Corporate Blog
07
The Land of the Eternal Blue Sky
Undral Sukhbaatar is a Mongolian-qualified lawyer and currently a candidate of the International Dispute Resolution LL.M. program of Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. She graduated from the National University of Mongolia School of Law with a specialization in private law.
24
Enforcing arbitral awards in Mauritius
Vishwanath Petkar is a candidate of the International Dispute Resolution LL.M. program of Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. He holds a Graduate Diploma in Law (Distinction) from the University of Central Lancashire and graduated summa cum laude from Université Paris Panthéon-Assas with a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B. (Hons)).
Below, Vishwanath provides us with an overview of key information relating to the enforcement of awards in his home-jurisdiction – Mauritius.
11
En provenance du Port de la Lune
Missa Garcia has joined our team as an intern! Missa is French and grew up in Bordeaux in the south-west of France. She studied law at the University of Bordeaux, and is currently completing her master’s degree with a specialization in international law. In September, she is planning to take the bar exam in France to become an admitted attorney.
09
From Sivar to Berlin
Diego Melendez Hirezi is a Salvadorean-qualified lawyer. He graduated from the Superior School of Business and Economics of El Salvador. Currently, he is a student in the International Dispute Resolution LL.M program at Berlin Humboldt University.
26
O Canada
Filippo Furlano is a qualified lawyer in the province of Ontario, Canada, and a current candidate of the International Dispute Resolution LL.M. program at the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. He holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Leicester, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and History from McGill University.
24
Nordic Lights
Sini Hattuniemi is a student at the University of Lapland, which is the northest University of the EU. She grew up in Kerava and was on exchange in Germany during her high school years. Prior to joining us she has completed internships in a law firm in Cologne and in another law firm in Berlin.
19
Hot off the Press
We are happy to share that 200 new copies of the blockbusting arbitrattoria cookbook have arrived at the office a few days ago.
18
Viva Chile!
Pablo Ortega Krstulovic is a Chilean-qualified lawyer who joins us as a visiting professional from the new class of the IDR LL.M at HU. He grew up in Arica, Chile and completed his legal education at the University of Chile in Santiago.
21
Bienvenido, Laura Castillo Mego!
Laura Castillo Mego is a Peruvian qualified-lawyer, candidate of the IDR LL.M. class of 2022/2023 at Humboldt Universität zu Berlin. She holds a Bachelor of Laws at Pontifical Catholic University of Peru.
16
WagArb warmly welcomes Vishwanath Petkar as Visiting Professional!
Vishwanath is a candidate of the International Dispute Resolution LL.M. program of Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. He holds a Graduate Diploma in Law (Distinction) from the University of Central Lancashire and graduated summa cum laude from Université Paris Panthéon-Assas with a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B. (Hons)).
24
The role of the legal community in advancing peace
Join us for our 18th lunch bowl on 24 February 2023. On this day, one year ago, Russia started its full-scale war in Ukraine. The topic will therefore be „The role of the legal community in advancing peace“.
12
WagArb warmly welcomes its first trainee advocate ’23 – Marie Carnap!
Marie grew up in Berlin and studied law at the Universities of Potsdam and Valladolid with a specialization in public international law. She holds an LL.M. degree in Law and Globalisation, International Trade and Investment Law from the University of Maastricht and is currently completing her legal traineeship aka Referendariat at the Kammergericht Berlin.
We look very much forward to working with her and have so many questions…
05
WagArb warmly welcomes its first 2023 Visiting Professional!
Muhammed Akif Serdar is a Turkish attorney and joins us from the new class of the IDR LL.M at HU. Next to his LL.B. studies at Istanbul University, Akif also obtained B.A. degrees in Philosophy and Western Languages and Literatures at Bogazici University.
01
WagArb warmly welcomes Julian Kulaga as trainee advocate
Julian completed a double degree in English law and German law at the King’s College London, where he obtained an LL.B. honors. Subsequently, he moved to Berlin where he obtained a German law degree following his studies at HU. Besides this, Julian also studied theology and philosophy, which led to his election as an associateship of King’s College.
08
Our very first Azubi!
We warmly welcome Zeineb Aoun as our very first trainee legal assistant aka REFA.
02
WagArb Vernissage
We will be hosting an exhibition on 16 September 2022 with a selection of works by the artist Franz Göttlicher on the topic of transgenerational trauma.
01
Another Bavarian on the team!
WagArb warmly welcomes another Bavarian to its team – Simon Fink, who joins as trainee advocate!
21
Berlin court finds intra-EU ICSID arbitration is immune from Achmea
The Higher Regional Court Berlin declined on 28 April 2022 Germany’s request to declare that the Respondents’ (Mainstream Renewable Power Ltd. and five of its subsidiaries, the claimants in ICSID Case No. ARB/21/26, “Mainstream et al”) claim against Germany under Article 26 of the Energy Charter Treaty (“ECT”) was inadmissible as it concerns an intra-EU dispute (KG Berlin, Decision 12 SchH 6/21 of 28 April 2022).
14
Learning the ropes onboard the WagArb
Im Referendariat steuert man dem Ende einer langen Ausbildung entgegen. Dabei segelt man als Referendar während der Stationen quasi als Jungmatrose eine Weile mit und überlegt, bei welcher Mannschaft man langfristig einsteigen möchte. Das Rüstzeug dazu hat man zu dem Zeitpunkt zwar schon. Der Ausdruck „learning the ropes“ trifft die Situation aus unserer Sicht sehr gut: Während der Station lernt man erst richtig, das Handwerkszeug in der Praxis einzusetzen.
