SPEAKERS

PANEL CHAIRS

PANEL MEMBERS

listed in order of appearance

Constantin Calavros

Professor, President of the Greek Association for Arbitration, Managing Partner, Calavros Law Firm-Filios-Kloukinas

Professor Constantin Calavros is the founder and managing partner of Calavros Law Firm-Filios-Kloukinas.

He is a Professor of Civil Procedure and International Arbitration Law at the Democrition University of Thrace. Professor Calavros heads the litigation and dispute resolution department of the Firm. He specializes in national and international litigation and arbitration. He has represented numerous clients before national courts of all degrees, the European Union Court in Luxembourg and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).

Professor Calavros also deals with restructuring and companies' reorganisation, outsourcing and insolvency procedures. He has supervised and advised on some of the largest and most high-profile deals in the Greek market that range from corporate reorganisations to debt restructuring (including distressed debt and NPLs), and formal insolvency such as bankruptcy, judicial composition or liquidation. In this regard, he has acted as an advisor to Greek state controlled companies, Greek Government and ministers, especially in relation to privatization initiatives.

Professor Calavros acting as an external advisor to the Greek Association of Pharmaceutical Companies (SFEE) has also obtained in depth experience in pharmaceutical law and competition law matters.

Professor Calavros has been a member of various drafting committees which have revised Greek Civil Procedure Code.

Alexander Fessas

Dr. jur., Secretary General, ICC International Court of Arbitration, Paris

Alexander G. Fessas is the Secretary General of the ICC International Court of Arbitration.

As Secretary General, he is responsible for the operational management and coordination of the ICC Court's Secretariat and other dispute resolution services in Paris, Hong Kong, New York, Sao Paolo and Singapore.

He joined the Secretariat in late 2011 and held consecutive positions in three case management teams, of which two as counsel. Prior to his appointment as Secretary General, he was the Secretariat's Managing Counsel over a three-year term.

He read law at the University of Athens, Greece having specialized in international commercial transactions and conflict of laws.

Prior to joining the ICC Court, he practised as counsel out of Athens where he established a sole practice in 2008. He was previously an associate at an Athens-based law firm. During the same period, he was also the editor-in-chief of the Revue hellénique de droit international.

He is admitted to the Athens Bar and speaks English, French and Greek.

Katia Yannaca Small

Dr. jur., Lecturer in Law, USC Gould School of Law, Senior International Arbitration Advisor, Arnold & Porter

Katia Yannaca-Small brings three decades of experience in major public international organizations and the private sector spanning public international law, international investment policy, law and arbitration, commercial arbitration, anti-corruption, ESG and Business and Human Rights. She has experience advising States and State entities, finding common ground and solutions and in the negotiation of major international agreements and representing them in high stakes disputes.

Most recently, she served as lead counsel in a major law firm in international investment and commercial arbitrations under the ICSID and ICC Rules. She represented Venezuela in several ICSID cases (construction, chemical and agricultural sectors) and an Algerian State enterprise in ICC cases (construction and real estate sectors).

Prior to private practice, Ms. Yannaca-Small had a long and distinguished career in major international organizations. In the OECD, she founded and led its analytical work on international investment agreements and arbitration since the early 2000s and initiated a dialogue among OECD and non-OECD governments, practitioners, academics, and civil society that led to common understandings and concrete improvements in the investor-state dispute settlement system. The results of this work, published by the OECD, have been widely cited as pioneer work in this field. She was a leading expert in the ground-breaking OECD work on anti-corruption and led this work up to the negotiation of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention. She managed the OECD's work on Responsible Business Conduct and oversaw one of the reviews and amendments of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises – one of main international instruments to enhance RBC—to include new chapters on bribery and corruption, environmental and labor standard provisions and supply chain management. In the OECD, Ms. Yannaca-Small also led examinations of foreign direct investment policies and laws of Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Ukraine and issued recommendations for the improvement of their investment climate in order to enhance foreign direct investment, which were accepted by these governments and concerned OECD committees.

Ms. Yannaca-Small was also Senior Counsel at ICSID, where she served as Secretary to several Tribunals and effectively administered high-profile, multimillion/billion-dollar disputes under BITs and NAFTA. While at ICSID, she led the development of ICSID's outreach and training program.

