Susan Ahern SC
Senior Counsel, dual qualified barrister (Ireland and N. Ireland)
Susan is a Senior Counsel, dual qualified barrister (Ireland and N. Ireland), international arbitrator, Fellow of the CIArb, Fellow of AMINZ and CEDR-accredited mediator. Her legal practice is in regulation, ADR and across the financial services, media, entertainment and sports law spectrum.
Susan is a member of the ICSID Panel of Conciliators, an arbitrator member of the European Commission Disputes Settlement Pool and she is Vice President of Arbitration Ireland. She is a member of the ICC Commission on Arbitration & ADR and The Bar of Ireland Arbitration & ADR Committee.
Susan regularly sits as an arbitrator in ad hoc and institutional arbitrations including the ICC, the Court of Arbitration for Sport and as a member of the Law Society of Ireland Arbitration Panel. Her extensive executive experience includes being the former Head of Legal & Legislative Affairs of World Rugby and she maintains roles as an independent non-executive director of businesses in the areas of media, major events and ADR.
The Rt Hon. Lady Arden of Heswall DBE
Member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration
Mary Arden studied at Girton College, Cambridge of which she is an Honorary Fellow, then at the Harvard Law School.
Called to the Bar in 1971 and becoming a Queen’s Counsel in 1986, she was appointed to the High Court Bench and made a DBE in 1993, being the first woman assigned to the Chancery Division. Subsequently promoted to the Court of Appeal and made a Privy Counsellor, she joined the Supreme Court from 2018 to 2022.
A former Chair of the Law Commission, the engagement with law reform encouraged her to write on the law. She has taken a leading role in international judicial relations and is a member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration. In June 2025, The University of Cambridge conferred on her an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Law.
Dr Crina Baltag
Queen Mary University of London, School of International Arbitration
Dr Crina Baltag is Associate Professor in International Arbitration and Dispute Resolution at Queen Mary University of London, School of International Arbitration, and qualified attorney-at-law, with over twenty years of extensive practice in international dispute resolution. Crina is the Chair of the Institute for Transnational Arbitration Academic Council, Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and the Course Director of the CIArb Diploma Course in International Arbitration. Crina’s academic work includes monographs, edited volumes, and articles on investment and commercial arbitration. Crina is the managing editor of Kluwer Arbitration Blog, and member of editorial boards of prestigious journals and book series. Crina has been appointed as arbitrator in numerous commercial arbitrations, and has acted as expert and counsel in various international commercial and investment arbitrations.
Ronnie Barnes
Cornerstone Research,
London
Ronnie coheads Cornerstone Research’s international arbitration and litigation practice. He is an expert in accounting, damages, and valuation. He specialises in cases that raise complex valuation issues. Who’s Who Legal has recognised him as a leading expert witness in legal arbitration and a global leader in assessing the quantum of damages in the financial advisory and valuation field.
The Hon Mr Justice David Barniville
President of the High Court
Mr. Justice David Barniville is the President of the High Court of Ireland.
He was appointed a judge of the High Court in December 2017 after almost 27 years in practice as a barrister and Senior Counsel in the Courts of Ireland and in the European Courts. He was the judge in charge of the Commercial Division of the High Court (2019-2021). He was, and is again, also designated as the Arbitration Judge to hear all arbitration related matters in the High Court. He was previously the judge in charge of the Strategic Infrastructure List in the High Court (2018-2019). David was appointed to the Court of Appeal in August 2021. He was appointed President of the High Court in July 2022. In that role he is ex officio a member of the Court of Appeal, the Supreme Court and the Council of State.
In July 2018, David was appointed as a member of Ireland’s National Group on the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague and held that position until 2024. In October 2024 he was appointed to the ICC’s Governing Body for Dispute Resolution.
Jeffrey Benz
JAMS Global,
London
Jeff Benz is a dual qualified US lawyer and English barrister who sits as arbitrator and mediator with JAMS Global and 4 New Square in London, where he lives. A former elite athlete, and former general counsel of the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee, he has been a Court of Arbitration for Sport Arbitrator and Mediator for over 25 years. According to Who’s Who Legal 2018-25 UK Bar, he is “‘widely recognised for his first-rate arbitration practice’ and clients note he is ‘in a class of his own’ when it comes to complex sports disciplinary disputes.” In 2016, the BBC noted Mr. Benz is “widely regarded as amongst the most experienced judges” in world sport. In 2024, a publication referred to him as a “titan of sports law.”
