Reading Time: 12 minutes
Publication Date: 24 August 2023
INTERVIEW WITH
Arno Janssens
Hometown: Brussels, Belgium
Professional Admission: New York
Current Location: Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Current Position: Associate at Al Aidarous
Table of Contents
Education
Arbroad: Hi Arno and welcome to Arbroad! You did your bachelor’s degree, as well as your first master’s degree, at KU Leuven (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven) in Belgium. Could you name two highlights of studying there?
Arno: I think, looking back at it, one valuable thing about studying in Belgium was that I developed a solid foundation in the functioning of a civil law system. International arbitration typically involves a mix of different jurisdictions, but it’s still heavily influenced by common law and civil law at the same time. So I feel like having the best of both worlds – and I am jumping ahead a little bit now – that is, combining an undergraduate degree in a civil law jurisdiction with an LL.M. and bar admission in a common law jurisdiction, has proven to be very beneficial. Back in the day, of course, I had no clue. I didn’t even know that I wanted to do arbitration, but that’s just something that I’m reflecting on now.
My exchange semesters were the highlight of my time at KU Leuven. I went on exchange to Australia first, to the University of Adelaide, for one semester. Then I went to Washington, D.C. for the second year, where I worked for an NGO called “Lawyers Without Borders”. That was part of my curriculum, and I interned there four days a week. That was definitely an amazing experience. I got to meet a lot of interesting people. At that time, I still wanted to practice pure public international law, and this NGO specialized in humanitarian work in the Horn of Africa and other regions. At some point, I even traveled to Tanzania for a human trafficking project. All of that was an eye-opening experience.
Arbroad: Why did you decide to stay at KU Leuven for a Master’s degree as well? Was it something that you wished to do or was it the demand of the Belgian legal market?
Arno: It was the demand of the Belgian legal market – in the sense that there’s no such thing as an undergraduate law degree there. If I had left after completing my Bachelor’s degree, I would not have been able to become a qualified lawyer in Belgium. That just doesn’t happen. So it was sort of the natural way to go. It’s considered one law degree. I think, just for the purposes of comparing it to other degrees or comparing it to universities abroad, they divide it up into three years of bachelor’s and two years master’s. But without obtaining a master’s degree, you can’t sit for the bar exam. You can’t become a fully qualified lawyer. Maybe you can get a job as a paralegal, but I have never seen that happen.
Arbroad: Right after your first master’s degree, you jumped into another Master’s degree at the University of Chicago (UChicago). Why did you decide to do it right away upon completion of your studies in Belgium and not after gaining some experience?
Harper Memorial Library at UChicago. [From Arno’s personal photo archive.]
Arno: [smiling] You have no idea how many times I’ve been asked that question! Yes, I know that people usually tend to wait or work for a few years before they delve into their LL.M. When I graduated from KU Leuven, I knew I wanted to practice international law or arbitration and I thought that my background wasn’t international enough for that to become a real possibility. So that’s reason number one.
The second reason is that I was very determined to practice law somewhere in a foreign jurisdiction. As I said, my two highlights at KU Leuven were my exchange semesters abroad. These opportunities offered a brief look into the ins and outs of foreign legal systems, which I found exceptionally interesting from a comparative law and international perspective. That was such a great experience, and I thought it would be great if I could do that full-time. That’s why I decided to apply for an LL.M. abroad right after my Master’s in Belgium. I had no idea where I would eventually end up, but I did it with the goal of practicing international dispute resolution somewhere outside of Brussels, which is not your typical “hub” for arbitration or for ADR in general.
And the third reason is that, honestly, I didn’t feel like working yet [smiles].
Arbroad: With the benefit of hindsight, would you say that this LL.M. degree was helpful for building a career in international arbitration?
Arno: I know this is a hot topic nowadays, but for me personally, this made my career. Without going to Chicago, I would not have met friends who eventually got me my first job in London, which then eventually got me a position with Hanotiau & van den Berg in Brussels, which then eventually led me to move to Dubai. Without that, with the New York bar and a U.S. law degree under my belt, I would not have been able to secure my first traineeship in international arbitration, and my qualifications would not have been as portable across jurisdictions as they are now.
Of course, I can only speak from personal experience. I have met many exceptionally qualified international arbitration lawyers who have taken a completely different path. A specialized LL.M. in dispute resolution (as opposed to a general LL.M.), for example, seems to be another popular route. Others have a Ph.D. or other academic qualifications that sets them apart. I think the common thread here is that arbitration lawyers typically have “something extra,” and what that something is will differ from one person to another.