11
Das digitale Kaufrecht
Am 1. Januar 2022 trat das „digitale Schuldrecht“ in Kraft. Hiermit hat der deutsche Gesetzgeber gleich zwei EU-Richtlinien umgesetzt, nämlich die Digitale-Inhalte-Richtlinie und die Warenkauf-Richtlinie.
Beide Richtlinien haben das Ziel, den digitalen Binnenmarkt zu stärken und für ein erhöhtes Verbraucherschutzniveau zu sorgen.
15
Enforcing arbitral awards in Ukraine
Mariia a.k.a. Masha is Ukrainian and, as part of the Safe Harbor for UA Students initiative, joined our team as intern from March to June 2022. Masha is to graduate soon with an LL.B. in International Law from the Institute of International Relations of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv this summer. Next to her legal studies, she worked for a Kyiv-based law firm last summer, joined Arbitrator Intelligence as a research assistant and ambassador earlier this year and is a committed Vis mootie.
04
Enforcing arbitral awards in Lebanon
Rafic El Hassan is a Lebanese-qualified lawyer. He obtained a Bachelor’s degree in law as well as a Master’s certificate in private law at the Saint Joseph University in Beirut, where he studied both Lebanese and French law. Before moving to Berlin for his LL.M. in 2021, Rafic worked as an associate at a major law firm in North Lebanon.
26
Merhaba, Beril!
We warmly welcome Beril Kaptan as our next Visiting Professional from the HU International Dispute Reslution LL.M.
14
Welcome to the Vienna Vis Social Bubble!
After almost two years of virtual meetings, pleadings and networking events, the Vis Moot in Vienna is back!
01
Welcome Lukas!
The 1st of April is a special day in the WagArb calendar – not only because it marks the anniversary of Florian Dupuy joining the firm in 2014, but also because many trainee lawyers start their so called Anwaltsstation that day (and many have done so at WagArb in the past years).
29
The Safe Harbor for UA Students initiative
Last week, we had the pleasure of welcoming Alicja Zielinska-Eisen and Mariia Kyrylenko to our 10th arbitrattoria lunch bowl. As in February, we devoted the lunch bowl format to how we can help in Ukraine.
25
Welcoming our March 2022 interns!
WagArb warmly welcomes its four new March 2022 interns (from left to right): Rafic El Hassan (standing left), Miguel Alberto Díaz Ramírez (sitting left), Giuseppe Spatocco (standing right), and Mariia Kyrylenko!
01
WagArb goes Jamaica
WagArb goes Jamaica (although regrettably only in virtual form) – and warmly welcomes Rojae Brown as intern!
13
Admitted to the Bar!
Everything takes longer these days, including bar admissions, but today is the day: Sophie Eichhorn, who re-joined our team last October following her earlier legal traineeship with WagArb, has finally been sworn in at the Rechtsanwaltskammer Berlin, and will henceforth be upholding the rule of law as Rechtsanwältin.
18
6th Arbitrattoria lunch bowl with Ndanga Kamau – International Arbitration in Africa: A safari from the 19th Century to present day
Join us on 26 November 2021 at 12:45 pm CET for our next arbitrattoria lunch bowl on arbitration in Africa with Ndanga Kamau! Click below to learn more and for the conference link…
12
Christin Dallmann is WagArb’s newest trainee advocate!
Christin holds a degree in German Law from the Humboldt University and a Master’s Degree in Legal Translation from the City University London, and has been working as a lawyer-linguist for more than ten years. Since 2020, she is managing partner at Delaney & Dallmann Legal Linguists PartG – a highly specialised translation service provider for courts, notaries and law firms.
01
Sophie’s back!
Sophie Eichhorn, former trainee advocate at WagArb (summer ’20), has returned to the firm to be a fully-fledged Rechtsanwältin.
06
Who’s Who Legal 2021
Why did you decide to set up your own firm? If you could implement one reform in international arbitration, what would it be? What would you like to achieve that you have not yet accomplished?
26
Summer Party – WAGNER Style
August 17th was a day of joyful reunion for the WagArb team – after almost two years of virtual meetings and apéros, the time for the long-awaited physical get-together had come.
20
Welcoming our ’21 summer interns!
The WagArb social media team is back from summer holidays, just in time to introduce and warmly welcome our three new summer interns – Lara Kerber, Hannah Wissler and Toju Nanna!
06
The WagArb Cookbook
The printed copies of the WagArb Cookbook have reached us this week, which finalizes a project very close to our hearts. Feel free to get in touch with us if you are interested in a copy. As a complimentary sneak preview, we share the foreword of the Cookbook below.
27
Challenges and Opportunities in Investor-State Dispute Settlement
During the London International Disputes Week 2021, Laura Halonen spoke at an interactive panel of leading experts on investment arbitration. The event was organized jointly by White & Case, Clifford Chance, Herbert Smith Freehills, EFILA and the Queen Mary University London.
10
”Italienische Stadt mit Wasserfall”
”Italienische Stadt mit Wasserfall” – After gracing our office reception for the past few years, the painting by Jakob Philipp Hackert, Goethe’s painting tutor, has been picked up to go to its new home – the Casa di Goethe in Rome.
06
Welcome Jasmin!
WagArb warmly welcomes Jasmin Aumeer to the team, who joins as the second trainee advocate of the year and, in total, our 20th trainee advocate since our first in 2017!
04
Fighting the decline in dialogue
Last Thursday, Prof. Lela Porter Love of the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law gave the Fifth overall and Second Online Wagner Arbitration Lecture live from New York to an international audience logged in from all around the world. As a passionate mediator, she of course talked about mediation and its history, its promotion worldwide as well as its use during the pandemic.
26
What is the presentation and evaluation of evidence going to look like in arbitration in the 2020s?
