that are of ever-greater importance for companies and corporates operating in Germany. With the support of Clifford Chance, Allen & Overy, Busse Disputes and Manner Spangenberg, the Commercial Arbitration Summit will bring together corporate lawyers from the most important companies in the country. In addition, attendees can look forward to a sophisticated discussion of leading topics specifically tailored to the German landscape, along with networking drinks to complete the evening.
Agenda
12.00pm – Registration and light networking lunch
12.50pm – Opening remarks
Paul Hauser, rechtsanwalt, counsel, Clifford Chance
1.10pm – Discussion between regional arbitral institutions
Our first panel features regional arbitration institutions. Their representatives will offer the audience a unique debate on some of the most relevant legal topics of the day in the fields of commercial arbitration and dispute resolution.
- Simon Manner, partner, MANNER SPANGENBERG
- James Menz, founding partner at rothorn legal and board member of German Arbitration Institute (DIS)
- Ulrich Kopetzki, acting regional director for Europe, The ICC International Court of Arbitration
- Mag. Niamh Leinwather, secretary general, VIAC – Vienna International Arbitral Centre
- Korinna von Trotha, executive director, Swiss Arbitration Centre
- Caroline Falconer, deputy secretary general, The Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce
2.15pm – [Post] crisis dispute resolution: the impact of the Ukraine war and the pandemic: geopolitical changes, sanctions, economic crisis, etc
This panel of legal experts will discuss, the impact the conflict in Ukraine has had on the in-house legal industry, and will provide insights on the recent geopolitical developments, the global economy and public health sector. The panellists are also expected to share their experience working as in-house counsel or private practice lawyers during the conflict and give their opinion on the consequences the sanctions that are implemented today might have in the future.
- Anna Masser, partner, Allen & Overy
- Florian Cahn, VP legal patents insurance and general counsel, Framatome GmbH
- Yves Bock, general counsel Smart Infrastructure, Siemens
- Yvonne Schäfer, lead regional counsel – Central Europe, VISA
3.10pm – Arbitration funding from the perspective of in-house counsel
The current surge in insolvency claims and asset tracing has led to entrepreneurs and investors working in collaboration with in-house lawyers to seek funding for arbitration. This panel of experts in arbitration funding and dispute cases will discuss the current challenges and future opportunities in this fast-evolving area.
- Tim Schreiber, partner, Clifford Chance
- Dina Komor, senior investment manager, legal counsel, Omni Bridgeway
- Timo Matthias Spitzer, head of legal Santander corporate and investment banking Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Nordics, Banco Santander
4.15pm – Between pragmatism and due process paranoia — how to reconcile differing interests in arbitration
This panel brings together arbitrators and party representatives to discuss the role of due process concerns during arbitration proceedings and how to strike the right balance with (often clashing) interests of procedural efficiency. In particular, panellists will share their views on the strict enforcement of procedural deadlines v the right to be heard; expedient resolution of the proceedings v.thorough coverage of factual and legal issues; and ordering document production v the drawing of adverse inferences. The goal of the session is to identify where competing interests exist and how to potentially resolve them.
- Daniel Busse, partner, Busse Disputes
- Sven Lange, partner, Busse Disputes
- Dr Christina Thiele, legal counsel, Vodafone Group Services GmbH
- Hans-Michael Stracke, director legal, Syndikusrechtsanwalt, Samsung SDI Europe GmbH
5.10pm – Fireside chat
- Moritz Keller, partner, Clifford Chance
- Jan-Michael Ahrens, principal counsel, Siemens AG
5.35pm – Closing remarks and networking drinks
Speakers
Simon Manner, partner, MANNER SPANGENBERG
Simon Manner specialises in dispute resolution, litigation, and arbitration. He assists companies in navigating high-stakes disputes as well as in the drafting, negotiation, and execution of complex contracts.
