Siegfried Elsing, Prof. Dr. LL.M. (Yale)
Partner
Düsseldorf
Siegfried H. Elsing, based in Orrick's Düsseldorf office, is a globally recognized international arbitration lawyer with more than 30 years of experience acting as counsel, party-appointed arbitrator, sole arbitrator or chairman. He represents private investors, international companies, sovereign states and state agencies on a national and international level.
Siegfried has acted in approximately 300 arbitrations, including ad hoc proceedings as well as arbitral proceedings under the rules of leading arbitral institutions such as DIS, HCCI, HKIAC, ICC, ICSID, SCC, SCAI, VIAC and others. From 2011 to September 2017, he served on the Panel of Conciliators for the Administrative Council of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).
Siegfried's experience extends in particular to complex disputes involving M&A and corporate transactions, investment protection, energy law, infrastructure disputes, financing arrangements, insurances, joint ventures, distributorship agreements and IP disputes. He also advises on transactional matters, financing, licensing, construction, joint ventures and M&A transactions.
He is dual qualified, admitted in both Germany and New York, and is fluent in German, English and French. He has appeared as a legal expert witness in the German, U.S. and UK courts (on German law matters) and before other foreign law-making institutions.
Market commentary in Chambers Global 2020 describes Siegfried Elsing as a “star individual” who “is frequently appointed as arbitrator on complex cross-border arbitrations”. He is lauded as “a leading practitioner in investment arbitration” with “extensive expertise as arbitrator on investment cases”.
Siegfried co-founded German law firm Hölters & Elsing in 1989 and oversaw the firm's merger with Orrick in 2008.
Since 2007 he is Honorary Professor at the Heinrich Heine University Faculty of Law, Düsseldorf, where he teaches International Arbitration and Civil Procedure. Siegfried is a member of the Board of the German Arbitration Institute (DIS) and was (until May 2020) a Council Member of the American Arbitration Association (AAA). Siegfried was a member of the Drafting Committee for 2018 DIS Arbitration Rules. He is co-editor of the German Arbitration Journal (SchiedsVZ). Siegfried was also chair of the Mediation Committee of the International Bar Association (IBA).
In 2013 Siegfried was selected to serve as Honorary Consul of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.
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Representative engagements in the area of energy law include:
- Serving as party-appointed arbitrator in an ICC dispute in relation to an LNG supply agreement with an amount in dispute of several US$ 100 million.
- Serving as party-appointed arbitrator in a complex US$ 3 billion arbitration under the ICC Rules regarding the adjustment of the price provisions for the delivery of Russian natural gas to a European state.
- Acting as chairman in ICC proceedings relating to a US$ 1 billion dispute between a Dutch and an Italian energy company involving the issue of a price review within a long-term agreement for the sale and purchase of natural gas.
- Appointed by one of the world's largest stock-listed power and gas corporations to act as an arbitrator in a number of ad-hoc proceedings against different German energy service providers relating to price adjustment claims.
- Appointed as arbitrator by a leading Germany-based energy trading company against a major global corporation for claims arising out of a long-term gas sale agreement in the amount of US$ 73 million.
- Serving as chairman in ad-hoc proceedings initiated by a Dutch energy company against one of the leading utility groups in Germany arising out of the joint venture agreement regarding the construction and operation of a gas storage cavern.
- Serving as chairman arbitrator in several arbitral proceedings concerning utility service providers in Turkey.
An indicative selection of Siegfriedʹs experience with regard to infrastructure and construction projects includes:
- Acting as counsel with regard to the construction of an offshore wind farm project in the North Sea.
- Representing as counsel a leading hydro power equipment supplier regarding the construction of a hydro power plant in Greece.
- Appointed as arbitrator in proceedings under the auspices of the ICC regarding a frustrated EUR 1 billion investment for the construction of a hotel complex.
Examples for his engagements in Corporate Law and Post M&A Disputes include the following:
- Representation as counsel the insolvency receiver of AgfaPhoto GmbH in a series of ICC arbitrations with the former parent Agfa-Gevaert in relation to the carve out of the consumer imaging business.
- Acting as arbitrator in a USD 200 million post M&A dispute between a Russian and a Turkish company arising out of the sale of a Turkish group of companies operating in the energy sector.
- Serving as party-appointed arbitrator in proceedings under the rules of the German Institution of Arbitration in a EUR 800 million claim raised by a major European gas transport and infrastructure group of companies against a joint venture with respect to the acquisition of a gas transportation pipeline system.
His investment related work includes:
- Acting as Chairman in the ICSID arbitration RSM Production Corp. vs. Saint Lucia, ICSID-ARB 12/10.
- Appointed as party nominated arbitrator in the ICSID arbitration Ali Alyafei vs. Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, ICSID-ARB 15/24.
- Acting as Chairman in an arbitration under the Swiss Rules involving a middle-eastern State with regard to a public license.
Examples of other engagements include:
- Acting as party-appointed arbitrator in a USD 1 billion dispute under the ICC rules with regard to a FRAND licensing agreement.
- Counsel to the executor of a will with regard to a complex heritage dispute.
- Serving as chairman in an ad hoc-arbitration with regard to damage claims raised by a major bank against a former member of the board of directors.