Ms. Yannaca-Small currently teaches International Investment law and Arbitration and Business and Human Rights at the USC Gould School of Law. She has been a guest lecturer at Columbia Law School, Georgetown Law Centre, University of Virginia and University of Athens Law School and has trained numerous government officials around the world on investment arbitration. She regularly appears as speaker in conferences and has written extensively on issues of investment arbitration, including editing and co-authoring one of the first and most widely cited treatises in the field, Arbitration under International Investment Agreements: A Guide to the Key Issues, published by Oxford University Press in two editions (2010, 2018).

Stavros Brekoulakis

Professor, School of International Arbitration, Queen Mary University of London, Arbitrator at Barristers Chambers 3 Verulam Buildings (Gray's Inn)

Stavros Brekoulakis is a Professor in International Arbitration at Queen Mary University London and a Member of 3 Verulam Buildings at Gray's Inn.

He holds several public appointments including being member of LCIA Court, the ICC Commission, Co-Chair of the ICCA-Queen Mary Task Force on Third Party Funding, while his academic work includes the leading publications on Third Parties in International Arbitration, Arbitrability, ICCA-Queen Mary Report on Third Party Funding and Guide to Construction Arbitration and numerous publications in leading legal journals and reviews.

Stavros is a widely acknowledged authority in international arbitration, regularly named as a Thought Leader by Who's Who Legal being described as “standing out as a first-rate arbitrator and academic; an expert in construction and commercial disputes who is regularly engaged in matters arising out of major infrastructure projects around the world” and as “very thorough and professional” and “held in the highest regard”.

He has been shortlisted for the “Best Prepared and Most Responsive Arbitrator” Award of the Global Arbitration Review in 2016 and 2017.

Stavros has been appointed in more than 35 arbitrations, as chairman, sole arbitrator and co-arbitrator with a particular expertise in arbitrations concerning major construction and complex infrastructure, energy and natural resources projects.

Georgios Petrochilos KC

Dr. jur., Partner, Three Crowns

Georgios has a broad practice covering inter-State, investment, and commercial disputes. He has represented States, international organizations, and private parties in more than 70 disputes, including the largest maritime delimitation case to date in the International Court of Justice (Peru v Chile), the ground-breaking “Black Economic Empowerment” case before ICSID (Foresti and ors v South Africa), and some of the most critical cases in the European energy industry in the past decade.

His recent experience includes successfully leading a team for Mytilineos Holdings in its UNCITRAL investment treaty arbitration with the Republic of Serbia, obtaining a multi-million dollar award.

He was formerly the head of the Paris arbitration team, and public international law group, of a leading international firm and has published extensively on international law and international arbitration, including the well-known monograph Procedural Law in International Arbitration, and is the co-author, with Jan Paulsson, of UNCITRAL Arbitration.

Georgios has represented a Member State at UNCITRAL since 2007; is a visiting professor at the Universities of Bern and Fribourg in Switzerland; and the current rapporteur of the International Law Association International Arbitration Committee.

He holds graduate degrees, including a doctorate, from Oxford, as well as degrees from Strasbourg and Athens.

He is recognised by Legal 500 (EMEA) as a “Leading Individual” in International arbitration. Sources also note that he “demonstrates long-standing expertise in public international law, with a broad practice covering investment treaty, commercial and inter-state disputes [and] is recognised for his knowledge of procedures in international arbitration.”

Massimo Benedettelli

Professor, founding partner ArbLit, Milan, Fellow of Business Law and Director of the program on International Arbitration and Risk Management, SDA Bocconi, Milan

Massimo Benedettelli is a founding partner at ArbLit and had been a full professor of international law at the University of Bari Aldo Moro until February 2023.

He has been a member of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Court of Arbitration since July 2018. Until that month, Massimo led the Italian delegation to the ICC Commission of Arbitration. He is also a member of the Arbitration Council of ACIAM, Atlanta, Georgia.

Massimo obtained an LLM from the University of Pennsylvania and a PhD from the European University Institute. He started his professional practice in 1986 in the legal department of ENI. In 1990, Massimo joined Chiomenti Studio Legale, where he was a partner from 1996. He left in November 2001 to join Freshfields.

Massimo is one of Italy's main arbitration specialists. He has acted as counsel or sat as chair, sole or co-arbitrator in several international and domestic arbitrations.

Massimo is the author of one book and of various articles published in the most prestigious Italian and international law reviews and co-editor of an authoritative commentary on arbitration law and practice in Italy. Massimo delivered a course at The Hague Academy of International Law in 2022.