Simon Manner has significant experience as counsel and as arbitrator (> 25 arbitrations as president, sole arbitrator and co-arbitrator) in domestic and international arbitrations under various rules (including ICC, DIS, SCC, KCAB, CEAC, GMAA, RUCIP, Hamburg Chamber of Commerce and Ad hoc) and laws (including Austrian, English, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Korean, Russian, Spanish, Swedish and Swiss law). He has handled construction, machinery, energy (gas and renewables), transportation, infrastructure, distribution, intellectual property, information technology, corporate law, shareholder, post-M&A and a variety of contract, trade, and other commercial disputes.
James Menz, founding partner at rothorn legal and board member of German Arbitration Institute (DIS)
James currently serves as board member of the Swiss Arbitration Association (ASA) and the DIS and helped launch the German Association of Company Lawyers’ (BUJ) dispute resolution group. James Menz is partner of rothorn legal in Zurich. His practice focuses on complex disputes in the construction, engineering, energy, transportation, pharmaceutical, and biotechnology sectors. He has acted as counsel, arbitrator, and arbitral secretary in dozens of arbitrations under a variety of applicable institutional rules and substantive laws.
James practiced international arbitration and litigation with major law firms in New York and Zurich for 11 years. Prior to founding rothorn, James worked as senior litigation expert at a major multinational company, managing a range of domestic and international cases as well as advising the business on contract drafting, negotiation, and litigation strategy. From 2016-2018, he was deputy secretary general and head of case management at the German Arbitration Institute (DIS), where he supervised hundreds of arbitration and ADR proceedings and served on the drafting committee for the revised 2018 DIS Arbitration Rules.
Ulrich Kopetzki, acting regional director for Europe, The ICC International Court of Arbitration
Ulrich currently acts as the ICC’s regional director for Europe. He is also former ICC YAF regional representative (2017–2019) and current co-chair of the Young Austrian Arbitration Practitioners.
Ulrich Kopetzki is an Austrian lawyer specialised in international arbitration, dispute resolution and corporate law.
As an arbitration practitioner, Ulrich acted as counsel and independent arbitrator under various institutional rules. His track record includes cases under the ICC, DIS, VIAC and KCAB Rules. Ulrich has been described as a ‘rising star among Austrian arbitration practitioners’ and is recommended for bringing ‘a wealth of experience from his tenure at the ICC Secretariat’ and being ‘very knowledgeable’ (The Legal 500). Furthermore, he is listed as a ‘Future Leader’ in arbitration by Who’s Who Legal 2021.
Ulrich graduated from the law school of the University of Vienna (2012). Afterwards, he worked in the arbitration department of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP in London as an intern and visiting foreign lawyer (2013–2014) and at the Secretariat of the ICC International Court of Arbitration in Paris. At the ICC, he worked as deputy counsel (2014–2016) and as counsel of the German speaking case management team and the Eastern European case management team (2017-2018).
During his time at the ICC, Ulrich mainly dealt with cases from Eastern Europe as well as from Austria, Switzerland, Germany and Nordic countries. He gained extensive experience in international arbitration proceedings, in particular in post-M&A disputes, joint venture, licensing and distribution agreements as well as in engineering and construction disputes, including especially FIDIC disputes. He supervised over 500 arbitrations, including several investment treaty and emergency arbitrator cases and was involved in the review of some 100 awards as part of the ICC Court’s scrutiny process.
Mag. Niamh Leinwather, secretary general, VIAC - Vienna International Arbitral Centre
Since 1 January 2022, Niamh Leinwather has been the new secretary general of the Vienna International Arbitral Centre (VIAC). Of Irish origin, Niamh has both a common and civil law background (Bachelor of Civil Law, University College Dublin, Mag.iur., University of Vienna, Master of European Studies, University of Vienna). She was the first Irish woman to be admitted to the Austrian Bar in 2013 and has over a decade of experience in international dispute resolution at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in Vienna where she acted as both counsel and arbitrator.
