Gerold Zeiler

Zeiler Floyd Zadkovich

Vienna zeilerfloydzad.com

gerold.zeiler@zeilerfloydzad.com Tel: +43 1 890 1087 80

Biography

Gerold Zeiler is a partner at Zeiler Floyd Zadkovich and an expert in national and international dispute resolution, with a strong focus on international commercial arbitration and complex litigation. He is a graduate of the University of Vienna and the Washington University in St Louis. Gerold has published a comprehensive commentary on Austrian arbitration law (Schiedsverfahren, 2nd edition, 2014). In 2018, the ICC World Council appointed Gerold as the Austrian member of the ICC Court.

Clients expect highly professional conduct of arbitration proceedings, which first requires arbitrators to familiarise themselves with the details of the case at an early stage of the proceedings. Parties expect efficiency in the structure of the proceedings, as well as flexibility on the arbitrators’ side. Throughout all stages of the arbitration, arbitrators must work precisely and to the point and be able to focus on essential issues rather than being side-tracked into procedural detours.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of arbitration compared to litigation?

The well-known advantages of arbitration compared to litigation are its confidentiality, generally speaking the overall length /speed of proceedings, the international competency and enforceability, and the main disadvantage would be the lack of appeal. Our firm recently published a comprehensive study in collaboration with the University of Vienna on Austrian businesses’ perceived strengths and weaknesses of arbitration or litigation when resolving their disputes, which is available on our firm’s website.

How can clients be encouraged to pursue methods of alternative dispute resolution?

While many international businesses are familiar with the advantages of arbitration and other forms of alternative dispute resolution, I have also encountered clients that either had an inaccurate understanding of arbitration proceedings or were completely unaware of their existence. I, therefore, believe that arbitration practitioners play a vital role in informing clients and the public about the main features of arbitration. That being said, every dispute is unique and state courts can be a suitable forum for a variety of disputes – the key is to find the appropriate dispute resolution mechanism for each individual contractual relationship.

In what ways is arbitration becoming greener? Do clients also have a role to play in this transformation?

Arbitration is becoming greener in multiple ways. First, and most pronounced, was the transformation we’ve seen over the past couple years, of hearings being held online as opposed to in-person. Minimising the flying necessary to attend hearings in person cuts back on CO2 emissions and much-wasted energy. Second, many procedures, filings and submissions are handled online, which cuts back substantially on paper waste.

To what extent should more be done to improve the transparency of arbitration proceedings?

There are a lot of reasonable initiatives supporting transparency in arbitration, such as anonymised publications of arbitral awards. However, after all, confidentiality is an essential feature of arbitration, which is why I believe that there is no need for additional measures to increase the transparency of arbitration proceedings.

What role do you see third-party funding playing in arbitration moving forward?

We have seen a steady increase in thirdparty funding that I believe will not stop anytime soon. Unsurprisingly, this development is also reflected in amendments to institutional arbitration rules, such as article 11(7) of the ICC arbitration rules 2021.

Why did you decide to set up your own firm?

With the founding of zeiler.partners, which later evolved to what is now Zeiler Floyd Zadkovich, my partners and I had a strong history of working together, and with our collective experience and expertise, there was an opportunity to take our collaborations to the next level and build something of our own with a strong focus on dispute resolution. Looking back from now, I am very happy that we made that decision. The last eight years, since we started our own firm, have been very enriching and never dull. I have no doubt that these years are the personal highlights of my professional career so far.

Peers and clients say: “He is the undisputed number one arbitrator” “Gerold is an excellent arbitrator and counsel” “He has built an impressive practice in investor-state arbitrations” “He is highly experienced and highly regarded”