The International Bar Association has just published the update of its hugely influential IBA Rules on the Taking of Evidence in International Arbitration and their Commentary.
03
See you on the other side!
We say goodbye to Anne Philippczyk, who has left us last week as she enters the final stretch of her preparation for the First State Exam.
21
Impartial arbitrators and arbitrability – how do those work in Germany?
In April 2019, back in the days when real-life conferences were still happening, our very own Joseph Schwartz spoke at the Université catholique de Lyon Symposium about Arbitration in Germany.
23
Order! Order! – An Evening at The Jolly Waggoner
The annual Christmas Party is traditionally the festive highlight of the WagArb social calendar. Yet in this most unusual of years, with December fast approaching and the corona forecast looking gloomy, it seemed like the festivities would have to be postponed until 2021.
19
Zustellung aus dem Ausland in Deutschland – ein kleiner Grenzverkehr
Stellen Sie sich folgendes Szenario vor: In der Einkaufsabteilung Ihres Unternehmens landet mit der Post ein ganz gewöhnliches Paket und wird als Warenlieferung angenommen. Enthalten sind mehrere hundert Seiten Papier.
12
Moien from Luxembourg
After around a year and a half of writing my doctoral thesis in international investment law alongside working at WagArb, I decided that I was going to take some time off from the firm to dedicate myself to the thesis full-time.
04
Looking for the open mic
Sebastian von Massow joins WagArb as sixth trainee advocate this year and we look forward to working with him.
02
“The Class of WagArb”
Seven years after the beginnings of Wagner Arbitration in 2013, Philipp and the Wagner Arbitration team felt it was time to start an alumni group. Interns, legal trainees, LL.M. students – so many young lawyers from all over the world have spent some time at Hegelplatz 1 or the original offices from the beginnings of the firm. All of us share WagArb experiences from projects, rhetoric coachings and get-togethers around a good meal and a glass of wine.
15
Pflichtpraktikum in Zeiten von Corona
Seit Anfang März herrschen in Berlin und fast überall auf der Welt Ausnahmezustände. Doch das heißt nicht, dass man seine Aufgaben nicht mehr erledigen muss.
01
Welcome Yun-I!
Yun-I Kim studied law at the University of Cologne. During that time she participated in a number of moot courts, notably in the European Law Moot Court, the Frankfurt Investment Arbitration Moot Court and the Foreign Direct Investment Moot Court, and she also worked both as student and later as research assistant at the Institute of Air and Space Law and the chair for public international law, European law as well as European and international economic law at the University of Cologne.
03
The Dissenting Opinion in Arbitration Proceedings in Germany
The below is a summary of the article „Das Sondervotum (dissenting opinion) im deutschen Schiedsverfahrensrecht“, first published in German in Gesellschafts- und Wirtschaftsrecht 2020, 295-297. It addresses a recent controversial German court decision on the admissibility of dissenting opinions in arbitration.
20
The Summer Intern: WagArb warmly welcomes Alena Rogge to the team
Alena will intern with the firm for the next seven weeks. Originally from Cologne, she moved to Berlin in 2008 and started studying law at the FU in 2016.
03
The seemingly simple skill
Rhetorical prowess is one of a lawyer’s key tools. It does not only matter what you say, but also how you say it. Skilled presentation and substance go together.
31
Off to new shores!
It is with a heavy heart that we bid farewell to Felix Krumbiegel, who is leaving WagArb as of 1 August to join the Federal Ministry of the Interior.
21
Will Ye Go Lassie Go
Nach knapp anderthalb Jahren als Rechtsanwalt bei WAGNER Arbitration stürzte ich mich in das Abenteuer LL.M. und begab mich auf meine Reise nach Edinburgh in Schottland, die spannend und abwechslungsreich war und leider etwas verfrüht zu Ende gehen sollte.
16
COVID-19 and Sports Law – The stakeholders’ legal perspectives
On 1 July 2020, WagArb’s Niklas Luft, together with Alexander Engelhard, attorney with Arnecke Sibeth Dabelstein, co-hosted an online event for sports lawyers, young professionals working in the sports law industry, students and next generation sports law practitioners.
07
Recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards in Switzerland
Fabio Leonini studied law at University of Geneva and Zurich in Switzerland. He is a Swiss-qualified lawyer and has five years of experience working either as a white-collar crime litigator in various Swiss and International criminal proceedings or as a legal counsel at the Prosecution Office in Geneva in the same field of law.
01
The Summer Trainees
The WagArb team is joined this week by not one, not two, but three young legal minds and trainee advocates – FLTR: Fionn, Valeska, Sophie – whom we are very happy to introduce and welcome below – the floor is theirs!
30
WagArb congratulates WNT on their successful performance at Bar Bobu
WagArb partner Florian Dupuy (Double Bass) together with fellow WNT members Robin Hartkopf (Drums) and Stefan Merz (Piano) have won cheers from the audience during their first public re-appearance in 2020.
24
Enforcing arbitral awards in Singapore
Jonathan Wu is currently an intern at WAGNER Arbitration. He is an LL.M. candidate in International Dispute Resolution at Humboldt University of Berlin, after having previously obtained his B.A. in Jurisprudence from the University of Oxford. He grew up in Singapore and has worked as a trainee in the tax practice of a global consultancy firm in the UK prior to coming to Germany.
18
Why commercial mediation does not take place in Germany and how this could change
The Mediation Act exists for nearly eight years now. For the mediation scene it has brought a lot of navel-gazing. It has brought little for the business community.
02
Grüezi Fabio!
