Arbitration is increasingly becoming the favored path to dispute resolution. Foley Hoag’s Commercial Arbitration practice advises clients, including both private corporate entities and State-owned enterprises, in a wide variety of international and domestic commercial disputes.
Arbitration clauses are especially prevalent in contracts whenever transactions cross borders, as contracting parties often seek to shield themselves from perceived biases of their counterparties’ local courts. A well-drafted arbitration clause positions parties to take advantage of the flexibility that arbitration offers. This flexibility allows them to achieve final resolution of their dispute in tailor-made proceedings that are less costly, more efficient and more confidential than traditional court litigation.
Our multi-lingual Commercial Arbitration lawyers combine decades of experience in the law and practice of commercial arbitration with comprehensive industry knowledge. Together, they respond to clients’ needs across a broad range of industries in disputes arising out of or in connection with:
- intellectual property licensing
- joint venture projects
- construction projects, including petroleum and mining
- power plants and electricity projects, including hydroelectric power
- roadway, waterway and civil works projects
- hotel and resort construction and management
- telecommunications projects and equipment and services supply
- computer systems and services
- banking and financial services
- aviation equipment and services
- insurance
- purchase, sale and distribution of goods and services
- employment and consulting contracts
- gas pricing
- cyber security and privacy matters
Lawyers in Foley Hoag’s Commercial Arbitration practice advise clients on matters that frequently arise before or after the arbitration. They routinely provide counsel on drafting arbitration clauses and in selecting the most advantageous set of arbitration rules for a given project, including in complex multi-contract, multi-party situations. The firm also represents clients before the national courts of the United States, France and Belgium in proceedings to compel arbitration or stay litigation, as well as in proceedings concerning the recognition and enforcement (confirmation) of arbitral awards or the setting aside (vacatur) of adverse awards. If a court appearance is necessary in a jurisdiction where our lawyers are not admitted, we work closely with a network of trusted co-counsel.
We assist clients in commercial arbitration proceedings administered by some of the world’s leading arbitration centers. These include the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the American Arbitration Association (AAA), International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR), the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA), the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce (SCC), JAMS, the International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution (CPR), the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague (PCA) and the Paris Center for Mediation and Arbitration (CMAP). They also represent clients before tribunals constituted under the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Arbitration Rules. Our lawyers frequently serve as arbitrators and mediators in matters administered by these institutions, as well as in arbitrations relating to foreign investment initiated on the basis of bilateral and multilateral investment treaties.
Members of the firm’s Commercial Arbitration team have broad experience with the application of the governing local laws of arbitration of some of the world’s leading places of arbitration. These laws include the U.S. Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), the domestic and international arbitration laws of different American states, and various national arbitration laws in Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean and Africa.