Arbroad: Was there any course that you would absolutely recommend taking to anyone going to UChicago Law for an LL.M?
Arno: If you studied in continental Europe, you’re pretty used to the big ex cathedra lectures where the professor just tells you how things are, and you take notes. The U.S., and I think the UK is quite similar, are very, very different from that. So in terms of teaching method, you will experience their engaging lectures and the infamous cold-calling no matter which classes you choose to take.
A second thing is that UChicago is known for its law and economics courses. I think UChicago’s economic approach to law differs vastly from the traditional way in which law is taught, and you should take full advantage of that. I took a course on public international law with Professor Eric A. Posner. He’s a very well-known academic. He would not just teach public international law, but he would evaluate topics from a cost-benefit angle, which is very on-brand for UChicago. His lectures would typically go like, “These are the rules, but let’s now talk about whether they really work and how we can make them work, what works and what doesn’t”. In this debate, international arbitration tends to stand out as one of the ‘good guys’ in the sense that it typically tends to work, as opposed to some of the other aspects of public international law which, well… You know, it is what it is.
One other thing that I would highly recommend is to participate in the legal clinics. I was part of the Abrams Environmental Law Clinic, where I drafted amicus briefs in U.S. climate litigation focusing on the social cost of carbon emissions. Very rewarding work, and an amazing opportunity to gain “real-life” litigation experience.
Arbroad: You’ve mentioned that you took the New York bar exam. Not everyone who goes to the U.S. for an LL.M. decides to take it because it requires a lot of preparation and it may also be costly. Was it an obvious choice for you to take a bar exam, and why did you then choose the New York bar?
Arno: I went out of my way to do the LL.M. for the exact reason that I wanted to practice in another jurisdiction, get that stamp on my resume that would basically say, “This person has experience in both civil and common law jurisdictions”. That is also coupled with the fact that the New York bar remains, in my view, one of the most prestigious or internationally-recognized bars to have, along with the bar of England and Wales.
International arbitration is highly competitive. I asked myself, how can I make my profile look as good as possible to someone recruiting for an arbitration position? I thought, “I made it this far. I’m here in Chicago, I am doing this LL.M. Let me just sacrifice one summer and sit for the New York bar, too”. That was essentially the reasoning.
Career
Arbroad: After your LL.M. from the University of Chicago you worked as an International Arbitration trainee for Boies Schiller Flexner in London. Was it difficult for you to secure an international arbitration trainee position in a foreign jurisdiction, specifically in the UK?
Arno: It was so hard. It was ridiculous! I applied to… I don’t know how many positions, not only in London — I applied everywhere. I think I even applied for a position in Sydney — anywhere they spoke English. Eventually, I got this job because of a classmate of mine, a very good and dear friend of mine; her name is Melissa Kelley. She’s American, but she worked at Boies Schiller Flexner there in London for a while before she decided to move back to the U.S.
So, long story short, she put me in touch with her former colleagues. At that time, David Hunt and Ken [Kenneth] Beale were leading the team, and they basically told me, “Look, we don’t really have a position, but you come highly recommended, and if you want we can offer you a traineeship.” The caveat was that this traineeship was sort of outside of the normal solicitor system. As you probably know, in England, law graduates have to complete a two-year training contract before fully qualifying. So David and Ken told me, “We are not offering you that kind of training contract, but a traineeship outside of that whole system, and no promises; wherever it leads — it leads”. So that’s essentially how that happened. But it was very hard.
London, UK. [From Arno’s personal photo archive.]
Arbroad: In March 2021, you moved to Brussels to work as an international arbitration associate with Hanotiau & van den Berg. Could you please share your most memorable experience as an arbitration lawyer during this part of your life?
Arno: I have lots of good war stories, but let me think how much I can disclose [laughs]. I think one of the good ones is… I was at a hearing on a commercial case at some point. The hearing was actually in Germany, and you know how in Procedural Order No. 1 you typically insert a rule that says that witnesses can no longer talk to their lawyers as soon as the hearing starts, just to avoid lawyers instructing the witnesses based on other witnesses’ testimony. And we had this witness — he Zoomed in from abroad, he appeared on the screen, and the opposing counsel started asking him those standard questions. It went sort of like this: “Could you state your name for the record? What position do you currently hold in the company? Have you talked to your lawyers since Monday?” And the witness says, “Oh yes, I have”. Apparently, no one told him that he shouldn’t be telling the Tribunal about the conversation he had with his lawyers. Counsel for Claimant handled it pretty well because he didn’t flinch. He asked, “Okay, when did you talk to him?” And the witness replied, “Oh yeah, he called me this morning”.