WagArb warmly welcomes Fabio Leonini, who joined the firm this week for a virtual internship. Fabio is a dual Swiss and Italian citizen and studied law at the University of Geneva, where he completed both his LL.B. and LL.M. studies.
28
The heat is on but who should be the chef? — Global Warming Litigations and the Courts
Prof. Gerhard Wagner gave the fourth and first online WAGNER Arbitration Lecture last week, examining whether the courts are the most suitable forum to resolve climate change related disputes. Here comes a brief report by our current intern Jonathan Wu on Prof. Wagner’s key points.
13
Termination of intra-EU BITs – Commission and most Member States testing the principle of good faith under international law
This post was first published on Kluwer Arbitration Blog on 13 May 2020. See here.
The long-awaited Agreement to terminate intra-EU BITs (bilateral investment treaties) was signed on 5 May 2020 (the “Termination Agreement”). Read more
08
The War is Over!
Today, 75 years after the unconditional German surrender, Berlin attempts to stand still for the day to commemorate this historic date with an extraordinary public holiday.
05
WagArb welcomes Jonathan (Zeyang) Wu
From the Lion City: WagArb welcomes its next intern from the IDR LL.M. – Jonathan (Zeyang) Wu! Jonathan grew up in Singapore. He holds a B.A. in Jurisprudence from the University of Oxford.
23
Improvise. Adapt. Overcome – The Virtual Vis Experience 2020
As a coach of the 2019/20 Humboldt University Vis Moot team, I was confronted with many challenges that we all share during these times of crisis. How do we carry on business as usual? Can we carry on business as usual? How do we keep up our good spirits? Is it a feasible option to move dispute resolution online? I believe that this season’s Vis experience serves as an example of how an organisation and a global community can react during these times, and what lessons can be learnt.
21
Enforceability of arbitral awards in Lesotho
Nthabeleng Mafisa studied law at the National University of Lesotho. She is an admitted advocate of the courts of Lesotho and has three years of experience working as a commercial litigator in various commercial disputes as well as domestic labour arbitration disputes.
16
Setting up a company in Brazil as a foreign investor
According to the World Economic Outlook published by the International Monetary Fund, Brazil is currently the 9th largest economy in the world. This position tends to only improve, as the projection for 2020 shows that economic activity in the country should gain traction throughout this year.
14
“Erste Berliner Schiedsrechts Manufaktur”
A little over a hundred years ago, on 1 April 1914, shortly before the outbreak of World War One, back in the days when we Wagners were honorable tradesmen, my great-great-grandfather Franz, in a diction long gone, sent a formal notice to his clients and business partners, informing them that he had made his son Fritz and his son-in-law Max co-shareholders of the family business, ‘Erste Berliner Wäsche Manufaktur Franz Wagner’, a Berlin based linen manufacturing company.
09
Cooperation beats confrontation
The Corona Crisis will place a massive burden on state courts in Germany and elsewhere. However, there are alternatives available to businesses and lawyers.
01
Habemus Socium
C’est avec grande joie et fierté que nous annonçons, dans sa langue paternelle, que notre cher confrère Maître Florian Dupuy admis au barreau de Paris, docteur en droit, Of Counsel au sein du cabinet depuis le 1er avril 2014, et musicien professionnel de jazz passionné, a accepté notre offre de se joindre au cabinet en tant qu’associé.
25
329 days
On the occasion of this year’s “bridge year” between the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall last November and the corresponding anniversary of the German Reunification on 3 October this year, we had planned a series of fireside chats, giving witnesses to those times a platform to share their memories of the 329 days between those two important events. We were going to call these encounters “Einheitsgespräche” – The Unity Talks.
04
LL.M. Internship Season begins
WagArb welcomes its 5th generation of LL.M. interns within the IDR LL.M. program at Humboldt University of Berlin: This season, Nthabeleng Mafisa and Carolina Lana Castilho are the first to join us.
11
Mer stonn’ zo Dir!
Johann Neukirch is our new intern from this week on and will be with us for the next two months.
28
Time to say goodbye
After one year and one month, we say farewell to our good man Roman Schäle, who will start his two years as trainee advocate aka the Referendariat the Berlin Court of Appeals Kammergericht next week.
21
WagArb presents its first spinoff!
We are happy to share with you that with the start of 2020, Claudio Kühn has founded his own law firm KXP Kuehn.
17
Welcome Sara Maria Kasparczyk
Welcoming Sara Maria Kasparczyk as first trainee advocate of 2020! Sara is originally from Münster, where she also studied law with a specialization in international and European law.
15
Bis bald, Malte!
As (first state examination) duty calls for Malte Benfeldt in the beginning of this year, we say farewell to him as he immerses in intensive preparations over the next few months.
09
Congratulations, Dr. Saskia Merle!
Dr. Saskia Merle – Our first good news of the New Year is that the doctoral thesis of our current trainee advocate Saskia Merle has been published and that she has officially been conferred the doctorate title.
10
Laura Halonen joins WAGNER Arbitration as Of Counsel
Breaking news: Laura Halonen joins WagArb in an Of Counsel capacity as of 1 October 2019.
02
Jan Liesenfeld joins as sixth trainee advocate in 2019
Jan Liesenfeld joins us as our newest and last trainee advocate this year beginning this month, and it is our pleasure to introduce him.
17
Enforcing arbitral awards in India
This questionnaire on the enforcement of arbitral awards in India is co-authored by Asmita Singh, Vivswan Kanwar and Vinayak Kapur.
06
A 101 on Arbitration, the CISG and Writing like a Lawyer at the 15th Frankfurt Drafting School
The entire Willem C. Vis world knows that the moot season officially starts in October each year when the case file is released.