Marion Smith KC

39 Essex Chambers

Marion is experienced as counsel representing and advising national and international clients in a wide range of business sectors, including construction, energy, engineering, infrastructure, insurance, media and transport matters. She is recognised for her prowess in adjudications, Technology and Construction Court (TCC) proceedings and international arbitration. She is well known for her ability to establish excellent working relationships with clients, experts and the legal team. Her in-depth experience in advocacy in document-heavy cases includes disputes in which the relevant law is not English law.

She is regularly appointed as an arbitrator (sole, party and president) by commercial parties and the major institutions, including the ICC, LCIA and SIAC, and as an adjudicator. She has handled matters across a wide range of industry sectors, legal issues and geographical regions.

Marion is recognised as a leading lawyer in many of the legal directories including, The Legal 500 Middle East 2023 for Construction , The Legal 500 2023 for Construction and Professional Negligence and Chambers and Partners 2023 for Construction.

Marion's expertise and experience in international dispute resolution is reflected by her present roles. These include representing the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators as Chair of the Trustee Board and the Bar of England and Wales as the Vice Chair of the Bar Council's International Committee.

Marion is also a Professional Fellow at Aston University, contributes to various publications and is in demand as a speaker at international arbitration and dispute resolution conferences worldwide.

Gregory Logothetis

Partner, Koutalidis Law Firm

Gregory focuses on complex international and domestic arbitration. He has actively participated in numerous intricate arbitration cases, in the capacity of counsel as well as arbitrator, including ad hoc international arbitrations and international commercial/construction arbitrations, conducted according to the rules of the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), UNCITRAL, LCIA and the London Maritime Arbitrators Association (LMAA).

Gregory is also heavily involved in demanding litigations, energy law, public tenders, concessions, privatisations and commercial contracts.

He is Head Partner of the Arbitration, Litigation and Mediation Department and Co-Head of the Projects & Privatisation and Real Estate Department of Koutalidis Law Firm.

Gregory has acted as head of the Procurement and Contracts Department of the Public Power Corporation of Greece for several years, where he still serves as senior counsel.

He is a graduate of the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, a member of the Piraeus Bar Association and qualified to appear before the Supreme Court of Greece. His professional memberships currently include the Arbitration Council of the German Arbitration Institute (DIS), the International Bar Association (IBA) and ICC Hellas. He is a proficient user of both the English and German language.

Dimitris Babiniotis

Associate Professor, Democritus University of Thrace Law School, Partner, Zepos & Yannopoulos

Dimitris heads the dispute resolution practice at Zepos & Yannopoulos. Dimitris has acted as lead counsel representing clients across the industry in complex court litigation covering the whole range of civil, commercial and corporate disputes, both domestic and international. He is an expert in appellate proceedings and Supreme Court litigation, having published extensively in those fields. Same holds true for arbitration- related- litigation. He has acted as counsel or lead counsel in numerous high profile set-aside proceedings before Greek State Courts. He has also handled several complex cases on recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards.

Dimitris has acted as counsel in a great number of complex international and domestic commercial arbitrations. His practice encompasses disputes in all key industry sectors, namely construction and infrastructure, energy and financial services. Dimitris has also represented corporate clients in numerous arbitrations initiated by or against the Greek State or Greek State-owned companies in disputes arising under public contracts.

Dimitris is Associate Professor at Democritus University of Thrace Law School, where he teaches Civil Procedure and Arbitration.

He is admitted to practice before the Supreme Court.

Nicholas Moussas

Founder and Managing Partner, Moussas & Partners Law Firm

Nicholas Moussas has extensive experience in commercial arbitration and litigation across various industries, including financial services, energy, mining, and construction.

He advises both international and domestic corporations in high-profile transactions and disputes, including investor-state disputes, such as the landmark dispute of MYTILINEOS vs Serbia. Recently, his team successfully enforced a US$ 2.4 billion arbitral award in Greece.

Nicholas is recognized as an arbitrator by the Νational Regulatory Authority for Energy (RAE) and the Athens Mediation and Arbitration Organization (EODID).

He also serves as General Counsel to the Hellenic Deposit and Investment Guarantee Fund (TEKE), providing him with a comprehensive understanding of the regulatory and banking sector in Greece.

Nicholas has published papers in legal journals and holds a Law degree from the National & Kapodistrian University of Athens and an LL.M. from Berkeley Law School.

He is consistently recognized as a top litigator in Greece by Chambers Europe and Chambers Global in the field of Dispute Resolution.

