GESSEL as partner of an international conference promoting arbitration in M&A

GESSEL joined the Arbitration Court of the Lewiatan Confederation in organising an international conference held on 28 and 29 May, when Warsaw again (specifically, for the third time) hosted some of the world’s most accomplished experts on arbitration in the context of merger and acquisition transactions. 2015 Dispute Resolution in M&A Transactions is the only event on this scale devoted to arbitration in this part of Europe. It is held on a biannual basis since 2010, and every iteration provides an opportunity for analysing the newest trends and challenges in the field by the numerous attendees, who invariably leave Warsaw with new knowledge and insights.

This year’s proceedings focused first and foremost on dispute strategies, defences, and on the development of arbitration within the context of M&A.

Beata Gessel-Kalinowska vel Kalisz, President of the Arbitration Court of Lewiatan and the moving force behind the conference series, summarises: “In what has become a tradition, the beginning of the conference comprised a discussion of ‘hot topics’ and new developments in arbitration. The consecutive panels then zoomed in on questions of evidence and on practical issues arising with respect to investment settlements. The various debates were enriched with selected case studies drawn from the practice of Polish and international law firms. For the second day of the conference, we adopted a round table format for debating selected problems in the arbitration field”.

The enthusiastic attendance of participants from more than twenty countries and five continents attests to the status of the Lewiatan Arbitration Court as a leading arbitration centre in our part of Europe. A separate event during the conference was dedicated to honouring the seminal works and career of Prof Jerzy Rajski.