George Burn
Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, London
George Burn is the Co-leader of International Arbitration at global law firm BCLP and a leading specialist in both investor-state and international commercial arbitration. With over 25 years’ experience of acting as arbitrator and counsel in complex high-stakes disputes, George has been involved in cases that break new ground on important jurisdictional issues, on questions of public and private international law.
Charlie Caher
Wilmerhale,
London
Charlie is a partner in WilmerHale’s Litigation Department, and a member of the International Arbitration Practice Group. He joined the firm in 2008. He is based in the London office, where he practises international arbitration and English High Court litigation. His international commercial arbitration practice covers a wide range of industries, with a particular focus on energy, construction, insurance, financial services, telecommunications and aerospace.
Prof. Rachel Cahill-O’Callaghan
Cardiff School of Law and Politics, Wales
Rachel Cahill-O’Callaghan is a Professor at Cardiff University. She holds a PhD in Law and a PhD in Science and her legal research sits at the interface of law and psychology. Her research examines decision making in a variety of legal contexts, with a focus on structural change to improve decision making quality. Her work has won several prizes and her book Values in the Supreme Court: Decisions, Division and Diversity (2020) was shortlisted for the Birks Prize for Outstanding Legal Scholarship (2021). Her current research builds on this work to understand how structural change can limit unacceptable cognitive bias.
Philippe Cavalieros
Simmons & Simmons LLP, Paris
Philippe Cavalieros is the Global Head of Simmons & Simmons LLP’s international arbitration practice and Vice-Chair of the ICC Commission on Arbitration & ADR.
Philippe offers his clients a 360° perspective on international arbitration: he has acted as an Arbitrator in more than 40 cases, worked at the Secretariat of the ICC International Court of Arbitration, and served as General Counsel in a multinational company, providing him with insight into every angle of an arbitration proceeding.
Philippe also acts as Judicial Officer for World Rugby, EPCR, and Top 14, as well as Anti-corruption Hearing Officer (“AHO”) for the International Tennis Integrity Agency (“ITIA”).
He has been an Avocat at the Paris bar since 2004 and received an LL.M from Trinity College Dublin. Philippe regularly lectures at the Hague Academy of International Law and at Trinity College School of Law.
Kate Cervantes-Knox
Independent Arbitrator,
London
Kate Cervantes-Knox is an independent arbitrator based in London. Prior to establishing her own practice in 2023, Kate spent over 20 years practising international arbitration (commercial and investor state) in two leading global law firms. She is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales. Kate presently sits on the Board of Directors of the LCIA and is President of the LCIA European Users’ Council.
Emily Devlin
FIFA Deputy Chief Legal & Compliance Officer, Director of Operational Legal, Switzerland
Emily qualified as a solicitor (England & Wales) in 2003 and had 14 years working in private practice in the City focused on intellectual property and litigation matters. In 2019, knowing absolutely nothing about football, Emily joined FIFA with the remit to manage all its (non-CAS) disputes and investigations. She is now the Deputy Chief Legal Officer, and as well as taking responsibility for FIFA’s litigation portfolio, she also manages the Operational Legal sub-division (sponsorship, media rights, event matters, and corporate issues). Emily has learnt a lot about football in the last 6 years, but still prefers tennis.
Nora Fredstie
DAC Beachcroft,
London
Nora Fredstie is a Partner at DAC Beachcroft in London. Dual-qualified in England & Wales and New York, she has wide-ranging experience as counsel and arbitrator in investment and commercial arbitrations across sectors including life sciences, energy, and construction under all major institutional rules. Nora is a Global Elite Thought Leader in Arbitration (Lexology, 2025), a member of the ICSID Panel of Conciliators, the Norwegian delegate to the ICC Commission on Arbitration and ADR, and an adjunct professor at Université Paris Nanterre.
Matt Fritzsche
EY, London
Matt Fritzsche is a Partner at EY and leads the Claims and Disputes practice for EY in the UK, with over twenty years of experience as a forensic accountant. He specialises in the provision of written and oral testimony in litigation, commercial arbitration and investment treaty arbitration, typically providing expert opinion on the quantification of damages and other accounting, valuation and financial matters. Matt is recommended as a leading global expert witness for both litigation (2022) and international arbitration (2023) by Lexology Index (formerly Who’s Who Legal). In 2025, he was recognised as the Commercial Litigation Expert of the year for the UK in the Lexology Index Client Choice Awards, based on feedback provided by in-house counsel. He is a Chartered Accountant and a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW).
Mamadou Gacko
DLA Piper, Paris
Mamadou Gacko is a French Senegalese attorney based in Paris and registered with the Paris Bar, and a senior associate at DLA Piper. Mamadou has over ten years of experience practising international arbitration. He serves as both an arbitrator and counsel in arbitral proceedings, primarily governed by ICC, LCIA, ICSID, and UNCITRAL rules, and involving States, public entities, international organizations, and private entities. His practice has a strong focus on Francophone Africa and regularly involves African clients and activities taking place in Africa.