And then it all went downhill from there. Big drama. They raised an objection and temporarily kicked the witness out of the Zoom meeting. That was a real cowboy show. I think that’s the most memorable procedural incident that I’ve had.
Another more serious one was where a fact witness disappeared in the jurisdiction where a party, a state-owned entity, was based. We later learned that the witness was illegally detained and interrogated in some sort of black site. They managed to escape the detention center and the country in question, but that was a chilling development that made me find a renewed appreciation for fair, impartial, and Geneva-convention-compliant dispute resolution.
Brussels, Belgium. [From Arno’s personal photo archive.]
Arbroad: After two years of working as an international arbitration lawyer in Belgium, you moved to Dubai — a huge leap — to work for Al Aidarous’ international arbitration team. What prompted you to make this move?
Arno: Essentially, after a few detours, I ended up back in Brussels, where I started. I was obviously very excited and happy at the prospect of working with arbitrators, the likes of those at Hanotiau & van den Berg, but that ‘practice in a foreign jurisdiction’ bug never really went away.
What I find exceptionally interesting in international arbitration is that we deal with international disputes under applicable laws from all over the world. So, even though you’re a Colombian lawyer, an Egyptian lawyer, or a Singaporean lawyer, you might very well get a case that’s under Angolan law, and then it’s up to you (with the help of the parties’ experts, of course) to figure it out. For someone like me who was trained in the West, the Middle East offers many such opportunities.
The second part is, I think, that I wanted to focus a little bit more on acting as counsel in international arbitration proceedings as well. In terms of my personal workload in international arbitration at Hanotiau & van den Berg, I personally was doing mainly tribunal secretary work, although I also had a few counsel cases during my time there. I had been to Dubai before, so I had a few people that I already knew here. So it wasn’t really a dive off the deep end.
Arbroad: Could you briefly explain your journey towards obtaining a position in a Dubai-based law firm? Was it difficult?
Arno: I would say my number one advice for those who would like to move to Dubai for work is to be patient. Honestly, you just have to be lucky sometimes. At that time, Al Aidarous was vastly expanding its international arbitration practice, and I was part of the first hires, so to speak. We also have a well-established litigation department which is staffed by Arabic-speaking lawyers — they are a little bit from all over the world, but they all speak Arabic for obvious reasons. And then there’s the international arbitration department, which was relatively small before I (and those who came after me) joined. Now we’re pushing hard on that front.
I was lucky to come at the right time. I was approached, and then I spoke to one of my bosses. It was just a casual Zoom conversation. When I accepted the meeting, I had heard of Ali [Al Aidarous] before because he’s a well-known arbitrator, not only in the Middle East, and even Albert Jan [van den Berg], one of my previous bosses, had sat with him in the past.
I had done interviews before and, at that time, I wasn’t necessarily thinking, “This is the one!”. But after I talked to one of my bosses, there was this chemistry, which was really nice. We got along well. It seemed like we were on the same page in terms of work ethic, work-life balance, which is obviously important. Then I did a few other interviews, and here we are.
Arbroad: Based on your experience, can you please give us two of the most notable challenges of working as a foreign lawyer in Dubai?
Arno: That’s a difficult question because there are many, but it really depends on what you do. When it comes to arbitrations where UAE law is the applicable law, one of the biggest challenges for a foreign lawyer who doesn’t speak Arabic is understanding the local law principles. I am very lucky to be working together with our litigation department and Ali [Al Aidarous] himself, who is Emirati and an absolute expert when it comes to UAE law. It can be quite challenging to find accurate translations of case law and sometimes even laws. There is also the Sharia law aspect, which is a completely foreign concept to me as a U.S. / Belgian-trained lawyer. That’s one of the biggest challenges when it comes to the UAE being the applicable law.
Secondly, I think the UAE is also a challenging place when it comes to jurisdiction. There is Dubai mainland, sometimes referred to as onshore, which refers to the Emirate of Dubai that has its own laws and its court system. The Emirate is part of the federal state of the UAE which, of course, has its own laws as well. Then there are the other Emirates, such as Abu Dhabi. So there are different laws on the federal level, and there are laws on the regional or the emirate level, I should say. Where things can get messy is when freezones get involved. Within the Emirate of Dubai, for example, the DIFC has its own laws and court system. The same goes for the ADGM in Abu Dhabi.
