Interested in what the future holds for dispute resolution? Join us on Clubhouse on May 26 for an informal chat on tech, the in-house view on the future of dispute resolution, and whatever other interesting topics come to mind! We will hear from Michael McIlwrath, VP of Litigation at Baker Hughes (formerly General Electric), and Paul Cohen, head of the international group at 4-5 Gray’s Inn Square Chambers, and co-Chair, International Task Force, at the Silicon Valley Arbitration and Mediation Center (SVAMC). Michael and Paul will be joined by Sophie Nappert, co-Founder of ArbTech, and Elisabe ..read more

It was a pleasure and honor to be invited by  CIARB KENYA Branch on 4 May 2021 to speak about technology and dispute resolution. The virtual event was moderated by Calvin Nyachoti and featured my ArbTech colleague Sean McCarthy. Sean and I spoke about the increasing integration of artificial intelligence into various touch points of the dispute resolution practice, including litigation financing, arbitrator selection, case analytics, as well as best practices for virtual hearings, and emerging trends in online dispute resolution (including on-chain dispute resolution), and smart contract ..read more

A New York court has issued a forceful ruling that directors of a target company in a leveraged buy-out (LBO) can be liable for breach of fiduciary duties if they fail to assess the seller’s post-sale solvency.  The ruling may force directors to think twice about selling via LBO’s with very high debt-to-equity ratios, and may even have a chilling effect on private equity-driven LBO’s in general. In 2014, Jones Group, a publicly traded company (owner of the Nine West and Anne Klein brands), entered into a take-private bid from private equity (PE) sponsor Sycamore Group.  Under the te ..read more

Happy Lunar New Year from Chang Law!  2021 is the Year of the Ox in the Chinese Zodiac. The Ox possesses characteristics everyone in the legal profession can aspire to.  Those born under the sign of the Ox are the hard workers in the background; they are intelligent, reliable, honest and earnest, and never seek praise.  This sometimes hides their talent, which nevertheless shines through their hard work.  Individuals born in the year of the Ox rarely lose their temper, think logically, and make great leaders.  They put their entire heart in all they do, and feel great ..read more

  Chang Law is proud to join the Campaign for Greener Arbitrations, a fantastic and much-overdue initiative to reduce the carbon footprint in international arbitration. The initiative was started by UK independent arbitrator Lucy Greenwood, since joined by a number of leading law firms, practitioners, arbitrators, and other disputes-related organizations.  The initiative has resulted in a set of protocols (the “Green Protocols“) for the international dispute resolution market, including protocols specific to arbitrators, arbitration conferences, arbitral institutions, law firms, and ..read more

[The following is adapted from a post on ArbTech, an online forum about tech, dispute resolution, and the Future of Justice.] GameStop and Robinhood have dominated business news in the last week, playing out in a dramatic David versus Goliath story arc.  What has been underreported is the fact that Robinhood’s business model reveals the latent risks of “free” online services, and how selling big data can create serious conflicts of interest.  Robinhood’s travails provide a cautionary tale for the international arbitration space, where big data is playing an increasing role. Th ..read more

We are excited to announce the launch of ArbTech, a worldwide community fostering cross disciplinary dialogue on tech, dispute resolution, and the future of Justice. The ArbTech forum debates, discusses, and collaborates on the innovative, ethical application of technology to peacefully, efficiently, and equitably resolve international disputes. We have already completed a successful pilot group phase, and are now accepting expressions of interest, with a view to open the forum to worldwide membership starting in February 2021. ArbTech’s Founding Members include Sophie Nappert, an indepe ..read more

How will my arbitration be affected by COVID-19? In a recent joint statement, arbitral institutions serving all around the world have come together to help answer questions about arbitral proceedings affected by COVID-19. With the implementation of social distancing and suggested bans on group gatherings, arbitration hearings have not been able to proceed as usual. However, these arbitral institutions are working to help create more stability in the midst of the unknown. First, the institutions reminded parties and tribunals affected by COVID-19 to discuss the potential impacts and how t ..read more

On 2 April 2020, the California Supreme Court held that parties can waive the Hague Service Convention in their arbitration provisions when they agree on a specified manner of service. The decision in Rockefeller Technology Investments (Asia) VII v. Changzhou Sinotype Technology Co. has long been awaited because of its potential impact on international arbitrations. In this opinion, the Supreme Court of California reversed an appellate decision which had upheld application of the Hague Service Convention, despite an arbitration clause specifying the manner of service ..read more

Earlier in February, the Hague Court of Appeals reinstituted an arbitral order against Russia to pay $50 billion to the shareholders of the former Yukos Oil Company for expropriation. This decision overturned a Hague District Court opinion that set aside the arbitral award based on the PCA’s lack of jurisdiction. The original argument for lack of jurisdiction relied on the fact that the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT), of which Russia has not signed, was the basis for the case. However, the appellate court determined that Russia had promised to apply the E ..read more