Moscow, 15 February 2008 – Baker & McKenzie Partner Vladimir Khvalei from the Firm’s Moscow office and head of the CIS Dispute Resolution Practice Group, was recently appointed to the Board of the International Arbitration Court (IAC) of the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry..
“We are proud of Vladimir’s appointment, and feel that his accomplishment is a positive reflection on our global arbitration practice, and on our expertise in arbitrations involving or taking place in the CIS countries,” said Günter Pickrahn, head of Baker & McKenzie’s Europe, Middle East and Central Asia Dispute Resolution Practice Group.
Mr. Khvalei has extensive experience participating in litigation in Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus and Ukraine, as well as in international arbitration cases in accordance with the arbitration rules of the ICAC, UNCITRAL, ICC, SCC and other arbitration institutions, both as a party counsel and an arbitrator.
He has written over a hundred articles and textbooks in Russian, English and Polish about international arbitration. In addition Mr. Khvalei lectures on the course of Comparative Law at the Academy of Foreign Trade under the Russian Federation Ministry of Trade and has spoken at a number of conferences relating to international trade, arbitration, commercial and corporate law.
Mr. Khvalei is included on the list of arbitrators of the arbitration institutions in Austria, Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan and is a member of the Arbitration Commission of the Russian National Committee of ICC. He is also a member and a registered tutor of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, a member of the Polish Arbitration Association and the Austrian Arbitration Association.
This year, PLC Which Lawyer? Yearbook and European Legal Experts named Mr. Khvalei as a recognized specialist in Dispute Resolution in Russia. Also, Chambers Global 2008 noted that Mr. Khvalei is “widely known as an excellent arbitration specialist.”
Commenting on his appointment, Mr. Khvalei said: “It is an honor to represent the IAC. I look forward to increasing awareness about IAC and international arbitration in Belarus.”
IAC was established in 1994 and is the only permanent arbitration institution in Belarus. In years 2007 and 2008 IAC registered 73 cases and 76 cases accordingly. Approximately half of its cases are domestic arbitrations and the other half are international business disputes.
With more than 200 lawyers, Baker & McKenzie’s International Arbitration practice group is one of the largest in the world, providing exceptional representation before arbitral institutions and in ad hoc proceedings across the globe. Members of our group have shared information for many years, providing our lawyers with access to a wealth of knowledge of the law, procedures and cultural dynamics in all the world’s principal arbitration venues. In 2008, our group represented clients in more than 60 international arbitrations and some two dozen of our offices and practitioners were recognized as leaders in the field by Chambers Global. A number of our partners act as arbitrators, and present and publish on international arbitration topics.