20
Wenn mich jemand fragt…
…was ich im Referendariat während meiner Anwaltsstation denn so alles gemacht habe, fällt mir einiges ein:
14
Back on board: Niklas Luft returns to WagArb
We warmly welcome back Niklas Luft, who has returned to the firm in a part time associate position following his time with us as trainee advocate last year. He has meanwhile completed his second state examination and will be supporting the firm alongside writing his doctoral thesis.
16
Welcome, Anne Philippczyk!
Warmly welcoming our newest intern to the WagArb team! – Anne Philippczyk joins us from mid-July on. She is currently pursuing a double degree in English and German law at King’s College London as well as the Humboldt University of Berlin within the frames of the European Law School.
09
Rhetoric coachings with John Faulk
Throughout the past few years, we have been offering internships to LL.M. students from the International Dispute Resolution program at HU. The program is particularly close to our hearts, not only because Philipp Wagner has been involved in setting it up and is part of the program’s faculty, but also because it provides a platform that gathers bright legal minds from all around the world and enables us to enter into a truly international dialogue.
04
Welcome Saskia and Albrecht!
Welcoming two new crew members: Saskia Merle and Albrecht Steinbach have joined us as trainee advocates from this week on and will be with us until next March.
06
Enforcing arbitral awards in England
Mark Baldock initially studied Classics at the University of Cambridge before converting to law and reading for the Bar. During his legal studies, he was a visiting lecturer at City, University of London and a researcher for a leading set of Barristers’ Chambers in London. Below he examines all relevent issues regarding the enforcement of arbitral awards in England.
15
Moot Courts – The Art of Persuasion
Rhetoric and body language, composure, time management, network building or the development of personal feedback competence: these are all soft skills that play a major role in legal practice – but which first need to be acquired. Participating in a moot court offers a marvelous opportunity to expand one’s own social, oral and drafting skills.
09
Welcome, namaste and bem-vindo!
Mark Baldock from the UK, Vivswan Kanwar from India and Fábio Calvacante from Brasil have joined the WagArb crew as interns for the months to come. All three of them, introduced individually below, are lawyers and currently enrolled in the International Dispute Resolution LL.M. program at HU.
01
Duet in May
It is with great joy that we announce the arrival of Johanna Dickershoff who joins Katharina Meyer in running our legal management at WagArb. Born in Kassel, Johanna lived most of her life in the northern part of Germany.
11
One step at a time
One step at a time – Raphael Fellmer gave the Third Wagner Arbitration Lecture last Thursday at #HP1 on a very current topic: how do we deal with food waste in a surplus society and around the world? How do we create sustainable food industries? How many other planets do we need, if business is carried on as usual?
01
April 1st at WagArb
Next to celebrating Florian’s 5th Of Counsel and other important anniversaries on that day, we bid a warm welcome to Anna Akosua Hankings-Evans who will be with us in a trainee advocate position until the end of the year.
14
One Step at a Time – Third WAGNER Arbitration Lecture with Raphael Fellmer
We cordially invite you to the Third WAGNER Arbitration Lecture, to be given by Raphael Fellmer on 4 April 2019 at 6:00 pm at our office.
04
Namaste! – We bid a warm welcome to Asmita Singh and Vinayak Kapur
Namaste! – We bid a warm welcome to Asmita Singh and Vinayak Kapur, both Indian lawyers and LLM candidates in International Dispute Resolution at Humboldt University of Berlin, who are joining us as interns for the month of March. Asmita studied law at Jindal Global Law School in Sonipat.
15
Wir suchen…
…für unsere wachsende Kanzlei im Herzen Berlins ab sofort tatkräftige Unterstützung im Office Management, unbefristet in Teilzeit oder Vollzeit.
24
Meine Anwaltsstation bei WAGNER Arbitration – Entwicklung im wachsenden Umfeld
Die Anwaltsstation bei WAGNER Arbitration war eine großartige Erfahrung. Die Stationszeit war geprägt von ständiger Bewegung und ich bin überzeugt, dass mir das entgegengebrachte Vertrauen gerade in der Phase des Wachstums der Kanzlei ein hohes Maß an Weiterentwicklung ermöglicht hat. Neben der Arbeit an inhaltlich spannenden Projekten ist mein Ziel voll erfüllt worden, die Arbeit als Rechtsanwalt kennenzulernen.
07
Off to 2019!
The WagArb team is back at Hegelplatz with new ideas and fresh energy and wishes everyone a happy new year and a good start to 2019! In that vein, we are also glad to heartily welcome three new team members, who have joined us as of this week. Verena Schug, LL.M. and Jasper Hoppenbrock as trainee advocates as well as Roman Schäle as research assistant.
14
It’s Christmas time
Three months ago, we went on a special tour through Germany for a week with the White Noise Trio, one of Germany’s most inventive modern jazz trios.
01
Would you choose German courts for commercial disputes if proceedings were held before specialized chambers in English?
When choosing a forum for dispute resolution, the key factors from a legal advisor’s view are quality, time and costs of proceedings. The quality in dispute settlement does not necessarily mean a positive outcome for the client – which is the goal of course – but rather a transparent and plausible process of decision making by a dispute settlement forum.
24
Enforcing arbitral awards in Italy
Claudia studied law at the University of Cagliari with a specialization in international law and holds an LL.M. degree in International Dispute Resolution from Berlin Humboldt University.
16
Reflecting on our internship at WagArb
Anna, Claudia, Munique and Thiago, LL.M. graduates in International Dispute Resolution from Humboldt University of Berlin, were interns at WAGNER Arbitration. Upon the conclusion of their internships, they wanted to share their experience and explain what an internship at WagArb looks like.