Judge Dominique Hascher
Former Judge of the Court of Cassation, Independent Arbitrator
Dominique Hascher is currently an independent arbitrator after sitting on the Bench of the Supreme Judicial Court of France for the past 13 years. He is also an international judge of the Supreme Court of Singapore (Singapore international Commercial Court).
He is a graduate of the Universities of Paris II and Harvard (Fulbright Scholar).
He was Adjunct-Professor of Law at the University of Paris Panthéon-Sorbonne (2001-2015) and a Visiting Professor at University College London (Fall 2005) and at the University of Texas at Austin School of Law (Fall 2007) and lectured at the Hague Academy of International Law (1999 and 2022).
He acted as General Counsel and Deputy-Secretary General of the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) from 1990 to 1998.
He has experience in ICC (President), CAS-Court of Arbitration for Sports (Sole Arbitrator) and ICSID (Chair and Member) arbitration.
He has been designated as Appointing Authority by the PCA-Permanent Court of Arbitration (UNCITRAL Rules).
He is on the panel of arbitrators of the Hong-Kong International Arbitration Center and a member of the Court of Arbitration for Sports.
Advisory Member (2020), International Council Commercial Arbitration (ICCA) Governing Board and co-chair of the ICCA Judiciary Committee (2017-2020).
President of the French Society of Comparative Law (2015-2019) and of the Franco-British Lawyers Society (2005-2008).
David Herlihy SC
A&O Shearman, Dublin/London
David is a partner in Allen & Overy’s International Arbitration Group. He has 20 years’ experience in international arbitration, with a focus on international commercial arbitration, investment treaty arbitration and public international law. David is qualified in Ireland, England & Wales and New York. He has an undefeated track record of success in investor-state arbitration, acting both for investors and for states over the last two decades. His recent matters include representing Vodafone in its investment treaty win against India (where the amount in dispute exceeded USD 5 billion); successfully defending Cyprus in a EUR 1 billion investment treaty claim arising out of the Eurozone financial crisis; and acting for two Dutch subsidiaries of NextEra Energy in ICSID claims resulting in an award of more than EUR 290 million against Spain under the Energy Charter Treaty). His victories have won International Arbitration Team of the Year twice, most recently in 2021 (Legal Business Awards). Law 360 has named David as an MVP for International Arbitration. He has also been recognised by multiple directors including Chambers, Legal 500 and Who’s Who Legal: Arbitration, which describe him as “an outstanding talent” and “nothing but exceptional”.
Benoît Keane
SOLICITOR ADVOCATE & AVOCAT, BRUSSELS
Benoît Keane is a leading EU sports advocate. Based in Brussels, he works with law firms across Europe to provide strategic legal representation to sports organisations. He acts before European and national courts, notably representing UEFA in the Super League case. He has extensive experience on the interface between EU law and sports arbitration. He regularly appears as counsel before the Court of Arbitration for Sport. He acted in the landmark RFC Seraing case concerning the status of arbitral decisions with EU law. Benoît is ranked by Chambers for EU/competition law.
Colin Liew
Providence Law Asia,
Singapore
Colin is a Director and Head of International Litigation at Providence Law Asia LLC, a specialist disputes firm in Singapore. With over 10 years’ experience in complex disputes, he focuses on cross-border commercial litigation and arbitration, with a broad practice area spanning commodities, post-M&A and fraud-related mandates.
Lucinda Low
Low & Kinnear Dispute Resolution,
Washington DC
Lucinda Low is a founding member of Low & Kinnear Dispute Resolution LLC, based in Washington, DC, a boutique firm focused on the provision of independent adjudication and advisory services in transnational matters. Prior to founding LKDR in 2024, she was a partner with Steptoe LLP, where she co-chaired the firm’s international arbitration practice group and served as its International Practice Leader. She is widely recognised for her expertise in both international arbitration and international regulatory compliance matters.
Ms. Low was the first woman to chair the American Bar Association’s Section of International Law. She has also served as President of the American Society of International Law. She was appointed by the United States to the ICSID Panel of Conciliators in 2016 and by the World Bank President to the ICSID Panel of Arbitrators in 2017, and is a member of various arbitration rosters. Her current portfolio of cases as arbitrator are a mix of investor-state and commercial disputes, involving the ICSID Convention and Rules, the UNCITRAL Rules, and the PCA, ICC, LCIA, and ICDR. She frequently serves as the presiding arbitrator, but has been appointed by both claimants and respondents.