For example, I’ve had a case that went into emergency arbitration. Anti-suit injunctions were flying around, there were DIFC proceedings and Dubai-court proceedings, all in parallel, just because the arbitration clause said the seat of the arbitration will be Dubai. But then what does that mean? Does that mean Dubai mainland? Does that mean Dubai, DIFC? What about the applicable law? Does that mean DIFC, federal UAE, or the Emirate of Dubai? Or even the Emirate of Abu Dhabi? So that creates a lot of issues. And when I came in, I was a little bit overwhelmed. There are a lot of rules; there are a lot of precedents. These issues have come up for years and years and years. So, experienced lawyers know how to navigate them.
Arbroad: In your view, what makes Dubai an attractive place to work as a foreign lawyer?
Arno: I think what I like most about Dubai is that it’s one of the most international cities that I have come across. I love the fact that everyone is from somewhere, so it feels like we’re all in the same boat. My experience living in the West has been quite different – the vast majority of residents are locals, and then there are a few people that are expats.
Here it’s the complete opposite. I’ve met people that have told me, “I’ve lived here for five years and I’ve never met an Emirati.” I think about 90% or so of the population are expats, which makes it so interesting. I have friends from Sudan, Jordan, Japan, France, the U.S., Saudi Arabia… — you know, from everywhere. That’s one of the things that I like most about the city.
In terms of working and living here, there is no income tax — so that’s not too bad, especially coming from Western Europe [smiles]. Dubai is an arbitration hub, so that’s also a plus. We see a lot of cases and a lot of different subject matters despite Dubai’s reputation that it centers around construction cases only. But it is not “construction only” and it is definitely an arbitration hub in the Middle East. So you see many very interesting, very big cases coming through the city.
Aerial photo of Dubai.
Arbroad: You are likewise a part of the Al Hasanaat Foundation as its Chairman of the Board and the Director of Legal Affairs. Could you please briefly tell us what this foundation is about and what your role in the association is?
Arno: This actually has nothing to do with arbitration at all, but that’s my very big pro bono project. We, being a team of 16 people in total, started this NGO to provide humanitarian aid in regions affected by war or facing severe humanitarian crises. We recently launched our website, and we’re currently focusing on Somalia. Our Director, Fatima, is Somali, and a few others in our organization are Somali, too.
I don’t want to turn this into an ad campaign for my NGO, but unfortunately, Somalia, along with Yemen, are facing one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world. There are several reasons for that. First, there is climate change – the fifth consecutive failed rainy season is pushing Somalia into widespread famine, and because the community is very much reliant upon agriculture, that poses a massive issue in terms of food security. Second, of course, there is the ongoing war against the Islamic terrorist group Al Shabaab as well as inter-clan conflict wreaking havoc all over the country. The Somali people are facing enormous challenges and enormous suffering, with millions of adults and children on the brink of starvation. We’re trying to do something about that.
I was brought in in the very beginning because we needed a lawyer who would basically do just the nitty gritty stuff like incorporating the organization in the U.S., organizing a board meeting, all of that. It started off as a small commitment, but I’ve gradually taken up more responsibilities. I really enjoy doing it though, I get a lot of energy out of this work.
And as we speak… The interview will be published in August, right?
Arbroad: Yes.
Arno: So we have three people in Somalia right now on a recon mission. It’s confidential for security reasons because it’s a very dangerous place. We don’t want people to know that NGO workers or foreigners are there because there is a high risk of terrorist attacks and kidnappings. They’re there right now visiting a few IDP [internally displaced persons] and refugee camps, trying to assess where humanitarian aid is needed, on which scale, and what the most pressing issues are.
Al Hasanaat’s Director talking to refugees in the Jilab IDP camp outside Garowe, Somalia. [From Arno’s personal photo archive.]
Arbroad: What would be your tips for a lawyer who aspires to work or enter the international arbitration market in Dubai?
Arno: International arbitration is so hard and I feel like it’s getting more and more competitive every year. At my previous jobs, I met people who were a little bit younger than I am who were still in that trainee phase, and it is the same when I talk to people who have just graduated and are trying to get in.
It’s very difficult everywhere. Dubai is not different. There are two things though that I find a little bit unique about Dubai. First, people tend to move here at a later stage in their careers. So I’m actually very junior compared to a lot of other international arbitration lawyers here in Dubai.
Second, the Dubai market is very much linked to the UK market. A lot of people from London come here after four or five years of experience and then practice in the international law firms, the English or American ones, that have a big presence here. There are a lot of people from the UK here, and I feel like other jurisdictions are much less represented . If one’s ultimate goal is to live in Dubai, then I think the way to go would be to practice in the UK and then make the move. I think that’s a typical scenario anyway.
