Montserrat Manzano

Von Wobeser y Sierra, SC

Mexico City www.vonwobeser.com

mmanzano@vwys.com.mx Tel: +52 55 5258 1018

Biography

Montserrat is a partner at Von Wobeser y Sierra, where she focuses on international, commercial and investment arbitration. She has participated in a vast number of international arbitration proceedings, either as counsel, arbitrator and/or secretary, under the ICC, ICSID, UNCITRAL, LCIA, PCA and CAM rules. She has successfully represented clients in administrative and constitutional proceedings before Mexican courts, including proceedings in support of arbitration and provisional measures.

What are the biggest changes you’ve seen in arbitration since you started practising?

Since I started practising, there has been a constant growth in the number and diversity of practitioners involved in the field. Arbitration is a more common practice with a growing number of lawyers from diverse backgrounds and legal traditions getting involved in this field, which has led to more firms developing specialised teams in this area.

The practice of arbitration today is far more sophisticated. Conceptualisations of protections in international investment law have also become vastly more sophisticated over the course of my career, and the implementation and acceptance of soft law guidelines such as the IBA Rules on the Taking of Evidence and the IBA Guidelines on Conflicts of Interest have been important advancements.

The pandemic has also provoked important change. The digitalisation of proceedings was long overdue and their reflection in the rule amendment projects of the LCIA, ICC and ICDR is very welcome, in addition to the updates to the IBA Rules on the Taking of Evidence (2020).

More and more practitioners are leaving firms to set up their own arbitration boutiques. What are the main drivers for this in your experience?

Traditional full-service firms simply cannot avoid conflicts of interest. International commerce involves so many players and it is understandable that many arbitration practitioners would want to avoid being constrained with respect to the matters they take on, as well as have more flexibility to assume positions as arbitrator.

Many arbitration practitioners are also grasping the opportunity to attract clients by offering high-quality work at attractive fee arrangements in an increasingly competitive global market. I am sure greater control over hiring, flexible working policy, and overall firm policy and strategy would also be contributing factors.

How has the shift to online working and events affected networking opportunities?

As practitioners, we usually attend the major arbitration meetups, such as the IBA Global Conference. The shared experiences and networking opportunities we have at those conferences cannot truly be replicated online. Nonetheless, the pandemic gave rise to a wave of accessible thought leadership that is immensely valuable, especially to younger arbitration practitioners around the world. For example, the ITA 2020-2021 Americas Workshops and the online work sessions of the ICC Commissions have been successes.

Arbitrator independence and disclosure is a hot topic, with concerns that standards are opaque and restrictive. Do you agree?

Arbitrators today certainly exercise a higher degree of caution than has been the case in the past, in light of certain highprofile controversies.

I am not sure I would correspond to the view that all applicable standards are opaque and restrictive. For instance, the 2021 ICC Note to Parties and Arbitral Tribunals on the Conduct of the Arbitration gives clear guidance in this regard. The current IBA guidelines have been used as useful guidance for almost a decade. However, it is important that these standards continue to reflect best practices as they develop.

The current arbitration market is reportedly working with a small pool of arbitrators, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to find arbitrators who do not have a conflict of interest. Do you agree, and if so, how can this issue be effectively addressed?

Arbitration practitioners must do a careful case-by-case analysis of the specific facts that may give rise to a bias or a lack of independence of the arbitrator, though the mere fact that an arbitrator may have past professional contacts with a party or counsel does not generate a conflict of interest per se.

The existence of a “small pool of arbitrators” is no longer the status quo, though many senior statesmen continue to be repeatedly appointed in many investorstate cases given their public track records.

Nonetheless, we are seeing a generational handover, and there are multiple initiatives and institutions making this more visible and supporting this effort, like the RAI, YAWP, Young ITA, ICC YAF, REAL and many others.

Given the increasing frequency of conflicts experienced by arbitrators and counsel, should there be a set of universal conflict principals across arbitration institutions?

The IBA guidelines have served a useful, ‘universal’ guidance role, but are not directly applied by all decisionmakers as applicable rules. For instance, the ICC Court has developed conflicts principles in its Note to Parties and Arbitral Tribunals on the Conduct of the Arbitration. Whether universal or specific conflict principles are applied, all the relevant standards must be stringent enough to prevent the possibility of awards being annulled at the seat based on conflicts of interest or undisclosed circumstances.

What is the most significant challenge arbitration will face in the coming year?

In the coming year one notable challenge for arbitration practice will be recalibrating into a hybrid mode of work with enhanced efficiency in order to provide services at reasonable costs to satisfy users. Arbitration practitioners of all ages must be agile and diligent in their service provision, and firms must continue to take care of their employee’s wellness and mental wellbeing.

How might up-and-coming arbitration practitioners best position themselves in today’s market?

The global market is quite saturated. Up-and-coming arbitration practitioners should master the fundamentals of arbitration (the principal global procedural rules, treaties, and laws), be resilient and prepared to step outside their comfort zones to advance their careers.

WWL says: Montserrat Manzano receives praise from sources on account of her “intelligence, strong leadership and communication skills”. Her “impressive attention to detail without losing the bigger picture” is delivered with aplomb.