Pitkowitz & Partners

Dispute Resolution

Founding Partner

Dr. Nikolaus Pitkowitz is founding partner of Pitkowitz & Partners and heads the firm’s Dispute Resolution practice.

He is internationally recognized as a world-leading arbitration practitioner. Dr. Pitkowitz has acted as party counsel and arbitrator in over 140 international disputes with seats across Europe, the Americas, and Asia. His mandates include acting as counsel in the largest arbitration ever conducted in Austria, as well as leading and advising on some of the most significant arbitrations in the region and beyond.

In addition to arbitration, Dr. Pitkowitz regularly represents parties in high-stakes, complex litigation, including proceedings of major public importance and cases before the European Court of Justice (ECJ).

Dr. Pitkowitz has extensive experience across a broad range of industries, including energy, automotive, telecommunications, arts and cultural assets, (post-)M&A, real estate, and construction.

Dr. Pitkowitz served as president of the Vienna International Arbitral Centre (VIAC) and regularly sits as arbitrator under the rules of leading arbitration institutions. He is Court Member of CIMAC, Casablanca and Co-Chair of the ILA Committee on Conflict-of-Laws Issues in International Arbitration.

Dr. Pitkowitz holds law degrees from University of Vienna (JD and PhD) and the University of Sankt Gallen (MBL). He holds the TechCred 2025 Credential Badge for advanced expertise in digital arbitration, is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb), and certified as a mediator.

A sought-after speaker and lecturer, Dr. Pitkowitz has authored more than 70 publications, including the leading monograph Setting Aside Arbitral Awards and the Handbook on Third-Party Funding in International Arbitration (2nd ed., 2025) He is Co-Editor of the Austrian Yearbook on International Arbitration and initiator of the Arbitration World Café, a highlight of the Vienna Arbitration Days.

English, German