Tobias Zuberbühler

Lustenberger + Partners KLG

Zurich www.lplegal.ch

zuberbuehler@lplegal.ch Tel: +41 387 19 00

Biography

Tobias Zuberbühler has over 20 years of experience in dispute resolution and has acted as arbitrator and counsel in more than 70 international and domestic arbitration proceedings under both ad hoc and institutional rules (ICC, Swiss Rules, DIS, CEPANI, VIAC, HKIAC). He has also rendered over 250 UDRP decisions as WIPO domain name panelist. Tobias is a member of the Arbitration Court of the Swiss Arbitration Centre and co-editor of the Commentary on the Swiss Rules of International Arbitration (2nd ed. 2013).

What is it about arbitration that you enjoy most?

When something unexpected happens during a witness hearing, and the release of pressure at the end of a long hearing.

How does Lustenberger + Partners distinguish itself from the competition?

We are a partner-driven boutique, so clients can expect full commitment (and sufficient hours) on the ground by lead counsel, together with carefully selected associates who are not completely and constantly overworked. In other words, our teams will show up at the hearing not only ridiculously well prepared, but also with enough (physical and mental) strength to endure any challenges ahead.

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

The advantages do not only build on (technical) language skills, but on the corresponding exposure to other cultures. Almost everyone in arbitration is multilingual, but not all practitioners have lived a certain number of years in other countries. Personally, having lived seven years in the USA and two years in Belgium, I can probably connect better to clients from anywhere because they realise that I will be open to their own cultural sensitivities and may be able to communicate better than someone who has, eg, only left Switzerland for a one-year LLM. How does your experience assisting clients in a wide range of sectors enhance your arbitration practice? How do you ensure you develop indepth sector knowledge?

In-depth sector knowledge is developed with every new arbitration case as counsel or arbitrator. While clients always look for top specialists in a certain business field, they can also profit from knowledge in other areas. To give you an example, a client in the airline sector might profit from knowledge I have in airport construction, or also from experience in unrelated sectors (such as pharma distribution) in the relevant jurisdiction.

Sources report a trend of arbitration practitioners being involved when contracts are drafted. How does this benefit parties in a contract?

With carefully drafted dispute resolution clauses, the parties will spend less (or no) money in the jurisdictional phase of a potential arbitration case.

Do you envisage the emergence of any new arbitration seats that will rival those currently most popular?

The traditional seats in Europe (London, Paris, Geneva, Zurich, Stockholm, Vienna) are facing more competition within Europe (Milano, Madrid, Barcelona, Brussels, Amsterdam, Edinburgh, Frankfurt, Munich, Hamburg) because the practitioners in those “new” cities have become more active in recent years. Moreover, all European seats (together with some established seats in Asia such as Singapore, Hong Kong and Shanghai) will continue to compete against some hubs in geographically well-situated cities like Istanbul, Dubai, Seoul, Miami, San Francisco or Lagos. As long as the market is growing, however, I do not see this as a major problem for the established seats.

It is reported that there is a new generation of arbitrators emerging who are increasingly specialised. How does increased specialisation benefit the arbitration market and what are the potential pitfalls?

Truly specialised arbitrators will potentially issue better decisions in less time, so the overall costs for the parties will tend to decrease. On the other hand, the pool of experienced arbitrators in highly specialised fields (insurance, maritime law, etc) can be very small in certain jurisdictions, leading to an increase of conflicts and longer appointment procedures.

What advice would you give to someone starting out in arbitration?

Leave your comfort zone, spend time abroad, try to find a job with an experienced mentor, watch carefully and do not forget your best friends and family. Easier said than done, I know.

Peers and clients say: “He is widely recognised for his excellent arbitration practice” “His arbitration experience is second to none”