Claus von Wobeser

Von Wobeser y Sierra, S.C.

Mexico City www.vonwobeser.com

cvonwobeser@vwys.com.mx Tel: +52 52581000

Biography

Founder of Von Wobeser y Sierra, with more than 40 years of experience in dispute resolution. He has participated in more than 200 commercial and investment arbitrations as arbitrator, counsel and expert. Current president of the ALARB and the ICC in Mexico. Former vice president of the ICC Court, co-president of the IBA Arbitration Committee and president of the ICC Mexico Arbitration Commission. He studied at Escuela Libre de Derecho (JD) and Paris II (PhD).

I believe it was chance or destiny. I began my career as a corporate lawyer with no involvement in dispute resolution. Furthermore, when I began practising, arbitration was almost inexistent in Mexico. In the early 1980s, while pursuing my PhD at Université Paris II, I met Alexander Shill and Yves Derains, who introduced me to arbitration, and I began to research the area. After a while, I was invited to become a member of the ICC Court. A few years later, I returned to Mexico, where arbitration had started to become popular, mainly due to the opening of the economy.

Looking back over your career, what is the most interesting arbitration you have been a part of?

As an arbitration practitioner, I sit as arbitrator and I represent clients as counsel. The most interesting case in which I have acted as arbitrator was Inseysa Vallisoletana vs. El Salvador, which was one of the first cases that addressed corruption and its effects in investment claims. The most interesting case in which I have participated as counsel was Comissa vs. Pemex, where I represented Comissa. In that case, the award in favour of Comissa was set aside in Mexico but later enforced in New York, being one of the first cases of an enforcement of a nullified award in history.

What are the advantages of having diverse geographical and sector experience? What benefits does it deliver to clients?

I would summarise it in two words: perspective and visibility. The more diverse your geographical and sector knowledge and experience is, the more complete and creative solutions you can craft. In my opinion, a lack of diversity results in shortsighted advice, which hardly benefits the clients’ interests.

What green arbitration trends are currently prevalent in the market?

Thanks to the Green Pledge and partially due to the covid-19 pandemic, arbitration practice has notably shifted towards a greener practice. Perhaps the most prevalent trend that I see in my firm and in the cases that I sit as arbitrator is that parties and arbitrators are much more open to agreeing not to produce any hard copies. Also, the pandemic showed us that it is completely possible to hold functional meetings and hearings via videoconference. This has dramatically reduced the amount of travel needed for the preparation of a case, thus reducing the carbon footprint of arbitration.

How is AI and technological developments affecting the analyses you conduct? How do you anticipate it will affect analyses moving forward?

I personally have not been involved in a case where AI is used. However, there are many other technological developments that have drastically changed arbitration practice. Today, the use of document OCR and sophisticated software for the handling of documents and automated translation are widespread among sophisticated firms. I am sure that these tools will continue to improve in the future, which will help practitioners to manage and understand cases in a much better way.

What challenges do hybrid hearings present from an impartiality standpoint?

I am a big supporter of remote and hybrid hearings. I do not believe they pose any impartiality issues. From my perspective, the fundamental downsides of hybrid and remote hearings are the difficulties that different time zones present and that it is generally harder to remain fully focused in front of a screen vis-a-vis a hearing room.

What underrated skills would you encourage the up-andcoming generation of arbitration professionals to develop?

Understand the numbers. In my experience, the one thing that sets good and excellent arbitration lawyers apart is a full understanding of the quantum of the case. Many lawyers just let the quantum experts do their reports without getting involved in their work and in many cases without understanding their work. This creates two problems. First, how can they expect to explain and convince the tribunal on the quantum if they do not understand it themselves? Second, normally, quantum experts are not lawyers, therefore, they may not know what a report needs to be good and compelling evidence. When lawyers and experts don’t talk and understand each other, they may end up with a technically supported report that unfortunately is not useful from a legal standpoint.

What has been your greatest achievement to date?

Over the past 36 years, I founded Von Wobeser y Sierra with my partners Maclovio Sierra and Javier Lizardi. Maclovio died shortly after we established the firm. However, we continued to work relentlessly to consolidate the firm. Today, almost four decades later, I am proud of what we have achieved. We have been able to transform Von Wobeser y Sierra into one of the most important firms in Mexico, not only in arbitration, but in most practice areas. I am sure that my partners and associates will continue to preserve and enhance this legacy in the decades to come.

Peers and clients say: “Claus has a mastery of all aspects of Mexican law” “He has a deep understanding of international arbitral institutions”