News
News
Pascal Hollander continues as Vice-Chair of the IBA Arbitration Committee
During its annual gathering in Sydney in October 2017, the International Bar Association (IBA) Arbitration Committee announced its slate of officers for 2018. Pascal Hollander will continue to serve as vice-chair. The IBA Arbitration Committee focuses on laws, practice and procedures relating to the arbitration of transnational disputes through conferences, publications and projects. Previously, in 2015-2016, Pascal Hollander chaired the IBA Sub-Committee on Recognition and Enforcement of Arbitral Awards where he led a comparative study on ‘public policy‘ (2015) and a comparative study on ‘non-arbitrability’ (2016) as defenses to the recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards under the New York Convention.
In the October/November 2017 issue of the IBA’s E-magazine Global Insight , Pascal Hollander is one of the specialists interviewed for the article “International arbitration: a time of change”.
Paul Lefebvre Ranked as Leading Individual in Legal 500
Legal 500 recognizes Paul Lefebvre as a leading individual for dispute resolution in Belgium, ranking him in the top category, Band 1, in its 2017 rankings. Amongst others, Paul Lefebvre is currently representing Facebook in a court case against the Belgian Privacy Commission concerning its use of cookies. He also defends the Russian Federation in enforcement proceedings of an arbitral award brought by the former shareholders of former Russian Yukos Oil Company under the New York Convention.
Paul Lefebvre is one of twenty attorneys admitted to practice before the Belgian Supreme Court.
HVDB wins Global Dispute of the Year Award
During a ceremony in the Edison Ballroom in New York City on 25 September 2017, Hanotiau & van den Berg (HVDB), Houthoff Buruma and White & Case were honoured with the award for “Global Dispute of the Year: Investment Arbitration” by The American Lawyer for their work in the case of Yukos v. Russia. In this case, a team of law firms led by Prof. van den Berg successfully challenged a set of arbitral awards ordering the Russian Federation to pay approximately USD 50 billion to the former shareholders of former Russian oil giant Yukos Oil Company under the European Charter Treaty. In its judgment of 20 April 2016, the District Court of The Hague (The Netherlands) ruled that the arbitral tribunal did not have jurisdiction, and accordingly, annulled the arbitral awards in their entirety.
The annual American Lawyer Global Legal Awards recognize and honour the best cross-border legal work worldwide. The category of Global Disputes honours the most significant results in international arbitration, litigation and investigations.
HVDB Lawyers Nominated in Who’s Who Legal
Several of HVDB’s Partners and lawyers have been recognised by Who’s Who Legal (WWL) in their 2017 editions of Arbitration, Litigation and Franchise, Thought Leaders and Future Leaders.
Bernard Hanotiau was listed in WWL’s Arbitration 2017 and described as “an absolute star, clearly one of the best and most in-demand arbitrators in the world”. Mr. Hanotiau was similarly named WWL’s 2017 Thought Leader.
Albert Jan van den Berg was listed in WWL’s Arbitration 2017 and described as “simply the best arbitrator in the world; focused, sharp, with a sound analysis of both facts and law”. Professor van den Berg was similarly named WWL’s 2017 Thought Leader.
Pascal Hollander was listed in WWL’s Arbitration, Litigation and Franchise 2017 and is “strongly recommended for the success with which ‘he transposes his expertise and wealth of experience handling distribution into the world of international arbitration’”.
Paul Lefebvre was listed in WWL’s Arbitration and Litigation 2017 and described as “an ‘absolutely first-class arbitrator and one of the finest chairs I have encountered’”.
Niuscha Bassiri was listed in WWL’s Arbitration 2017 and described as “‘a personable, responsive and innovative arbitration specialist’ who is praised for her ‘clever and sophisticated advocacy’”. In addition, WWL nominated Ms. Bassiri as a Future Leader, ranking her as one the 20 Most Highly Regarded Individuals by her clients and peers.
Maarten Draye was nominated in WWL’s Arbitration 2017 as a Future Leader. WWL recognised that Mr. Draye “‘has done a lot of good work’ and has ‘broad experience on both sides of the bench, as counsel, sole arbitrator and as secretary sitting with the greats of his firm’.”
Who’s Who Legal – Thought Leaders 2017
Bernard Hanotiau and Albert Jan van den Berg have been named 2017 Thought Leaders by Who’s Who Legal.
Who’s Who Legal: Thought Leaders’ edition features lawyers who obtained the highest number of nominations from peers, corporate counsel and other market resources in their most recent research cycle. Through interviews with practitioners, the Thought Leaders guide aims to shine a light on what makes these lawyers the apogee of the profession.
The interview with Bernard Hanotiau can be found at: http://whoswholegal.com/profiles/21764/0/hanotiau/bernard-hanotiau/ .