Korinna von Trotha, executive director, Swiss Arbitration Centre
Korinna von Trotha joined ASA and the Swiss Arbitration Centre as Executive Director in 2021. Prior to her appointment by the ASA Board, Korinna headed the Berlin Office of the German Arbitration Institute (DIS). She was appointed to this role in September 2015. From September 2009 to May 2015, Korinna was the Manager of the Case Management Unit at the Dubai International Arbitration Centre (DIAC). Before moving to Dubai, Korinna worked as Deputy Counsel in the secretariat of the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Paris. Korinna started her law studies at the University of Heidelberg, went on to study at the National University of Singapore and the University of Durham, and graduated from the University of Freiburg. She is admitted to the German bar.
Caroline Falconer, deputy secretary general, The Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce
Caroline Falconer has been since 9 May 2022, the new deputy secretary general and head of operations at the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce (SCC). She studied law, a LLM, at Stockholm University with the clear goal to work with disputes, went on to work at the Stockholm District Court and completed thereafter a LLM in international dispute resolution in London. Following this, she spent almost 10 years at three different Swedish law firms specialising in dispute resolution, including arbitration. During the law firm years, she co-founded SWAN, Swedish Women in Arbitration Network; a professional network for women with an interest in arbitration. For the last seven years, she was senior legal counsel at Vattenfall, gaining a thorough understanding of the daily challenges the in-house legal counsels face.
Tim Schreiber, partner, Clifford Chance
Tim is a partner at Clifford Chance’s Munich office. He represents states and private clients in national and international arbitration proceedings, civil litigations, and in expert and mediation proceedings. Tim frequently advises on M&A and joint venture related disputes, on litigious energy and engineering matters, and on commercial long-term sales contracts. He acted for clients in more than 60 arbitration cases (ICC, LCIA, VIAC, SCAI, DIS, SCC, HKIAC, and Ad Hoc) and in dozens of civil litigations, injunction proceedings, expert determination proceedings, and mediations.
Tim is an alumnus of the London School of International Arbitration at Queen Mary University of London, a lecturer at Frankfurt University for arbitral law, and a member of the SIAC Users Council Germany. He is a co-author for the Kluwer Arbitration Smart Charts, Country Reports for Germany (since July 2010), and a frequent speaker about arbitration-related topics. Tim also sits as arbitrator.
Dina Komor, senior investment manager, legal counsel, Omni Bridgeway
Dina Komor is a senior investment manager based in Cologne and is part of the management team of Omni Bridgeway Germany.
Dina is responsible for assessing and managing cases focused on cartel law, portfolio actions, and collective actions. She is also responsible for advising on and overseeing a wide variety of matters related to general compliance, finance, as well as human resources for Omni Bridgeway Germany. In 2013, Dina was made Prokurist (officer of the company vested with full commercial power of attorney) of Omni Bridgeway’s German operations (formerly ROLAND ProzessFinanz).
When Dina joined Omni Bridgeway in 2011 (at that time ROLAND ProzessFinanz), she brought with her several years’ experience practicing company law and commercial law in a mid-sized German law firm.
Dina holds a law degree from the University of Bonn, Germany.
Anna Masser, partner, Allen & Overy
Anna heads the international arbitration practice of Allen & Overy in Germany. She focuses on international commercial arbitration and advises on all stages of dispute resolution.
Anna acts as lead counsel in international commercial arbitrations, in particular in the energy, plant engineering and renewable energies sectors. She also advises on disputes under long-term contracts in general. She has experience of conducting arbitrations under a wide range of rules including those of the ICC, SCAI, DIS, LCIA, SCC, as well as in ad hoc arbitrations also under UNCITRAL rules. She was qualified in Switzerland until 2016 and advises on German and Swiss law issues. She equally deals with issues relating to the recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards and judgments and is regularly appointed as arbitrator. Anna is a CEDR Accredited Mediator, she is a member of the ICC Commission and was member of the recent task force updating the IT Report, she is a member of the DIS Council and is a regular moderator and speaker at events.
