HKArbWeek 2014 Welcome Reception
The HKIAC kicked off its 2014 Road Show titled ‘Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre Road Show Understanding HKIAC – New Rules and Recent Practice’ at Hong Kong in April followed by London and Frankfurt in May and June respectively.
The first leg of the Road show in Hong Kong showcased a mock arbitration under the 2013 HKIAC Administered Arbitration Rules (“Rules”) that focused on the issue of consolidation and how it plays out in practice under the Rules. The mock arbitration was conducted at the premises of the HKIAC. Ruth Stackpool-Moore of the HKIAC introduced the mock arbitration case scenario to the audience. James Rogers of Norton Rose Fulbright, James Kwan of Baker & Mckenzie and Cameron Hassall of Clifford Chance played the role of counsel presenting their arguments before Matthew Gearing of Allen & Overy who played the role of the HKIAC Secretariat. Lucy Reed of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer acted as the arbitrator.
After a successful start to the event in Hong Kong, the next stop was London. Allen & Overy, London hosted the HKIAC event that consisted of two sessions. Mr Joseph Wan, Council Member of the HKIAC and former CEO of Harvey Nichols gave the welcome remarks and Angeline Walsh of Allen & Overy provided the introductory remarks. The first session of the event reflected on HKIAC’s past practice and looked to the future. The presentation explored the short and medium term trends experienced by the HKIAC from its previous and existing caseload during the last five years. The second session consisted of the mock arbitration. James Freeman of Allen & Overy, Ben Holland of Covington & Burling and Friven Yeoh of O’Melveny & Myers acted as counsel presenting their arguments before Ruth Stackpool-Moore who played the role of the HKIAC Secretariat. Maxi Scherer of Wilmerhale & Queen Mary’s University London, acted as the arbitrator.
London was followed by a stop at Frankfurt where the HKIAC event was hosted at the offices of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. The event at Frankfurt followed the same format as in London. Rolf Trittmann of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer gave the welcome remarks. Moritz Keller of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Jan Schaefer of King & Spalding and Friven Yeoh of O’Melveny & Myers played the role of counsel presenting their arguments before Ruth Stackpool-Moore who played the role of the HKIAC Secretariat. Christian Duve of Freshfields acted as the arbitrator and also gave the closing remarks.
The next destination was New York where the New York International Arbitration Center (NYIAC) hosted the event at its lovely premises. The event again followed the same format as in London and Frankfurt. Alexandra Dosman of the NYIAC gave welcoming remarks. During the first session, Craig Celniker of Morrison & Foerster and Stephen Maloy of ZICOlaw and JTN law firms shared their experience on Hong Kong arbitration and offered insight from a user’s perspective. In the next session, John Fellas of Hughes Hubbard & Reed, James Berger of King & Spalding and Claudia Salomon of Latham & Watkins played the role of counsel presenting their arguments before Chiann Bao who played the role of the HKIAC Secretariat. Craig Celniker acted as the arbitrator.
The Hong Kong, London, Frankfurt and New York road shows were a huge success and both the attendees and participants welcomed HKIAC’s initiative to showcase its Rules through the mock arbitration. Many found it interesting and engaging.