Ali Malek KC

Barristers Chambers 3 Verulam Buildings (Gray's Inn)

Ali Malek KC is recognised as one of the leading silks at the Commercial Bar, recently singled out as a "Star at the Bar" by Chambers & Partners in their UK Bar 2021 Guide. He is ranked in seven different practice areas in both Chambers & Partners and The Legal 500.

Ali was named in the "Stars at the Bar" section of the Chambers & Partners UK Bar Guide for 2022, which recognises just a handful of practitioners who have proved their excellence across a range of practice areas. The guide says, "If you need someone to deal with a tricky, powerful client who is incredibly robust in their view, you need someone who can command a room like Ali Malek KC - he rolls with the punches and really impresses." "He is a formidable advocate and is really good at cutting to the core issues and distilling what's important. He's great at directing the team and making sure they all come together. You go to Ali for his leadership and advocacy." "A forceful and eloquent advocate who delves deep into the issues and is always thoroughly prepared."

Instructing solicitors hail Ali as "One of the most prestigious and experienced QCs in the country" and, "accessible, quick, pragmatic and has excellent judgement ... a phenomenal advocate". "Punchy" in cross-examination and when speaking to the Bench, he is recognised for his precise insight and his will to win. His practice is extensive and he has proven excellence in banking and fraud cases. "A stylish advocate with incredible judgement," he is noted for his "very attractive manner in court, which engages the attention of judges."

Gilded oratory is not all there is to Malek. He is also "an extremely effective operator" with "a masterful grip of the overall strategy in a case, who knows what will work best. He works incredibly hard," sources say, and "is able to take a strategic view at each stage." Ali is a veteran of many high- stakes court appearances.

Ali was appointed as Chairman of the Lloyd's of London Enforcement Board in October 2021.

Ali was awarded "Commercial Litigation Silk of the Year" at The Legal 500 Bar Awards 2022.

In February 2022, Ali Malek KC was appointed Chair of Chambers, recognising his long-term service to Chambers and his ongoing commitment to 3VB's growth.

Devika Khana

Partner, Clyde & Co

Devika acts as Counsel and sits as Arbitrator in cases across a range of sectors, under the auspices of a variety of rules (ICC, ICSID, LCIA, SCC and UNCITRAL).

She has considerable experience of both commercial and investment treaty cases, advising multinationals, IOCs, NOCs and sovereign states.

Devika has broad sector experience of energy, mining and construction disputes. She is also a specialist in gas price review arbitrations and in relation to production sharing agreement disputes.

She speaks English (native), French, Italian and Greek.

Devika joined Clyde & Co as a partner in 2012. Before joining the firm, she was part of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer's international arbitration group (2006-2012) and previously trained and worked at Slaughter and May (2002-2006).

Claire Sergaki

Senior Associate, Dryllerakis & Associates

Claire Sergaki is a senior associate at Dryllerakis & Associates. She has advised and represented companies and State-owned entities in both domestic and international arbitrations under the ICC, UNCITRAL, LCIA, ICSID and Greek arbitration rules. She has significant experience in disputes in the energy, construction, financial and gambling sectors, as well as in disputes arising from concession agreements and agreements in the defence sector.

Claire also represents clients in arbitration related court proceedings (setting aside or recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards).

Prior to joining Dryllerakis & Associates, she gained experience in international commercial and investment arbitration at leading international law firms in Paris and London.

She is also advising clients in large-scale privatizations and M&A transactions, especially in the energy sector.

Panayiotis Yiannopoulos

Associate Professor, Democritus University of Thrace Law School, Managing Partner, Yiannopoulos & Kozi

Associate Professor of Civil Procedure and Arbitration Law at the Faculty of Law of the University of Thrace. Managing Partner at Yiannopoulos & Kozi LLP. Licensed to practice before the Supreme Court. Vice Chairman and Board Member of Thessaloniki Bar Association. Chairman of Thessaloniki Bar Arbitration Committee. He is teaching Civil Procedure and Arbitration at graduate and postgraduate level. He has taught modules of Private International Law, Medical law, Labor law and ECHR to a number of other Greek universities and to the National School of Judges. His practice focuses on complex commercial litigation and arbitration with an emphasis in distribution & agency, construction contracts, military procurement contracts, mergers & acquisition disputes, mineral law, corporate fraud and shareholders' litigation. He is also an active litigator in cassation proceedings. He acts as a member of the editing committee for the legal reviews “Review of Civil Procedure” (since 2008), “Arbitration” (since 2018) and “Chronicles of Private Law” (since 2001). He has published ten books on various topics of Civil Procedure, International litigation and Arbitration and numerous articles, essays and notes to jurisprudence. He has also contributed to a number of Commentaries on Civil Code, Regulations 2201/2003, 1393/2007, 861/2007, 1215/2012, the UN Convention on the Rights of Child etc.

