The Age of Reason(ing) – the Need for Enlightened Awards

Michael Bühler Partner

Paris

Michael Bühler, with over 30 years of experience as a practicing lawyer, focuses on international dispute resolution in complex arbitrations. He has represented major corporations, state-owned entities and governments in more than 250 arbitrations and has acted as chairman, sole arbitrator, and party-appointed arbitrator in more than 80 arbitrations worldwide.

Michael assists in clients in pre-litigation situations, helping them to develop a true defense strategy, which often leads to early dispute settlements. He acts regularly as lead counsel in arbitrations under the ICC Rules and those of the arbitration associations of Germany, Belgium, Sweden, Austria, Switzerland, and the United States and under the UNCITRAL Rules, ICSID, WIPO (Geneva), and the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Lausanne). He conducts arbitrations throughout Europe, Africa, North America, the Middle East, and the Asia-Pacific region in the following fields: civil construction, engineering, supply of industrial equipment, and industrial or power plants (often involving the application of the FIDIC Conditions of Contract, in common, civil, and Islamic law); oil and gas projects; hotel development projects and hotel management contracts; and distribution and license agreements in various sectors, including the chemical, pharmaceutical, food, liquor, and luxury goods industries.

Michael started his career as counsel at the ICC International Court of Arbitration, of which he was the German member (1997-2009). He was co-chair of the Task Force of the ICC Commission on Arbitration on the Revision of the ICC Arbitration Rules (2008-2011) (which led to the adoption of the 2012 ICC Rules of Arbitration) and is a member of the ICC Commission on International Arbitration and the IBA, as well as numerous arbitral institutions such as CEPANI, DIS, ASA and DIAC. Michael advised the Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa, OHADA (Yaoundé), in reforming its arbitration act and the CCJA Arbitration Rules and creating a mediation act. He is also co-author of the Handbook of ICC Arbitration (Thomson, Sweet & Maxwell, 5th edition 2021).

Charles Kaplan Partner

Paris

Charles Kaplan is a highly specialized arbitration lawyer based in Orrick’s Paris office. He has conducted arbitrations on EPC Contracts, oil production sharing agreements, gas pricing disputes, tax stabilization agreements, international joint ventures, as well as aircraft development programs, in France and elsewhere.

Highly regarded in the international arbitration market, Charles is consistently recognized as a key practitioner particularly in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. According to Chambers & Partners, clients describe him as an “extremely bright” lawyer on cross-border matters and praise his “commercial insight and dedication.” Ranked among Chambers France’s top International Arbitration lawyers, Charles is said to be “a very good lawyer whose experience in international arbitration is superb.”

In particular, Charles advises French and international energy majors, and industrials. He has extensive experience of arbitration under ICC, ICSID, French Arbitration Association, LCIA and Milan Chamber rules. He regularly sits as arbitrator.

He originally qualified as an English barrister and then as a French avocat. In addition to investment disputes, he has handled civil as well as common law disputes in a number of jurisdictions in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia.

Before he joined Orrick, he was co-head of an international law firm's Global Arbitration practice and led the Paris Arbitration group.

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.