09
Enforcing arbitral awards in Brazil
Munique and Thiago are Brazilian lawyers and hold an LL.M. degree in International Dispute Resolution from Berlin Humboldt University.
01
Welcome, Jona-Marie Winkler!
From this week on, Jona-Marie will support us at WagArb as trainee advocate and we bid her a warm welcome!
13
Das neue Datenschutzrecht im Unternehmen – ein kleiner Leitfaden
Die Flut der E-Mails, mit denen um die Erteilung der Einwilligung zum Erhalt diverser Newsletter gebeten wurde, ist abgeebbt, die gefürchtete Mahnwelle ist ausgeblieben und die meisten Datenschutzerklärungen, über die man im Internet stolpert, unternehmen zumindest den Versuch, die Anforderungen der Datenschutzgrundverordnung („DSGVO“) zu erfüllen.
05
New role, familiar face
WagArb warmly re-welcomes Ann-Sophie Mante! From September 2017 up until now, she supported our team as research assistant and from this week on joins us in her new capacity as trainee advocate.
21
Insolvency and Arbitration
Insolvency and arbitration have returned on the menu of the international arbitration community. The German Arbitration Institute (DIS), made it the overarching topic of its annual spring conference in Zurich earlier this year, and the DRI, the leading organization of defense attorneys, chose to make it a topic for a panel session at its annual conference in London last week.
30
Flying with the Eagles – Part II
After only a few hours of sleep, we collect our things and get ready to depart from Prishtina for 48 hours. Our first destination is Prevalle, where we are scheduled to give our workshop organized by the KDWV and hosted by ProCredit Bank Kosovo on how to conclude contracts with German business partners for a group of approximately 40 company representatives.
25
Flying with the Eagles – Part I
Two weeks ago, four of us went on a trip to Kosovo: Petrit Elshani, doctoral candidate at Berlin Humboldt University and project counsel at the firm; Katharina Meyer, our legal manager; Claudio Kühn, associate specialized in corporate law and venture capital investments; and me, the “old guy”.
17
Second WAGNER Arbitration Lecture with Stephan Breidenbach
Last Thursday, Prof. Stephan Breidenbach gave the Second WAGNER Arbitration Lecture at our office. As the critical and innovative dispute resolution thought leader that he is, the topic of his lecture was „Dispute Resolution 4.0“.
10
Katharina Seydel verstärkt WAGNER Arbitration als Referendarin
Wir freuen uns, dass Katharina Seydel unsere Kanzlei in den nächsten Monaten als Referendarin unterstützt.
05
Neuer Referendar bei WAGNER Arbitration: Niklas Luft
Wir freuen sehr, dass Niklas Luft seine Anwaltsstation bei WAGNER Arbitration verbringt. Seit dieser Woche unterstützt er unser Team als Referendar in unserer Gesellschaftsrechts- und Schiedspraxis.
27
WAGNER Arbitration welcomes two further interns to its team
Since the beginning of this week, we have the pleasure to be joined by two further interns from the IDR LL.M. program of Humboldt University of Berlin: Anna Polubaryeva from Saint Petersburg and Claudia Pillosu from Cagliari will work with us for a month.
20
Dr. Felix Krumbiegel verstärkt WAGNER Arbitration als Associate
Dr. Felix Krumbiegel war bereits im vergangenen Jahr als Referendar innerhalb seiner Anwaltsstation Teil unseres Teams. Nachdem er sein zweites Staatsexamen am Kammergericht Berlin erfolgreich abgeschlossen hat, kehrt er nun als Rechtsanwalt in unsere Kanzlei zurück.
27
Bem-vindo ao WagArb!
As of this week, the first two interns from the IDR LL.M. program of Humboldt University of Berlin have joined our team: Munique Mendes and Thiago Stüssi Neves, both from Rio de Janeiro, will be working with us for a month.
04
New year, familiar face
Julian Bickmann, a man of the first WagArb hour, has returned to the firm as of this week. He will be working with us alongside writing his doctoral thesis, which he is doing under the mentorship of Prof. Klaus-Peter Berger at the University of Cologne.
21
„Kamine und Wein“
As the end of 2017 is fast approaching, we gathered current and past team members around one table for an end of year Christmas party last week. As everyone has let the impressions of this event sink in, Petrit Elshani has written a few words below sharing his memories of the evening.
30
Rezension zu „Handbuch Schlichtungs- und Schiedsgerichtshof Deutscher Notare“ von Jan Hupka
Der Deutsche Notarverein hat einen Schlichtungs- und Schiedsgerichtshof. Wer es bis jetzt nicht wusste und sich darüber informieren möchte, kauft sich am besten das brandneue Handbuch von Jan Hupka, erschienen 2017 im Deutschen Notarverlag.
28
Vernissage at WagArb – Rooms and Spaces
Vero Zadworna, a friend of the firm and the architect who assisted with the interior design of our office, presented some of her paintings in a vernissage, hosted in our office last week. The exhibition is entitled “Räume” (which is German both for “rooms” and “spaces”), the overarching topic of Vero’s art.
18
Rezension zu „Prozessrisikoanalyse“ von Risse und Morawietz
Joerg Risse hat zusammen mit Matthias Morawietz ein Buch geschrieben. Und was für eins. Es trägt den Titel „Prozessrisikoanalyse“, ist 2017 bei C.H. Beck, MANZ und Helbing Lichtenhahn erschienen und hat 230 Seiten ohne Verzeichnisse.
07
A pleading for a more diversified dispute resolution culture in German companies
This post is based on and derived from an article published in the Journal of the Federal German Bar Association (BRAK-Mitteilungen) in August 2017. As the article is only available in German, we provide an English summary here on our WagArb Journal.