Panayiotis holds an LL.B. from the University of Thrace (1996), an LL.M. from the University of Thessaloniki (2001, summa cum laude) and a Doctoral degree from the University of Thrace (2002, summa cum laude).

Jacob Grierson

Partner, Asafo & Co

Jacob focuses on International Arbitration.

Jacob Grierson represents clients from numerous countries in a broad range of international arbitrations, including disputes arising out of the oil and gas, construction, pharmaceutical, telecom and internet industries. Jacob has represented clients in matters involving joint venture disputes, post-merger and acquisition disputes, licensing disputes and distribution and franchising disputes, among others. He has handled arbitrations in all of the major places of arbitration, although predominantly in London and Paris. Jacob has also represented clients in arbitration-related proceedings (including annulment applications) before the English and French courts.

Jacob has extensive experience in arbitrations under the rules of the Hong Kong International Arbitration Center (HKIAC), the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA), as well as in investment arbitrations, including those under the rules of the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), and in ad hoc arbitrations.

Additionally, Jacob is a Center for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR)-qualified mediator, with a focus on helping clients achieve amicable settlements of disputes either before or during arbitrations. He has also acted as sole arbitrator, president and co-arbitrator in a number of ICC arbitrations in London and in Paris, including a treaty-based arbitration.

Prior to joining ASAFO & CO., Jacob practiced at leading US firms, including McDermott Will & Emery, and before that at the prestigious One Essex Court Chambers of Lord Grabiner QC in London from 1994 to 2001.

He is a Board member of the Arbitration Academy, a President of the user's council of the Casablanca International Mediation and Arbitration Center (CIMAC) and a member of the Steering Committee of the Practitioners' Group of the Mauritius International Arbitration Centre (MIAC).

He has co-authored articles and handbooks on arbitration, including Arbitrating under the 2012 ICC Rules: An Introductory User's Guide, published by Kluwer Law International, and is a visiting professor (chargé de cours) at the College of Europe in Bruges, the University of Versailles, the University of Paris-Assas and the University of Paris Est-Créteil.

Greg Falkof

Partner, Mishcon De Reya

Greg is a Partner at Mishcon De Reya in the International Arbitration Practice. He has a particular focus on the effective resolution of disputes in the energy, resources, transport, engineering, infrastructure and construction sectors, as well as international investment arbitration and public international law.

Greg is a member of the ICC Global Commission for Arbitration and ADR (appointed by the ICC UK committee), the world's premier multi-jurisdictional forum for advancing the practice of international arbitration. He's the co-founder and a former Director of Delos Dispute Resolution, an independent arbitration institution that promotes quality, flexibility, and time and cost efficiency in the resolution of international disputes.

Greg has represented both claimants and respondents in large complex international arbitrations worth billions of dollars, and before major arbitral institutions including the ICC, LCIA, ICSID, CIETAC, LMAA as well as ad hoc arbitration proceedings. He also sits as an arbitrator, both as a party-appointee and appointed by the main arbitration institutes as sole arbitrator (in expedited or standard proceedings).

Greg has acted for: parties in commercial and investment arbitrations in a range of sectors including construction, energy, infrastructure, transport, commodities, mining and natural resources, real estate, telecoms and international trade; State-State disputes pursuant to public international law, including conducting advocacy before eminent international tribunals; and both investors and State claimants in investment treaty arbitrations.

Before joining Mishcon, Greg was a partner in the international arbitration practice of a global law firm. Prior to his legal career, Greg qualified as a construction engineer and worked as a professional project manager on large, complex construction projects in the UK and South Africa.

Spyridon Tsantinis

Professor, Democritus University of Thrace Law School, Managing Partner, Tsantinis-Hadjioannou Law Firm

Spyridon K. Tsantinis, Professor of Civil Procedural law in Democritus University of Thrace Law School (PhD J.W. Goethe University, Frankfurt a.M.; Magister Legum Europae Hanover University; JD Athens University)

Co-founder and co-administrator of the firm.