Ms. Low has been a longstanding member of the US Secretary of State’s Advisory Committee on International Law. She is a member of the ICC Commission on Arbitration and ADR and has been an active member of its Task Force on Dealing with Allegations of Corruption in International Arbitration. She currently chairs the Coalition for Integrity, a non-governmental organisation which promotes transparency, integrity and accountability in both the public and the private sectors, and serves on the Leadership Council of the World Justice Project.
Duncan Matthews KC
Twenty Essex, London
Duncan Matthews KC was for eight years co-Head of Chambers at Twenty Essex. He is a lead trial advocate with a broad practice in international and domestic commercial dispute resolution. He advises and acts in English Court proceedings at all higher court levels, and overseas, and has a large international arbitration practice (including HKIAC, ICC, JCAA, LCIA, LMAA, SIAC, UNCITRAL). He also accepts arbitral appointments and has been appointed sole arbitrator and as chairman of three-member tribunals.
Duncan is a registered foreign lawyer with the Singapore International Commercial Court and is admitted to the Bar of the East Caribbean Supreme Court, British Virgin Islands, and ad hoc to the Bars of the Turks and Caicos, Nevis and St Kitts and the Cayman Islands.
Duncan is ranked in all the leading legal directories for civil fraud, commercial dispute resolution, banking and finance, energy & natural resources, international arbitration (general commercial and insurance), shipping & commodities and as arbitrator.
Paul McGarry SC
The Bar of Ireland
Paul McGarry SC was Chair of the Irish Bar from 2016 to 2018. He is currently a member of the Ireland for Law Implementation Group. He was appointed a Senior Counsel in 2010, and is also a member of the Bar of England and Wales. He practises primarily in public, commercial and European law. Paul is an accredited mediator and international arbitrator and has spoken on arbitration at events organised by the IBA, UIA, CCBE, ABA, Arbitration Ireland and ICAB. He is a former President of Arbitration Ireland, Chair of the Sports Law and EU Bar Associations of Ireland, a bencher at King’s Inns and a Master of the Bench at Middle Temple (London).
Chief Justice, Mr Justice Donal O’Donnell
Ireland
Mr. Justice Donal O’Donnell was appointed Chief Justice of Ireland in 2021. He was called to the Bar of Ireland in 1982, to the Bar of Northern Ireland in 1989, and became a senior counsel in 1995. He was appointed to the Supreme Court of Ireland in 2010.
Mr. Justice O’Donnell is a Bencher of the Honourable Society of King’s Inns and an Honorary Bencher of Lincoln’s Inn. He is also a Joint Patron of the Irish Legal History Society, an Honorary Member of the Society of Legal Scholars, Vice-President of UCD Law Society and holds an Honorary Doctorate of Philosophy from Dublin City University. He chairs the Judicial Appointments Commission and is a member of the Council of State and the Presidential Commission.
Emilia Onyema
Independent arbitrator, London
Emilia Onyema is an independent arbitrator with experience as presiding, co and sole arbitrator, and acts as legal expert witness in international arbitration. She is a member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration and the DIAC Court, among others. She is a Professor of International Commercial Law at SOAS University of London where she teaches and publishes on international arbitration, international investment law and commercial law in a global context. She is qualified to practice law in Nigeria, as a Solicitor in England & Wales, and Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.
Kathleen Paisley
International Arbitrator and Mediator,
Brussels
Kathleen Paisley is an international arbitrator with more than thirty years’ experience in both commercial and investor-State arbitration. She is triple qualified with degrees from the Yale Law School, a Master’s degree in Finance and has completed the Certified Public Accountancy exam.
Kathleen has specific industry expertise in technology (both medical and non-medical), biotech, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, construction, energy and hospitality.
Ms. Paisley’s areas of legal specialisation include international law, intellectual property, data protection, cybersecurity, complex damages, competition/antitrust and EU law issues related to arbitration.
She brings a truly international approach to her work given her US nationality and training, European and US presences, and significant experience covering Asia, the Americas, Africa, and Europe. She is a member of the New York and DC Bars and has worked under the laws of England and Wales, Belgium and other civil jurisdictions.
In addition to her practice, Kathleen is co-chair of the AAA-ICDR task force that is finalising its White Paper on the ‘The Effective, Expedient, and Expert Resolution of International Technology, Life Sciences, and IP Disputes’ and also speaks and publishes regularly on arbitration. Ms. Paisley has had the honour of serving on the major international arbitration task forces established by ICCA and others on damages (quantification), data protection (co-chair), cybersecurity, as well as the Sedona Conference Drafting Committee on arbitration and the Mixed Mode International Task Force (enforcement).
