Wolfgang Peter

Peter & Kim

Geneva www.peterandkim.com

wpeter@peterandkim.com Tel: +41 58 317 70 70

Biography

Wolfgang Peter is a founding partner of Peter & Kim. Dr Peter represents major companies from Europe and overseas as counsel in large and complex international arbitrations. He has acted, up to August 2021, in over 270 international arbitrations involving M&A; finance and banking; international trade; joint ventures and industrial cooperation; agency and distribution; and licensing transfer of technology and natural resources (in particular, gas-price adjustment disputes). Prior to arbitration, Dr Peter was fully engaged in M&A transactional practice for 15 years. He was also the CEO of two watch companies (Breguet and Jaquet Droz) for 13 years.

How has the role of arbitrator changed since you started your career?

Since the 1980s, when I had my first appointment as a young lawyer, both the role and the image of an arbitrator have changed significantly. An arbitrator is now expected to be proactive and have a managerial role in the arbitral process. This includes, increasingly, direct involvement in the technical and financial issues. Second, due to globalisation, arbitrations increasingly involve different systems of law. This allows arbitrators to discover and provide innovative concepts (such as witness conferencing), or technical solutions (such as pre-recorded pleadings, for instance) as part of the arbitral process.

What are the main challenges facing arbitrators at the moment?

The coronavirus pandemic continues to affect our field, with hearings and CMCs being held virtually. This carries with it a host of anticipatory issues, such as agreement on protocols, testing of equipment, etc. Another trend is the existence of parallel proceedings involving virtually the same parties, before courts or other tribunals (eg, commercial and investment arbitration). Another challenge is the growing number of voluminous requests for document production and often excessive or abusive procedural requests. I still remember arbitrations where there were no document production requests at all. Guerrilla tactics are almost becoming the norm, including sometimes frivolous challenges of the arbitrator. In fact, there is a marked difference now in terms of the treatment by the parties of arbitrators. They are less respected as a deciding and guiding authority, but rather someone who is scrutinised with suspicion and sometimes even contempt. The construction industry often turns to arbitration for dispute resolution. To what extent is there a growing interest in using alternative forms of dispute resolution to solve disputes?

I have not personally seen attempts at ADR in the construction industry recently, but I believe that these might become more popular. Arbitration of construction disputes can often lead to long and overwhelming processes, where parties become engaged in lengthy hearings (often lasting more than a month) and arbitrations that can last years.

How do you see the recent instability in oil prices influencing disputes in the construction sector?

Presumably pressure on agreed prices will ensue, but in the long term, parties will deal with such issues as they always have in long-term contracts that anticipate fluctuations (as oil prices have always been).

How effective are virtual hearings and arbitration proceedings compared to their in-person alternative? Do you see them becoming the ‘new normal’?

Personally, I find them less effective as counsel, since it is akin to taking water with the palm of your hand instead of a glass. However, I believe that hybrid hearings will continue to be useful and may become the new normal, especially as some countries will be more difficult to reach or allow its citizens to travel.

How is the generational shift changing legal practice at your firm? What do younger lawyers do differently?

The younger generations of lawyers are more technically savvy, perhaps much more attuned to honing their “public image” and maintaining visibility on various social networks. Unfortunately, sometimes there is a disconnect between that image and the quality of the work of such lawyers. However, I generally applaud my team for being on the edge of the technical developments. I still remember the days when every lawyer, no matter how young or how recently he or she graduated, would have a personal secretary responsible for typing up letters. There is much more independence now in that respect.

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

My advice would be to specialise and to think globally, to always work harder and drive yourself to improve, grow and become more efficient. I believe that becoming fluent in several languages would be helpful, but perhaps more importantly, someone who intends to become successful in international arbitration should become confident in his/her skills at work and within one’s network.

Where, in your opinion, does the future of the arbitration lie?

I believe that commercial and investment arbitration is here to stay because of a continuing lack of trust in certain national courts, or until such courts become truly efficient and specialised within a certain industry. I also imagine greater specialisation within commercial arbitration, similar to investment arbitration, where the pool of experienced lawyers and arbitrators is small.

WWL says: The “excellent” Wolfgang Peter is held in high esteem as “an absolute leader” and “undoubtedly one of the best arbitrators in the market”.