Event Report

The Legal 500 was delighted to be back in Frankfurt to host the Commercial Arbitration Summit Germany 2022 on Thursday 7 July.
The event gathered top European arbitration institutions and leading Germany-based general counsels and private practice practitioners, to exchange their views on arbitration, discuss key issues affecting companies operating in Germany and abroad, and enjoy valuable networking opportunities at the Steigenberger Frankfurter Hof.

The quality of the discussions was exceptional.

After Paul Hauser, of Clifford Chance, opened the Summit with his insight into the latest developments affecting the arbitration landscape, Simon Manner, of Manner Spangenberg, chaired the first panel of the day. Simon discussed the convenience of arbitration with representatives of five arbitral institutions. Questions from the audience prompted the panellists to elaborate on the basis on which parties made decisions between arbitration or local courts, and on the EU’s perspective on arbitration.

The next session was hosted by Anna Masser, of Allen & Overy. The conversation centred on the impact the ongoing conflict in Ukraine has had on the in-house legal industry. More specifically, the panellists shared their experience on working for international companies with colleagues and partners based in a troubled region and gave their opinion on the consequences the sanctions relating to Russia might have in the future.

Tim Schreiber, of Clifford Chance chaired the third panel, which covered third-party funding in arbitration from the perspective of general counsels. Tim explained how the current surge in insolvency claims and asset tracing has led companies to work with their in-house legal departments to seek funding for arbitration, and the panel expanded on the challenges and opportunities of this rapidly evolving sector.

In the fourth session brought by Daniel Busse and Sven Lange, of Busse Disputes, and moderated by Hans-Michael Strake, director of legal at Samsung SDI Europe, the panellists shared their expert opinion on the areas where competing interests might exist in arbitration proceedings and how to potentially resolve them with pragmatism.

In conclusion of the Summit, Moritz Kellerr, of Clifford Chance, and Jan-Michael Ahrens, principal counsel at Siemens AG, gave the audience a fireside chat, providing insightful comments on the main takeaways of the day’s discussions.

Thank you again to Clifford Chance, Allen and Overy, Busse Disputes and Manner Spangenberg for supporting the event, to our panellists for sharing their insights, and to the audience for engaging with us with such enthusiasm.

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