05
Doppeltes Neuland
Mit diesem Schlagwort lässt sich meine Anwaltsstation bei WAGNER Arbitration ganz gut umreißen. Neuland für mich als Greenhorn was anwaltliche Arbeit in der Praxis betrifft, aber auch für die Kanzlei selbst, da es zuvor noch keinen Stationsreferendar gegeben hatte. Ein für beide Seiten spannender Testlauf, der zumindest von meiner Seite aus in Gänze glückte.
22
Wir suchen…
… ab 1. November 2017 Referendare/innen, die bei uns ihre Anwaltsstation oder Wahlstation verbringen möchten, vorzugsweise mit Erfahrung und Interesse am Handels- und Gesellschaftsrecht.
03
Breaking free: The role of the lawyer in a corporate environment
As WagArb continues to grow and attract young lawyers, students and trainees, I find myself often talking – or should I say lecturing? – about the role of the lawyer in today’s professional environment. I have been told by some that I should write this down.
27
Promoting Settlements between Disputants as Arbitrator
A subject that appears to be of increasing relevance and interest in arbitral practice is the capacity of arbitrators to facilitate settlement negotiations between disputants. Klaus-Peter Berger and Ole Jensen of the University of Cologne have recently published a very passionate article in the Fordham Law Journal on precisely this topic, promoting the idea that it is actually part of the arbitrator’s mandate to assist the parties as settlement facilitator.
26
Enforcing arbitral awards in Turkey
Doguhan Uygun is a Turkish qualified lawyer. He studied law in Ankara and Istanbul and is currently an LL.M. candidate in International Dispute Resolution at Humboldt University of Berlin. He has previously worked as an associate for one of the largest law firms in Turkey, gaining experience both in their dispute resolution practice as well as in mergers & acquisitions. By preparing the answers to the Q&A below, Doguhan was kind enough to provide us with a concise and useful overview on Enforcement of Arbitral Awards in Turkey.
18
Reflections on the WagArb Internship Experience
We at WAGNER Arbitration have had the pleasure of working together with three visiting lawyers from various jurisdictions in the past months – Ella Wisniewski, Doguhan Uygun and Perttu Kaikkonen – who are all participants of Humboldt-University’s LL.M. program on International Dispute Resolution, as well as a law student of Humboldt University of Berlin – Boyan Arshinkov.
The four of them have taken the time to put together an article reflecting on their experience at the firm, which we are happy to share with you below.
11
Further research prowess at WagArb
We have the pleasure of introducing Sandra Reinecke, who has joined us as of this month as intern. Sandra is currently a law student at Humboldt University of Berlin and holds a keen interest in arbitration, which is why she has done an internship at the German Institution of Arbitration last year. She has spent a year abroad studying at the University of Geneva, where she had the opportunity to deepen her knowledge in international law.
04
New Trainee On Board
WAGNER Arbitration would like to wish a warm welcome to its most recent addition: Friederike Meyer zu Wendischhoff is assisting in our firm’s practice from this month on as trainee advocate.
27
Enforcing arbitral awards in Australia
Ella Wisniewski supported WAGNER Arbitration from March to May 2017. She is admitted to the Supreme Court of Western Australia as a lawyer and currently an LL.M. candidate in International Dispute Resolution at the Humboldt-University of Berlin. As part of her time with the firm, she was kind enough to put together the answers to the questionnaire on behalf of her home jurisdiction – Australia.
14
State Succession and Investment Arbitration
Do Bilateral Investment Treaties (BIT) concluded by predecessor federations also bind successor state entities, which seceded from that federation? This is one of the questions at the heart of the currently pending investor-State arbitration between the Republic of Kosovo (Kosovo) and German company ACP Axos Capital GmbH (Axos).
01
Enforcing arbitral awards in Bulgaria
Boyan Arshinkov, whom we have previously introduced, originally comes from Bulgaria and is currently wrapping up his law studies at Berlin Humboldt University. He interned with WAGNER Arbitration between February and April. During his WAGNER Arbitration Internship Program, he prepared this questionnaire with 27 Q&As on the issue of enforcement of awards in Bulgaria.
18
Enforcing arbitral awards in Finland
You have already met Perttu Kaikkonen who was a visiting Finnish lawyer at our firm between March 2017 and April 2017. As part of our WAGNER Arbitration Internship Program, Perttu was so kind to put together a Q&A questionnaire with 30 questions and answers addressing the issue of how to enforce an arbitral award in Finland which you will find below.
08
Enforcement Q&A
Here at WAGNER Arbitration, we are fortunate to have lawyers from many different jurisdictions working with us. In addition to regular staff, we have visiting colleagues from all around the world, most recently from Australia, Bulgaria, Finland and Turkey. To share the benefits of this international legal knowledge, we have devised a questionnaire with various questions on the procedural as well as substantive aspects relating to the enforcement of arbitral awards, which our visiting colleagues have answered.
05
Turkish Delight
Within the framework of our WagArb Internship Program, we would like to extend a warm welcome to our new intern, Doguhan Uygun. Doguhan studied law in Ankara and Istanbul, and he is currently an LL.M. candidate in International Dispute Resolution at Humboldt University.
02
Investitionsschiedsverfahren – Fehlt es wirklich an Transparenz?
Die mit dem TTIP verbundenen Pläne, Investitionsstreitigkeiten vor Schiedsgerichten auszutragen, lösten in Teilen der Bevölkerung einen Proteststurm aus. Die Sprache geht von „Geheimgerichten“ bis zu einer „Schattenjustiz in Nobelhotels“, die unter Ausschluss der Öffentlichkeit agiert. Auch die zunächst unnötig strenge Geheimhaltung der Vertragsentwürfe dürfte dieser Auffassung Nährboden bereitet haben.