Attorney-at-law (since 1991; since 1999 before the Supreme Court). He specializes in commercial and civil litigation and arbitration. His court practice includes disputes deriving from commercial esp. banking contracts, competition violations, insolvency and bankruptcy, enforcement proceedings. Cassation law expert, he has frequent presence before Areios Pagos (the Hellenic Supreme Court).

He has acted as legal counsel of well-known foreign and domestic businesses. Since 1996 he is part of the Legal Services Division of the "National Bank of Greece", Greece's oldest and largest bank, where he has served as Head of the Division for Litigation of Special Interest (2015-2018); currently he holds the position of Head of the Division for Internal Evaluation.

Also active as arbitrator, in both national and international (ICC) arbitrations.

Professor Tsantinis has acted as Head or Member of various legislative committees. Member of the Legal Council of Democritus University of Thrace (2009-2016) and chairman of Public Auction Committee of same university (2009-2011 and 2017).

He teaches regularly national and international Civil Procedure at the National School of Judges.

Professor Tsantinis is the author of books and articles on various topics of national and international civil procedure, civil and commercial law and litigation and contract law.

Languages: Greek, German, English, French, Italian.

Christian Filios

Associate Professor, Democritus University of Thrace Law School, Partner, Calavros Law Firm-Filios-Kloukinas

Christian P. Filios is Partner at Calavros Law Firm-Filios-Kloukinas since 2007.

He is Asc. Professor of Civil Law (Law of successions and Law of obligations) at the Democritus University of Thrace. He heads the civil and commercial litigation department of the Firm. He specializes in domestic and international litigation and arbitration with particular focus on bank related matters. He has represented individual clients and companies before domestic courts up to the Supreme Court level, and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). He is also highly experienced in matters of collection of debts from public entities and private companies, distribution and agency agreements, competition law matters and matters of unfair practices.

He has acted as external counsel to major national and multinational constructions and wind energy companies.

Gregory Pelecanos

Senior Partner, Ballas, Pelecanos & Associates

Born in 1960 in London, Gregory is Senior Partner at Ballas, Pelecanos & Associates LPC and supervises the firm's Competition, Agency & Distribution and Special Sectors Group.

Gregory studied law at the Athens University Law School and holds an LL.M. from University College London, in Intellectual Property, Competition Law, Company Law and International Economic Law. He has also attended the Long Term seminars on Greek Tax Law Course at the Hellenic Center of Productivity and King's College London's "Economics of Competition Law" distance learning course.

His career includes holding the posts of Chairman of the Computer Law Committee of the Greek Computer Society; Committee Member on the drafting the Rules and Regulations of the Athens Derivatives Exchange; Adjunct Faculty at the American College of Greece (Business Law and EU Law); as well as Member of the Board of Directors of EKO Chemicals and Refinery SA, ERGOSE S.A. (railroad infrastructure) and DEP-EKY S.A. (oil exploration and drilling). Gregory has worked as in-house counsel for Mobil Oil Hellas S.A. and has served as General Legal Counsel of Toyota Hellas S.A.

Gregory is a member of the Athens Bar Association and is an advocate before the Supreme Court. Legal journals have published dozens of court judgments on cases he has argued. In addition to advising clients, he regularly litigates before courts and has extensive international and Greek arbitration experience. He has authored articles, edited books and written the country chapters for a variety of publications on many IP, computer law, agency and distribution, Greek and European Union competition law, bankruptcy law and investment law matters and also regurarly lectures on competition and IP issues in Greece and abroad.

Languages: Greek, English.

Charles Nairac

Partner, White & Case

A partner in White & Case's International Arbitration Practice, Charles Nairac advises on commercial and investor-state arbitration, with a focus on the construction and energy industries.

Charles offers his clients the benefit of his comprehensive experience. He has resolved difficult cross-border disputes from Africa and Latin America to the Middle East and Central Eastern Europe, supporting a wide range of clients from governments to the owner of a family business. A citizen of Mauritius, the United Kingdom and France, Charles is fluent in English and French, and is able to handle complex arbitrations in either language. He has been involved in international commercial and investment arbitrations under most of the major institutional rules, as well as in ad hoc arbitrations.