Florian Cahn, VP legal patents insurance & general counsel, Framatome GmbH
Florian currently holds the position of a VP of legal patents & insurance and general counsel of Framatome GmbH. As one of the group-wide arbitration experts, he additionally provides strategic and procedural advice on several high-profile arbitration proceedings, predominantly in construction and plant engineering. Florian is currently serving on the board of the German Arbitration Institute (DIS) and the steering committee of the Corporate Counsel International Arbitration Group (CCIAG), in the frame of which also participates in the UNCITRAL Working Group III (ISDS Reform). In addition, he is a frequent speaker and panelist at conferences and university programs, discussing dispute resolution and legal strategies in complex projects. He has published, among other things, on turnkey principles in the context of nuclear plant construction contracts.
Yves Bock, general counsel Smart Infrastructure, Siemens
Dr. Yves Block is the general counsel for Smart Infrastructure at Siemens. He has global responsibility for all of Siemens Operating Company Smart Infrastructure’s legal matters. Since he joined the company in 2004, Yves has been advising on litigation risks and providing guidance on complex projects, particularly those related to power generation, energy transmission and management, and instrumentation and control technologies. Prior to moving in-house, Yves also acquired expertise in European law and worked in private practice for a couple of years.
Yvonne Schäfer, lead regional counsel – Central Europe, VISA
Yvonne Schäfer is the lead regional counsel for Visa’s Central Europe markets. Yvonne manages a wide range of commercial, technology, marketing, product, data privacy and intellectual property legal matters related to Visa’s regional business in Central Europe. She joined Visa in October 2020 and is based in Frankfurt. Before joining Visa, she worked as a lawyer in the field of media and technology with a focus on IP and digital business.
Daniel Busse, partner, Busse Disputes
Dr Daniel Busse is the name partner of Busse Disputes, a leading boutique law firm for disputes with approximately 15 fully qualified lawyers. Previously, he was a partner at (and led the practice of) a magic circle firm for almost a decade. He has in-depth experience with proceedings conducted under all major arbitration rules across a wide variety of industries and jurisdictions. In addition, he advises and represents clients in other forms of dispute resolution proceedings. Mr Busse is listed in all relevant directories in the top band of German arbitration specialists. In Chambers Global and Europe, Daniel Busse is listed as one of only two German arbitration counsel placed in Band 1.
In addition to his work as counsel, Mr Busse frequently acts as arbitrator and has done so in approximately 100 cases, mostly international arbitrations. He has acted as president, sole arbitrator, and party-appointed arbitrator in tribunals subject to the rules of most major arbitral institutions. In particular, he very frequently sits as arbitrator in ICC and DIS matters and cases under a variety of other institutions, such as the SCC, DIAC, SCAI, and ad hoc cases. He is also included in the list of arbitrators of various institutions; for example, he is a member of the SIAC Panel of Arbitrators, is listed in the Recommendatory List of Arbitrators of the ICAC (International Commercial Arbitration Court at the Ukrainian CCI) and is included in similar lists at the Lewiatan Court of Arbitration as well as the ACICA (the Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration). He was an honorary professor for arbitration law and holds, or held, a variety of other offices related to dispute resolution.
Sven Lange, partner, Busse Disputes
Sven Lange is a partner at Busse Disputes. He represents clients in domestic and international arbitration proceedings as well as German litigation proceedings. He is regularly involved in post-M&A cases and other corporate disputes including conflicts between partners to a joint venture. He has experience with numerous arbitration rules, including, for example, the ICC, ICSID, DIS, SCC and UNCITRAL rules as well as the rules of the Romanian Chamber of Commerce. He acts as party representative, arbitrator or secretary to the arbitral tribunal.
He has been named a ‘Rising Star’ in The Legal 500’s reports on arbitration in Germany for the past several years.  In addition to German and English, Sven Lange speaks French, Swedish and Luxembourgish. He also lectures on investment protection law at the University of Mainz and was a regional co-ordinator for the DIS40 in Frankfurt from 2018 to 2020.
