People

Charles Adams Partner

Genève

Charles’s experience spans four decades at the highest levels of international dispute-resolution; he has acted in more than 300 arbitral proceedings under various governing laws and under the rules of almost all arbitral institutions in fora all over the world, most frequently as lead counsel, but also on occasion as chairman or co-arbitrator on tribunals in high-stakes cases.

His experience includes disputes in engineering and construction, energy and infrastructure, mining, transportation, telecommunications, life sciences and biotech, intellectual property and franchising and distribution, among many other fields of commercial or industrial endeavor. He has conducted commercial and investor-state arbitrations under the auspices of ICSID, the ICC, ICDR/AAA, LCIA, DIAC, SCC, SAC and SIAC. Charles also advises on export control regulations and economic sanctions administered by the U.S. and the European Union, including matters relating to customs regulations, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, anti-money laundering rules and anti-boycott requirements.

For more than 10 years Charles was a member of the Board of Trustees of the Dubai International Arbitration Centre (DIAC), and he has served on the Board of Advisors of the NGO End Human Trafficking Now and as a guest lecturer at the UN’s International Development Law Organization. Charles frequently appears on Francophone television channels (TF1, LCI, TV5 Monde, Télévision Suisse Romande), as a commentator on political, economic and cultural matters.

Ali Al-Khasawneh Of Counsel

Genève; Londres

Ali has acted as counsel in arbitration proceedings under the ICC, UNCITRAL, LCIA, Swiss, ICSID and DIAC rules in arbitrations seated in London, Paris, The Hague, Dubai, Madrid, Geneva, Zurich and Muscat, and governed by English, UAE, German, New York, Omani, Swiss, Saudi and Libyan laws. 

Ali serves as a member of the ICC's Commission on Arbitration & ADR and acts as arbitrator. Ali has also acted as tribunal secretary in arbitral proceedings under the ICC rules and Permanent Court of Arbitration administered arbitrations under the UNCITRAL rules.

Prior to joining Orrick, Ali was previously legal counsel at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague. Ali also worked at an investment treaty arbitration specialist law firm in Paris and at the Dubai office of a leading international law firm.

James Hargrove Partner

Genève; Londres

James has a particular specialization in arbitrations relating to energy, commodities, trading, finance and technology (he is particularly active in thought leadership on tech and arbitration issues).

Prior to joining Orrick, James practiced international arbitration and litigation at several international law firms in Geneva and London. James was, among other things, head of the Russia and CIS dispute resolution practice and has deep proficiency in Russia related-disputes and investigations and associated offshore litigation, applications and asset identification, tracing and enforcement.

Vanessa Liborio Partner

Genève

Vanessa is “a leading arbitration practitioner…well known for her consistently excellent dispute resolution work” (Who’s Who Legal: Arbitration), and acts as counsel in international arbitration proceedings before the ICC, LCIA, the Swiss Arbitration Centre and other international fora and subject to a variety of procedural and substantive laws (including English, French, Italian, Qatari, New York, Mexican, Swiss and Tunisian law). Vanessa's experience spans a variety of industries including construction, life sciences, food and beverages, financial services, insurance and aviation. Most recently, Vanessa has conducted an arbitration on behalf of a sub-contractor involved in the construction of part of an international airport and was successful in representing a Swiss not-for-profit foundation supporting advanced clinical research in rare pediatric diseases. 

Described by clients as an "excellent" lawyer who delivers "very high-quality legal services" (Legal 500), Vanessa has also represented parties in setting aside proceedings before the Swiss Supreme Court and regularly acts as party-appointed arbitrator, sole arbitrator of chair in arbitrations worldwide.

Vanessa serves as a member of the ICC's Commission on Arbitration & ADR and in addition to her activities in the field of arbitration, Vanessa advises on export control regulations and economic sanctions administered by the U.S., the European Union and Switzerland, including matters relating to customs regulations, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, anti-money laundering rules and anti-boycott requirements and regularly provides advice to clients on Swiss substantive law, particularly in contract law.

Prior to joining Orrick, Vanessa practiced for Swiss and international firms based in Geneva and Miami.

Hervé Touraine Partner

Genève; Paris

Hervé accompagne des institutions nationales comme internationales, des sociétés, des sponsors, des investisseurs, des compagnies d’assurance, des gérants de fonds et d’autres types d’investisseurs dans leurs transactions françaises et transfrontalières. Il intervient notamment sur des opérations bancaires, de financement structuré, de titrisation et de marchés de capitaux.

Hervé a travaillé sur de nombreuses transactions complexes, stratégiques et/ou innovantes (dont des opérations pionnières en France et en Europe) telles que des opérations de titrisation internationales, des émissions d’obligations sécurisées et d’obligations structurées émises par les entreprises ou lors de projets, des fonds de dette ainsi que la mise en place de plates-formes dédiées à la structuration et au refinancement. Il est également intervenu lors d’opérations de financement et de refinancement (y compris de liquidité), ainsi que pour des opérations visant le hors-bilan et toutes questions liées aux contraintes réglementaires de fonds propres. Il a ainsi développé une expertise particulière dans la gestion de dossiers multi juridictionnels et transverses.

Il dispose d’une solide expertise dans le domaine de l’énergie et de l’infrastructure dans le cadre d’opérations de financement et de refinancement, en recourant à des structures de prêts bancaires usuelles, mais également aux placements privés, aux émissions obligataires, aux institutions financières spécialisées et aux fonds de dettes spécialisés.

Hervé est considéré par ses clients comme une “personne incontournable” en financements structurés « sur qui on peut toujours compter ». Ces derniers le décrivent comme « un expert dédié et innovant dans son domaine » et le considèrent plus comme « un vrai partenaire stratégique de nos opérations, plutôt que comme notre avocat ».

Hervé participe activement à la rédaction de lois et de règlementations concernant la titrisation et le financement structuré en France.

Hervé publie et anime régulièrement des conférences sur les financements structurés.

Avant de rejoindre Orrick en 2016, Hervé était associé chez Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP pendant 18 ans.