The interview with Albert Jan van den Berg can be found at: http://whoswholegal.com/profiles/26248/0/van-den-berg/albert-jan-van-den-berg/
Pierre Vermeire has become a Partner, Maarten Draye is promoted to Counsel, and Magali Servais, Iuliana Iancu and Panagiotis Chalkias are promoted to Senior Associates
It is with great pleasure that HVDB announces that Pierre Vermeire has become a Partner within the firm. Throughout his 12 year-long presence in the firm, Vermeire has shown dedication to top quality work and ability to efficiently serve important clients. His remarkable skills as a commercial litigator both in French and Dutch are an important asset for a firm that was set up as and still remains an ‘International Arbitration & Litigation Boutique’.
It is with as much pleasure that HVDB announces that Maarten Draye is promoted to Counsel, and Magali Servais, Iuliana Iancu and Panagiotis Chalkias are promoted to Senior Associates. Their promotion reflects the trust that HVDB places in them, their ability to handle complex assignments and above all the top quality of their work.
More information with regard to these promotions can also be found on: http://globalarbitrationreview.com/article/1142051/hanotiau-van-den-berg-promotes-in-brussels
Lawyer of the Year Award
On Monday 15 May 2017, during a ceremony at the Plaisterers’ Hall in London, Professor Albert Jan van den Berg was honoured with the Lawyer of the Year Award for Arbitration by Who’s Who Legal (WWL).
Following the conduct of hundreds of interviews conducted and the analysis of the nominations received from the arbitration community, WWL’s research has empirically identified van den Berg as standing apart from all other practitioners in 2017. For van den Berg, it was the third time he received the prestigious award, having been recognized by his peers and client as arbitration lawyer of the year also in 2006 and 2011.
Speaking to Global Arbitration Review, van den Berg explained that the award was probably a result of his much debated win in the Yukos setting-aside proceedings in The Hague. Pointing at the important contribution of women in the team that secured this decision, van den Berg dedicated his award to the Equal Representation Arbitration Pledge. For van den Berg, this is “an initiative dear to my heart” and he urged his colleagues “to bring it into practice”.
GAR Award for Most Important Published Decision
On 29 March 2017, the Global Arbitration Review (GAR) Award for Most Important Published Decision went to the setting aside judgment of the District Court in The Hague in the Yukos Cases. In this April 2016 judgment, the Court annulled six Energy Charter Treaty arbitral awards ordering the Russian Federation to pay US$ 50 billion to former majority shareholders in the Yukos Oil Company on jurisdictional grounds. The team representing the Russian Federation in what has been named “a spectacular reversal of fortune for Russia” was led by Professor Albert Jan van den Berg.
Who’s Who Legal – Future Leaders
In December 2016, Who’s Who Legal for the first time released a list of Future Leaders, featuring partners and non-partners aged 45 or under who are considered to be the future leaders of the international legal community.
In Future Leaders – Arbitration 2017, Who’s Who Legal noted that “the two name partners of Hanotiau & van den Berg are internationally renowned in this sector” adding that “their colleagues in this edition share their reputation for quality.”
Among partners, Niuscha Bassiri was not only nominated as a future leader, but ranked as one the Most Highly Regarded Individuals by her clients and peers. Who’s Who Legal describes Bassiri as “‘a personable, responsive and innovative arbitration specialist’ who is praised for her ‘clever and sophisticated advocacy’”.
In the non-partners category, Maarten Draye received a nomination as future leader. According to Who’s Who Legal, Draye “‘has done a lot of good work’ and has ‘broad experience on both sides of the bench, as counsel, sole arbitrator and as secretary sitting with the greats of his firm’.”
Additional information on the Who’s Who Legal Future Leaders – Arbitration 2017 can be found at: http://whoswholegal.com/news/specials/article/33571/future-leaders-arbitration-2017-analysis/
Emily Hay, Eric van Eyken and Véronique van den Berg received an Honourable Mention
On 12 December 2016, Emily Hay, Eric van Eyken and Véronique van den Berg, associates at HVDB, received an Honourable Mention at the second edition of the Young Arbitrator’s Match in Paris. The Young Arbitrators Match is “the first and only competition which provides young arbitration practitioners with an opportunity to draft an arbitral award based on a set of facts and an exchange of written submissions between two parties to a dispute, in similar conditions to a real life arbitration.” The Honourable Mention was not initially planned, but was decided to be provided due to the jury’s high appreciation of the award drafted by the named HVDB associates, deserving more than just a mention. More information with regard to the winners of the Young Arbitration Match can be found at: https://www.pvyap.org/single-post/2016/12/13/YAM-2016-Results