Dr Christina Thiele, legal counsel, Vodafone Group Services GmbH
Christina is group legal counsel at Vodafone’s German headquarters in Düsseldorf. She advises her internal clients on all matters involving large, public and multinational private enterprise customers. This includes contract negotiations as well as (potential) disputes during the customer journey with Vodafone. Before joining Vodafone, Christina was a senior associate in two major international law firms advising and representing clients in national and international arbitration or court proceedings and in various proceedings to settle matters out of court.
Hans-Michael Stracke, director legal, Syndikusrechtsanwalt, Samsung SDI Europe GmbH
Hans-Michael Stracke joined Samsung SDI in 2016 as director legal for its European business. His focus is on commercial contracts, product liability and regulatory requirements for the automotive traction battery business. Prior to his current engagement he served as counsel and of counsel with Bird & Bird’s international automotive practice group. He earned his automotive expertise during 15 years of in-house legal leadership and executive functions with private and US stock listed automotive tier 1 suppliers. His role’s focus areas are complemented with mediation, extensive negotiation and negotiation support and hypno-systemic coaching for individuals, teams and organisations.
Moritz Keller, partner, Clifford Chance
Moritz Keller is an arbitration partner based in the Frankfurt office of Clifford Chance. He represents clients in commercial arbitration as well as in investment arbitration proceedings. Moritz acts for companies and corporates, the public sector, states and private individuals in arbitration proceedings under the ICSID, ICC, UNCITRAL, DIS, Austrian Chamber, Swiss Rules and many other arbitration rules. Many of the proceedings have a focus on Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the CEE or CIS Region. Moritz has dealt with disputes in a number of sectors, most prominently the energy, infrastructure, construction and banking sectors. While he regularly represents clients in post-M&A disputes, clients also frequently reach out to Moritz because of his in-depth knowledge of the energy, gas or financial markets. In recent years, he has been instructed repeatedly in cases in the pharmaceutical and consumer goods industries.
Moritz publishes frequently and is regularly mentioned and recognised in the leading directories, inter alia Who’s Who Legal, which lists him as a Thought Leader, Global Leader and National Leader. JUVE also lists Moritz as one of the most often recommended lawyers for arbitration. He also accepts arbitrator mandates in select cases. Moritz is a member of a number of arbitration institutions. He currently sits on the ICC commission on arbitration and ADR as well as the ICC commission on energy and the environment. He is an alternate member of the Appointing Committee of the German Arbitration Institute DIS and is also an accredited mediator on the Energy Community Panel of Mediators.
Jan-Michael Ahrens, principal counsel, Siemens AG
Jan is Principal Counsel Litigation of Siemens and is responsible for managing significant disputes of the group worldwide, with a focus on international arbitration and the infrastructure and mobility business. In addition, he represented and advised clients in other fields such as banking, pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, engineering, corporate, JVs, IP, and IT.
Jan holds a doctorate in law (Freiburg) and an LL.M. from Geneva and Lausanne universities; he has been admitted to the bar in Germany, Switzerland and England & Wales and was a DIS40 coordinator in Germany. With a private practice background in Switzerland, Jan continues, occasionally, to sit as an arbitrator and is a frequent speaker on international dispute resolution.
Timo Matthias Spitzer, head of legal Santander corporate and investment banking Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Nordics, Banco Santander
Internationally recognised and purpose–driven head of legal. Experienced at three leading global banks and three major international law firms. Dually qualified as German Rechtsanwalt and UK solicitor with a First-Class Honors Master’s degree in international economic law. Native German, fluent in English, French, Portuguese and Spanish.
Board member and adjunct professor at the Institute for Law and Finance at Goethe University Frankfurt within a globally ranked Top 10 Master’s program for banking, finance and securities law, as recognised by LLM Guide from 2018 to 2021. Chairman of The Legal 500 General Counsel Powerlist Germany Advisory Board. Advisory board member and member of the General Counsel Leadership Circle of the German Institute for Legal Departments and Corporate Lawyers (diruj). Advisory board member of Deutscher AnwaltSpiegel, Business Law Magazine, GoingDigital Magazine and SustainableValue Magazine. Inaugural Member of the Handelsblatt Legal Circle.
