“If they can’t do it in California, it can’t be done anywhere.”  – Novelist Taylor Caldwell   From its sunlit beaches to its fog-spangled hills, California hosts the world’s fifth largest economy, boasting among its accomplishments Hollywood entertainment, Silicon Valley technology, and Central Valley agricultural produce. In addition to its strong trade ties within the…

Background – The Pandemic is Confirmed As cases of COVID-19, the pathogen associated with the coronavirus outbreak, are reported in rising numbers in countries around the world, the likelihood of a worsening global impact looms. This past Wednesday, the World Health Organization officially declared the outbreak a global pandemic. In the course of just a…

Hong Kong v. Singapore. It’s not the next big football match or title of an upcoming Japanese monster film. It’s the question of where to bring international arbitration claims in Asia. It’s a topic whispered at cocktail receptions and routinely reserved for hushed discussion in law firm conference rooms. It’s the topic rarely if ever…

Wouldn’t it be fantastic if 2018 was the year we stopped talking about the problem of diversity in international arbitration? That is, what if we solved the problem today – and no longer needed to discuss it? We can. Today – by recognizing it’s not the problem. I propose a new standard for addressing the…

A recently released study on technology sector dispute resolution highlights significant distinctions in the sector’s perceptions of US domestic and international arbitration. The study conducted by the Silicon Valley Arbitration & Mediation Center (SVAMC), a non-profit educational foundation based in Palo Alto, California, was directed to understanding technology sector views regarding litigation and arbitration. The…