Charles also accepts nominations as arbitrator, and recently served as a party-appointed arbitrator in a complex construction dispute involving a project in Central Asia. He is a member of a number of organizations with worldwide recognition, among which are Africa International Legal Awareness (Advisory Board), Paris, the Home of International Arbitration, IBA (Recognition and Enforcement of Arbitral Awards Subcommittee), the ICC Task Force on "Financial Institutions and International Arbitration" and "Maximizing the Probative Value of Witness Evidence".

Before joining White & Case LLP in 2001, Charles started his career doing M&A and finance work in a boutique firm, and then served as in-house legal adviser for a French bank in Singapore. While Charles' practice focuses exclusively on arbitration, this personal experience with transactional work and in the day-to-day business of a major company has given him an excellent understanding of the environment in which his clients operate.

Charles is recognized in leading legal directories such as Chambers, The Legal 500, the International Who's Who of Construction Lawyers and the Global Arbitration Review 100. He also teaches international arbitration at Sciences-Po Paris, Université de Paris I, Université Paris II and Université de Nancy.

Michele Potestà

Partner, Lévy Kaufmann-Kohler

Michele Potestà specializes in international commercial and investment arbitration, as well as public international law. Over the past ten years, Michele has participated in over 50 international investment and commercial arbitrations as counsel, arbitrator and secretary of the tribunal, under all major arbitral rules (ICC, ICSID, UNCITRAL, SCAI, CAM, DIAC, Danish Institute of Arbitration, and others), and in different jurisdictions.

Michele's areas of expertise include energy and natural resources (oil, gas, mining and solar energy), pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, international sales, banking and finance, shareholders disputes, real estate and construction, aviation, IT- and sports-related commercial disputes. He has particular experience in complex disputes involving states and state entities.

Michele has advised sovereign states on their investment treaty programs and currently acts as expert advisor to the Swiss Government in the inter-State negotiations on the reform of investor-state dispute settlement ("ISDS") in UNCITRAL's Working Group III.

Michele is regularly appointed as arbitrator. He has sat as president of the tribunal, sole arbitrator and co-arbitrator under various rules, including the rules of the ICC, the Dubai International Arbitration Centre (DIAC), the Danish Institute of Arbitration, and the Swiss Rules of International Arbitration. He is a member of the ICSID Panels of Arbitrators or Conciliators designated by the Republic of San Marino, and was appointed by the European Commission on the EU list of arbitrators and trade and sustainable development (TSD) experts in bilateral disputes under the EU's trade agreements with third countries. He is also listed in the panel of arbitrators at VIAC, LCIA, SIAC, AIAC, KCAB International, and Delos.

In 2020, Michele was named the most highly regarded individual in Europe by Who's Who Legal Arbitration: Future Leaders (Non-Partners), where he was described as a "super smart" and "simply outstanding" lawyer, and commended for his "great breadth and depth of learning on investment treaty arbitration".

Michele is part of the faculty at the Geneva LLM in International Dispute Settlement (MIDS), for which he teaches investment arbitration, and at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, for which he teaches international investment law. He is also a senior researcher at the Geneva Center for International Dispute Settlement (CIDS) where he co-leads a research project on the reform of ISDS. He has authored numerous publications on issues of investment and commercial arbitration as well as public international law, and is frequently invited to speak at arbitration conferences.

An Italian national, Michele is qualified to practice law in Italy and registered with the Geneva bar (foreign lawyers section). He holds a Ph.D., a bachelor and a master's degree from the University of Milan. Michele speaks English, Italian, French, German, and Spanish.

Eduardo Silva Romero

Professor, Partner, Dechert LLP

Eduardo Silva Romero, co-Chair of Dechert's International Arbitration global practice, focuses his practice on arbitration matters, particularly disputes involving States and State entities.

An acknowledged expert in international arbitration, Mr. Silva Romero has supervised numerous proceedings before arbitration panels worldwide. Former Deputy Secretary General of the ICC International Court of Arbitration, Mr. Silva Romero has far-reaching experience in all areas of international arbitration, including international sales and distribution contracts, construction, telecommunication, mining, oil and gas, and electricity-related disputes. He advises on arbitration matters conducted under the auspices of the ICC, ICSID, PCA, ICDR/AAA and the SCC, as well as in ad hoc proceedings under the UNCITRAL and EDF arbitration rules. As an arbitrator, Mr. Silva Romero has acted in more than 140 arbitrations.