Author of The Importance of Human Leadership with Integrity in a Highly Regulated and Tech-Reliant Corporate Environment published by Harvard Business Law Review. Keynote speaker at legal conferences, eg, by the Academy of European Law, the International Bar Association (IBA), International Financial Law Review (IFLR) and The Lawyer. Guest lectures at Harvard (RCC) and Fordham Law School.
Featured on The Legal 500 Powerlists General Counsel Germany 2017, 2019 and GC Germany Teams 2018. Winner of the 2018 Santander Global WiseLegalSpeakers’ Award and the 2019 European and Global Counsel Awards by Lexology and the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC). Judging at, inter alia, The Lawyer‘s European Awards.
Paul Hauser, rechtsanwalt, counsel, Clifford Chance
Dr Paul Hauser is a counsel in the international arbitration team at Clifford Chance in Frankfurt. He represents clients in domestic and international arbitration proceedings in various types of commercial disputes, with a particular focus on the energy and consumer goods sectors. He also specialises in complex post-M&A disputes.
Paul currently acts as ICC YAF representative in Europe; from 2015 to 2018 he was co-head of the Frankfurt chapter of the German initiative for young arbitration experts, DIS40. Paul has been listed as a Future Leader in arbitration by WWL since 2020.
In association with...
Clifford Chance is one of the world’s pre-eminent law firms, with significant depth and range of human and IT resources across five continents. The firm is always striving to exceed the expectations of its clients, which includes banks and other financial institutions, corporates from all the commercial and industrial sectors, governments, regulators, trade bodies and not-for-profit organisations. Providing the highest quality advice and legal insight, Clifford Chance prides itself on its approachable, team-based and tech-savvy way of working. In Germany Clifford Chance has offices with approximately 300 lawyers, auditors, tax advisers and solicitors in Düsseldorf, Frankfurt am Main and Munich.
Allen & Overy is a global law firm that helps the world’s leading businesses to grow, innovate and thrive. For almost a century, we have built a reputation for our commitment to think ahead and bring original solutions to our clients’ most complex legal and commercial challenges. At a time of significant turbulence in the business world, we are determined to help our clients embrace change, confidently expand into new markets and keep on top of ever-more complicated regulatory frameworks. To do this, we will harness our global strength and local knowledge. We will drive towards our vision to become the world’s most innovative law firm. And we will continue to create an environment where the brightest minds can flourish.
Busse Disputes represents and advises clients concerning all aspects of dispute resolution, with a strong focus on international arbitration and German litigation proceedings. The firm’s 14-member team combines the quality and abilities of a first-class international law firm with the personal approach and freedom from conflicts that one expects from a boutique. All founding members of Busse Disputes come from an international law firm within the so-called Magic Circle – cumulatively they have approximately 80 years of international law firm experience. Name partner Daniel Busse built the dispute resolution group of the respective law firm in Germany and led the practice for more than eight years. He is listed within the absolute top group of leading German arbitration practitioners in all legal directories. Busse Disputes is specialised in international proceedings and has a particular focus in disputes stemming from the energy, corporate/M&A and construction/infrastructure sectors. The team has extensive experience with arbitrations conducted under all of the leading institutional rules including, for example, the ICC, ICSID, DIS, VIAC, LCIA and SIAC rules.
MANNER SPANGENBERG is a law firm for business litigation, arbitration, alternative dispute resolution and commercial contracts. We founded MANNER SPANGENBERG because we believe that high stakes disputes require personal commitment and bespoke advice from seasoned advocates.
We combine many years of experience in leading international law firms, in a globally operating energy company and as arbitrators. We successfully represented companies, governments, and individuals in numerous disputes in state courts, arbitrations, as well as in contract and settlement negotiations.
We focus on our clients’ business needs. We are committed to our clients’ case and fight relentlessly for their interests. We combine high-end legal advice and advocacy with a pragmatic approach. We know from experience that the quality of advocacy can make a decisive difference in complex disputes.