Genevieve Poirier
Partner, LALIVE LLP, London
Noted practitioner and LALIVE partner, Genevieve Poirier is an arbitration and litigation specialist, advising on the resolution of high-value international commercial disputes.
Genevieve has acted in some of the world’s largest and most complex cross border disputes. Her experience covers a broad range of commercial matters in the telecommunications, energy, insurance, and financial services sectors, including shareholder and joint venture disputes. She has worked extensively on India-seated and India-related arbitrations, as well as CIS-related disputes.
Larry Shore
Seladore Legal, London/Milan
Larry Shore is a partner in Seladore Legal (London), resident in Milan. His practice includes counsel work and serving as an arbitrator in international commercial and investment cases. Larry’s law degree is from Emory University, and he earned a PhD degree in American history from Johns Hopkins University. Larry is both an English solicitor and a US attorney- New York, District of Columbia, and Viriginia (inactive). He is co-author of International Investment Arbitration: Substantive Principles (OUP, second edition, 2017).
Matthew P York
Veritext,
USA
Matthew P. York is a Senior Vice-President at Veritext, LLC. He is the executive in charge of all alternative dispute resolution (ADR) services. Veritext is a trusted partner and established market leader in litigation technology and legal service solutions for law firms, government agencies and enterprise corporations. Veritext focuses on the unique needs of each member of the legal team and provides access to innovative technologies and remote solutions, unsurpassed data security, the highest-quality ADR professionals, reporters and legal videographers, unmatched expertise in multiparty and complex litigation and state-of-the-art conference space across North America. Prior to Veritext, Matt served as the Vice President of Operations, Global Development and Innovation and a series of other roles throughout his more than 20 years at JAMS which is the largest private provider of dispute resolution services in the world. Mr. York joined JAMS in 2005 and helped open the Philadelphia Resolution Center. In 2012 he assumed responsibility for the flagship New York Resolution Center and shortly thereafter took over regional responsibility for the Boston and Philadelphia locations. Mr. York was responsible for operations, profit/loss, personnel, panel relations, panel recruitment and strategic development for this region. Prior to JAMS, Mr. York served the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania as Deputy Clerk – Pro Se in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and as a Supervisor of National Operations for Verizon Communications in Pittsburgh and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Mr. York has a B.A. in Communications from La Salle University, an M.P.A from the University of Pennsylvania with a Certificate in Politics and Certificates in Executive Leadership and Performance Leadership from the Cornell University Graduate School – SC Johnson College of Business. Mr. York currently serves as a Board Member of the International Mediation Institute and as an Advisory Board Member of the Boston International Arbitration Council. A member of Arbitration Ireland, the American Bar Association, and the New York Intellectual Property Law Association. Mr. York is a former Board Member of the Friends of La Salle Academy and an Alumni Board of Director for La Salle University. He is a former member of the Society of Human Resource Management and former Chair of the ABA Health Care Committee. Mr. York is an avid speaker on topics regarding ADR and technology in the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and France which include panels, continuing legal education, educational lectures, and keynote addresses. A sample of the groups include but are not limited to: the New York City Bar Association, the New York State Bar Association, the Nassau County Bar Association, the New York County Lawyers Association, JAMS, the American Arbitration Association, the Garibaldi Inn of Court, the New York International Arbitration Center, Ono Academic Law of Israel, the Royal Thai Consulate General, the Thailand Supreme Judicial Court, the Fortaleza Mediation program of Brazil, the Shenzhen Lawyers Association, Fordham Law School, the New Jersey State Bar Association, the Pennsylvania Bar Association, the Philadelphia Bar Association, the NYSBA Commercial and Federal Litigation Section, the New England School of Law, Cardozo Law School, DLA Piper Global Mass Actions Summit, Arbitration Ireland, the American Bar Association, the Irish Commercial Mediation Association, Asian, North American, Oceanian Federal Judges Association of the International Association of Judges, American Lawyer Media – General Counsel Conference, the Dublin International Arbitration Day, Ireland for Law, Dublin International Disputes Week, the Conflict Resolution Connection New York, the Conflict Resolution Connection Paris, the Hispanic National Bar Association, the Beijing Arbitration Commission, the Shenzhen Court of International Arbitration, the Shanghai Arbitration Commission, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, the Commercial Law Development Program of the United States Department of Commerce, the Supreme Court of Pakistan, the Bar of Ireland, the Massachusetts Bar Association, the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service and the Sorbonne at the University of Paris.
Dublin International Arbitration Day 2025.
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