James Hope

Advokatfirman Vinge KB

Stockholm www.vinge.se

james.hope@vinge.se Tel: +46 10 614 3000

Biography

James Hope is a partner of the Swedish law firm Vinge. He is a dual-qualified Swedish advokat and English solicitor-advocate. James has acted as counsel or arbitrator in more than 100 international arbitration cases, including more than 25 as arbitrator. He is a guest lecturer at Stockholm, Uppsala and Edinburgh universities, and a member of the LCIA Court. He is fluent in English and Swedish, and is learning Russian.

What is it about your role as an arbitrator that you enjoy the most?

For me, fairness is the essence of arbitration. I enjoy the process of creating a fair procedure, ensuring that each party has a fair and reasonable opportunity to present its case, finding out what actually happened and why, listening carefully to the witnesses and experts, and then determining the issues and drafting detailed reasoning as fairly and impartially as possible.

What qualities make for a successful arbitrator?

A strong sense of fairness, efficiency, willingness to work hard to understand the details of the case, a good balance of tenacity and humility, genuine interest in and ability to master complex legal issues, good listening skills, patience, diplomacy, good commercial sense, an ability to understand technical issues, good communication and drafting skills, and an open mind. I could go on …

What tips do you have to counsel starting off in the field of arbitration?

Be yourself and play to your strengths. Do you have a “unique selling point”? Can you create one?

When acting as counsel, try to put yourself in the shoes of the arbitral tribunal. What exactly do you want the arbitral tribunal to do, and why? What are the key issues that the arbitral tribunal needs to decide? How do you tell your client’s story in the best way possible? Find a balance between mastering the detail and “seeing the wood for the trees”.

What green arbitration trends are currently prevalent in the market?

The pandemic has precipitated two excellent “green” developments – virtual hearings, which are here to stay for many cases, and electronic case management. There are still a few somewhat old-fashioned practitioners who insist on having paper copies of the whole file, but in my experience most people have now gone over to electronic case files, at least to some extent.

In your experience, what advantages can clients benefit from in hiring a multilingual arbitrator?

International arbitration is not an English language test, but sadly it can sometimes feel like that.

Although most international arbitrations are conducted in English, there is almost always another language involved, sometimes several languages. Arbitrators who understand the challenges of working in a multilingual environment can help to put counsel and witnesses at ease when linguistic challenges arise. Multi-lingual arbitrators are also naturally sensitive to the difficulties, and limitations, of translation.

Are you noticing a change in how arbitrations are financed? If so, what changes are you noticing?

There is much talk about third-party funding, which is continuing to expand. I have also noticed the use of fixed-fee arrangements by certain parties. For example, the party may decide on a fixed budget, and the law firm will then be required to arrange its team accordingly, often by asking ambitious associates to lead the case. Such a strategy is not without its difficulties, but I have seen it work quite successfully on more than one occasion.

Where, in your opinion, does the future of the practice area lie?

In these troubling times, I would hope that international arbitration can continue to offer a mechanism for the fair and peaceful resolution of international disputes throughout the world. We all need to continue to promote this, and I see a future that is increasingly international, multi-cultural and multi-lingual. It is more important than ever for international arbitration to be seen to be available to parties of all nationalities and cultures.

Looking back over your career, what has been your proudest achievement?

The law is at its best when it makes a difference to people’s lives. Those cases that I have been most proud of are those where the outcome has made a real difference to the client. Obviously, achieving a successful outcome in a big case is always very satisfying, but several small cases also stand out because of the importance of the case for the client.

At a personal level, I am proud to have managed to qualify and pursue a career in three different jurisdictions – Scotland, England and Sweden. It is still unusual to move jurisdictions within the field of dispute resolution, and it is not easy, but those who dare to do so gain an appreciation of the fact that there are different ways of doing things. One size does not fit all!

Peers and clients say: “A star!” “One of the leading individuals in Sweden when it comes to international arbitration” “He is very skilled and very likeable with an efficient approach” “Highly experienced as counsel and increasingly as arbitrator” “He is strong as counsel in international cases”