GAR Live: Women in Arbitration

Welcome coffee and registration

GAR opening remarks

Co-chairs' opening remarks

Isabelle Michou, Partner, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan
Marieke van Hooijdonk, Independent Arbitrator 

Fireside chat: A view from top in-house counsel

Interviewer: 

Isabelle Michou, Partner, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan

Interviewee: 

Isabelle Deschamps, Global Chief Legal - Governance & Corporate Affairs Officer, Rio Tinto 

Politics and international arbitration – how immune is international arbitration from unwanted attention

We live in a time when societies around the world are becoming politically more polarized and politics in general more strident. Global conflict is also on the rise. How do these changes affect international arbitration, and those who practice it? In this wide-ranging session, the panel will discuss how international arbitration, which seeks mostly to transcend nationalities and sovereign control, can still be shaped by domestic political tides.

The panel are expected to discuss: 

• ISDS as a form of ‘lawfare’

• The effect of sanctions and ad hominem attacks on arbitrator availability

• Being authentic – has anything changed in our ability to express personal views?

• The DEI and pro-environmental rebound – are there more parts of the world where we are seeing the effects, or is momentum too established now?

Speakers:

Clare Ambrose , Arbitrator , Twenty Essex

Michelle Glassman Bock , Partner , Squire Patton Boggs

Kamalia Mehtiyeva , Professor of Law, Special counsel, President , Université Paris-Est Créteil, Clay Arbitration, Azerbaijan Arbitration Association

Daria Plakhova-Freshville , Managing Director , Nardello & Co

Jessica Resch , Principal , Analysis Group

Coffee break

The interview: The partner journey: what it takes – and what comes next

In our second fireside chat, we sit down with two arbitration partners with different career paths: one recently promoted partner and the other a seasoned damages expert. Together with our moderator, they will explore what it really takes to reach partner level—and how to build from there. From career-defining moments and personal challenges to shifting expectations and leadership goals, their journeys offer candid insights that will resonate with many in the room.

Interviewer: 

Marieke Schaink, Counsel, A&O Shearman

Interviewees:
Clea Bigelow-Nuttal, Partner, Greenberg Traurig
Jessica Resch, Principal, Analysis Group

Networking lunch

The future frontier of arbitration

This panel will spotlight sectors that are likely to produce more international disputes, along with the challenges they’re expected to bring.

The panel are expected to discuss: 

• Space and sea law: What disputes will flow from increased commercial activity in space, deep-sea locations, and extractive industries like mining?

• Defence and government spending: With more money due to go on defence will there be a rise in defence related disputes and will those require special measures owing to the sensitive nature of the contracts?

• The AI build-out: If infrastructure—especially AI data centres—expands as some believe it must to power an AI-driven industrial revolution, what kinds of disputes might reach arbitration? Construction? Technology? IP? All of those?

• High-net-worth families: with dynastic wealth now more common, will there be more use of arbitration by high net-worth individuals and the businesses to solve the problems of dynastic wealth?

Moderator:

Hannah Ambrose, Partner, Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer

Speakers:

Anne-Marie Hitchin , Director , AlixPartners

Rachael O’Grady , Partner , Mayer Brown

Sue Prevezer KC , Arbitrator , Brick Court Chambers

Kristen Young , Partner , Willkie Farr & Gallagher

GAR Live Innovation: What’s new in arbitration?

As arbitration evolves to meet demands for speed and efficiency, this panel explores the latest procedural innovations and how they’re reshaping practice across jurisdictions. Can arbitration deliver faster outcomes without compromising fairness? Join us for a practical look at what’s working, what’s not and what’s next.

The panel are expected to discuss: 

• Innovations from arbitration institutions - how are institutions ensuring that faster timelines don’t compromise fairness?

• What procedural tools are being used in different regions and which ones could be adopted more widely?

• Digital tools in practice: Are technologies like case management platforms, AI-assisted drafting, and virtual hearings genuinely improving arbitration, or are they just adding complexity in new ways?

• Innovation fatigue? Are we seeing too many procedural tweaks without enough evidence of impact and are we truly moving the needle in arbitration?

Speakers:

Anna Meyendorff , Partner , Bates White Economic Consulting

Anna-Maria Tamminen , Managing Partner , Hannes Snellman Attorneys

Nadia Nicolaou , Head of Arbitral Institutions , Opus 2

Diana Paraguacuto-Mahéo , Partner, Global Chair, International Litigation and Arbitration Department , Foley Hoag

Eliana Tornese , Registrar , London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA)

Coffee break

GAR Live market practice: fragmentation of the international arbitration market

International arbitration is evolving, offering more diverse career paths, especially once you’re established. Practitioners are becoming arbitrators earlier, sometimes perhaps too early? Boutique firms, often founded by Big Law alumni are gaining traction and in London a new generation of junior arbitration specialists is emerging. Yet Big Law remains a strong presence. So what does this mean for those trying to build a coherent career? Is this the new normal, or are we still in a period of transition?

The panel are expected to address: 

• Is the rise of boutique firms disrupting traditional career paths – or just reshaping the same hierarchy?

• What does real leadership look like in arbitration today – and who’s actually getting to shape it?

• Are clients pushing for diversity because it works – or because it looks good? How are women practitioners navigating this pressure?

• Innovation vs. tradition: which firm models are truly changing how arbitration is practiced – and who benefits most?

Moderator:

Marieke van Hooijdonk, Independent Arbitrator

Speakers:

Judy Fu , 3VB

Kathryn Khamsi , Partner , Three Crowns

Monique Sasson , Arbitrator , Arbitra International

Co-chairs’ closing remarks

Isabelle Michou, Partner, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan
Marieke van Hooijdonk, Independent Arbitrator

All delegates are invited to a networking drinks reception by Foley Hoag