13
First WAGNER Arbitration Lecture with Pierre-Marie Dupuy
A week ago, Professor Pierre-Marie Dupuy, public international law scholar, counsel and arbitrator with a significant track-record in investor-state disputes, gave the first WAGNER Arbitration lecture at our office, following this Invitation to the First WAGNER Arbitration Lecture.
We were able to win this high-profiled speaker because of his long-standing connection to the firm: three years ago, his son Florian joined WagArb as of Counsel.
11
Investment Arbitration – is there a lack of transparency?
As TTIP was being drafted and deliberated, the idea that investment disputes would be brought before arbitral tribunals triggered a storm of public outcry. Arbitral tribunals were disparaged as secret courts, making judgments in the privacy of luxury hotels.
07
Introducing the WagArb Journal
As of this week, our Wagner Arbitration Journal is live and kicking. You could say that it is a corporate blog but it is more like a diary.
01
Added ADR and in-house expertise
Alexander Steinbrecher, head of a legal department at a global corporation with branches in over 60 jurisdictions, has joined WagArb in an Of Counsel capacity since the beginning of this month. Alexander is one of the most distinguished in-house counsels for dispute resolution and commercial conflict management in Germany.
31
The Art of Presenting
John Faulk, founder of Fireside Coaching, has been supporting our team for the past six months with his new „embedded trainer“ approach. Once a week, we meet with him in small tandem teams to strengthen and polish our rhetorical skills, focusing on how to present our arguments in an authentic and professional manner with the right degree of power.
30
Pour l’Europe
Inspired by the #pulseofeurope movement, we at WagArb feel that it is essential and timely to demonstrate our spirit in support of the European project. We feel strongly connected to the European idea, not only because we practice international law, but also because our firm benefits from being comprised of a team of lawyers with diverse backgrounds.
24
Corporate culture
Embracing the concept that our office is more than just a work environment, on a weekly basis we have two recurring firm events: drinks on Wednesday evening and lunch at noon on Friday, whereby we take turns in cooking a meal for the others, preferably from our place of origin.
17
Practice for the oral hearings
This week, the Humboldt University of Berlin team for the 24th Vis Moot visited WagArb to practice for the oral hearings in Hong Kong and Vienna. Joseph Schwartz, Petrit Elshani and our newest member, Perttu Kaikkonen, put their arguments to the test and were very impressed!
13
Presence from the north
As part of our WagArb Internship Program, we are very pleased about the arrival of a second intern from the International Dispute Resolution LL.M. of Humboldt University of Berlin – Perttu Kaikkonen. Perttu is a Finnish lawyer and an associate at Nordia Law in Helsinki.
09
Law & Jazz
Our Of Counsel Florian Dupuy and his jazz band White Noise Trio will give a concert at Bar Bobu this Thursday to mark the official release of their first EP “Spectrum”. The album will become available on Spotify and other music sharing mediums that day.
07
Australian flair
Ella Wisniewski is the first intern from the International Dispute Resolution LL.M. Program of Humboldt University to join the firm. Ella is admitted to the Supreme Court of Western Australia as a lawyer and, before embarking on her academic stay in Berlin, worked for the Environmental Defender’s Office of Western Australia as well as boutique firm Haynes Robinson Lawyers.
01
Merci a bis geschwënn
After having spent almost one year at WagArb as research assistant, Tun de Jong has left the firm to focus on his upcoming state examination and his engagement as coach of the Humboldt University Vis Moot team.
27
Bulgarian touch
Boyan Arshinkov is the first intern this year that is with the firm from this month on. Boyan is originally Bulgarian and currently wrapping up his law studies at Berlin Humboldt University.
22
Investment Arbitration Update
Investment Arbitration Update: Following controversially led debates on investment arbitration, the SCC and SIAC have introduced new rules addressing investor-state arbitration.
01
Claudio Kühn verstärkt WAGNER Arbitration als Associate
Claudio Kühn verstärkt uns ab sofort in allen Bereichen des Gesellschaftsrechts, des Kapitalmarktrechts und der Streitbeilegung.
Seine bisherige Erfahrung ist beachtlich: So war er insbesondere als In-House-Counsel eines Rocket Internet Ventures sowie in Wirtschaftskanzleien in Berlin, Hamburg, Düsseldorf, Istanbul und Shanghai tätig.
30
ICSID Rules Revision
Investment Arbitration Update After the last revision of the ICSID Arbitration Rules in 2005, ICSID is now looking to modernize its arbitration rules once again and invites interested parties to submit amendment suggestions. The revision is said to be needed in order to simplify the dispute settlement procedure and to improve its cost and time effectiveness. For more information, please visit: https://lnkd.in/gaPq2T7
24
Unser erster Referendar: Dr. Felix Krumbiegel
Wir freuen uns sehr, dass uns Dr. Felix Krumbiegel seit Jahresbeginn als erster Referendar bei WAGNER Arbitration unterstützt und sich binnen kurzer Zeit zu einem festen Bestandteil unseres Teams entwickelt hat.
01
Wir wachsen zusammen
Wir freuen uns, Ihnen und Euch die Ernennung von Joseph Schwartz zum Partner der Kanzlei zum 1. Januar 2017 bekanntzugeben. Gemeinsam mit Florian Dupuy, der seit Ende 2016 auch Mitglied der Berliner Rechtsanwaltskammer ist und seine Tätigkeit als Of Counsel verstärkt hat, blicken wir dankbar auf die letzten Jahre zurück und freuen uns auf die vor uns liegende Zeit.