Haris Pamboukis

Professor, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Managing Partner, Pamboukis-Maravelis-Nikolaidis & Associates Law Firm

Professor Haris P. Pamboukis studied law at Paris I Pantheon-Sorbonne where he continued his studies and earned a PhD with honor's (Doctorat d' Etat en Droit) in 1990. In 2009 he has been elected as Professor of Private International Law at the Law School of the University of Athens (where he teaches private international law, international arbitration and international business law since 1991). In 2003 he taught a series of lessons at the prestigious Hague Academy of International Law, while in 2017 he taught as visiting Professor to the Paris Arbitration Academy the special course on “The Annulled Arbitral Award”. He is qualified to appear before the Supreme Court and he is one of the founding partners at Pamboukis Maravelis Nikolaidis & Associates Law Firm. He is the General Editor of the journal Arbitration & Mediation.

He served as Minister of State to the Prime Minister from October 2009 till June 2011. In August 2011 he resigned from the government.

He has been honored as Commandeur de la Légion d'honneur and he is the author of many books in the international legal field and several essays in politics.

Sotiris Dempegiotis

Dr. jur., Dr. jur., Partner, Lambadarios Law Firm

Sotiris is a dynamic advocate and one of the leading commercial arbitration specialists in Greece. He has handled numerous significant arbitrations under ICC, LCIA, SCC, Swiss, CAM, UNICITRAL and domestic rules across a variety of sectors and markets. He is one of Lambadarios Law Firm's expert counsels and an influential force at the very top of the firm.

Having specialised early in his career, Sotiris has rapidly established a reputation for insightful and expert counsel during high-value and commercially sensitive disputes and is one of the youngest-ever lawyers to be appointed by the ICC and parties as arbitrator. He sits as an arbitrator (presiding or sole arbitrator and co-arbitrator) in institutional and ad hoc international and domestic arbitrations. He also regularly acts as counsel in arbitration-related proceedings (including setting aside and recognition/enforcement). He has handled cases on a wide range of disputes across many sectors, including concessions within the construction industry, energy projects, shareholder disputes, and disputes relating to the hotel and leisure sectors as well as to the Greek defence sector. He has represented the European Commission as external legal counsel before the Courts of the European Union and has worked with the Legal Service of the European Commission.

Sotiris's experience both as counsel in all forms of alternative dispute resolution and as arbitrator enhances the firm's capabilities in structuring, managing and presenting dispute cases, and also in pre-litigation and pre-arbitration assessments. His practice at Lambadarios focuses on arbitration and commercial dispute resolution.

He holds a Ph.D. (summa cum laude) in international commercial arbitration from the Law School of the University of Athens; a Master of Laws (LL.M.) from the University of London – International School of Arbitration, Queen Mary; and a Law Degree from the Law School of the University of Athens.

Ioannis Stavropoulos

Managing Partner and Founder, Stavropoulos & Partners Law Office

Managing Partner and founder of Stavropoulos & Partners Law Office. Ioannis, focuses particularly on tax, tax litigation, tax planning, international and EU taxation, mergers and acquisitions, cross-border investments, antitrust and EU law. He has over 30 years of professional experience and has participated in many educational and professional conferences on tax and commercial law topics.

Ioannis is widely acknowledged as leading practitioner both in contentious and non-contentious tax matters. He has dealt with numerous landmark cases concerning application of double taxation treaties, transfer pricing and the EU direct taxation and VAT legislation, including the representation of a multinational before the European Court of Justice on a tax case (C-294/99) concerning the interpretation of the EU/Parent Subsidiary Directive. He regularly represents clients in the Greek Administrative courts and the Council of State as well as tax authorities and administrative committees on all kinds of fiscal law issues. A number of decisions on his cases constitute leading jurisprudence published in legal and tax journals while he has been classified by international publications as a top tier and highly recommended tax expert for Greece.

As a business lawyer, he has taken part in major mergers and acquisitions projects, domestic and international share and asset transactions and he has acted as a general corporate counsel to multinationals in the industrial and services sectors. He covers a broad range of EU law topics with particular emphasis on taxation and competition.

He is a regular speaker in many authoritative conferences and seminars. He has been elected as a member of the Board of Directors of the American-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce while he serves as the Chairman of AmCham Taxation Committee as well and he is a member of the International Fiscal Association (IFA). He participates in the tax committee of the French-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce & Industry and the Hellenic Federation of Enterprises and has represented such bodies in legislative committees. During 2012-2013 he actively participated, as an expert, in the tax reform committee under the chairmanship of the Deputy Minister of Finance.

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