Tribunal Secretaries
Arbroad: You mentioned that your path as a tribunal secretary started at Hanotiau & van den Berg. Could you please share with us your journey towards acting as a tribunal secretary?
Arno: I was kind of thrown into it. To be really honest, I only learned about what tribunal secretaries actually do when I was at Boies Schiller Flexner. I was involved in two arbitration hearings there. Those were cases that were already very mature, obviously, because the hearings came along. So, I just participated in the hearing and helped with opening and closing statements. There, I observed what the tribunal secretaries were doing, but only from a counsel’s perspective. At that point, I thought they were literally an administrative secretary — because you see them sending emails back and forth, and then you see them scheduling the hearing etc. It was an online hearing at the time, in the Zoom meeting, and the secretary would probably be taking notes and so on.
But of course, it’s a little bit more than that, or it typically is. I learned that down the line. When I was offered the associate position at Hanotiau & van den Berg, they asked, “Would you be willing to act as tribunal secretary?” And I said yes, because I had since realized that being a tribunal secretary is a lot more than circulating Zoom links and taking notes. It’s because that opportunity with Hanotiau & van den Berg came up, where I was asked to do it and I happily said yes, but I didn’t take any active steps towards becoming a tribunal secretary.
Arbroad: For young arbitration practitioners, the market of arbitration positions with law firms seems to be more straightforward and easy to explore. Here, the task is a little bit trickier — it could be difficult to find a position as a tribunal secretary as a part of a law firm or an arbitral institution. What would be your recommendations on how to become a tribunal secretary?
Arno: You know, I really feel for the younger generation of aspiring arbitration lawyers. I mean, I don’t consider myself old, but it’s just brutal out there. It’s not really the fault of the boutique firms either, because if you want to become a tribunal secretary, you’re mainly targeting these boutique firms that run on arbitrators rather than the big law firms that deal primarily with counsel cases. I know that in some of the bigger law firms, the partners act as arbitrators, too, and then they might appoint an associate as a tribunal secretary. But that will most likely not be your main task. So, when searching for a tribunal secretary job, you’re automatically carving out 80 or 90% of the arbitration jobs which are already few and far between. It’s a supply and demand issue, right? There’s just a lot of demand and there is not that much supply.
As a result, a lot of people get stuck in these internships that never end, which I find exceptionally sad because it’ll be like a six-month thing in Paris, another six-month stint in Geneva, then Brussels, and then Berlin. These lawyers are highly qualified, but there’s just no opportunity for them to become full-time associates.
There’s also the issue of language skills. Sometimes someone I regard as extremely smart and intelligent, and undoubtedly capable of working as a tribunal secretary, might not have the level of French, English, or Arabic required to manage arbitrations in those languages. Virtually everyone speaks English nowadays, especially the younger generation of lawyers. However, if you manage an international arbitration with native speakers from the U.S. and the UK, they will expect an award or procedural orders or a hearing that is conducted in near-flawless English, not least because the award will be subject to immense scrutiny. I think that sometimes this gets overlooked by aspiring arbitration lawyers.
My advice is terrible because, honestly, you have to be lucky. I think that’s the most honest answer I can give you. You just have to be lucky.
Arbroad: You’ve mentioned that your views on the role of the tribunal secretary have changed once you’ve become a secretary yourself. From your experience, how is the ordinary day at work of the tribunal secretary structured, and what are the key tasks the secretary performs during the entire lifecycle of a dispute?
Arno: I should probably start by saying that the role of tribunal secretaries is and remains a very controversial issue. Usually, the controversy centers around whether they are allowed to draft the award and the procedural orders, but sometimes even their presence in the deliberations becomes an issue. There was a recent decision by the Belgian Supreme Court that confirmed that ICC awards can be drafted by tribunal secretaries if their work is reviewed by the arbitrators. So that’s a very positive development in my opinion. Moreover, on the global stage, the issue is far from resolved, I think.
What is generally accepted is that tribunal secretaries act as sort of the ‘project manager’ of the dispute. They will manage the procedural calendar, make sure deadlines are met, acknowledge receipt of submissions and documents, liaise with the arbitral institutions, take care of the logistics for the hearing, and just generally assist the tribunal when it comes to case management. Without taking any decisions, of course.
What I will say is that a tribunal secretary position can be a lonely job in the sense that it is just you and the tribunal. You don’t work in a team like a counsel team typically would. If you’re representing a client in an arbitration, you’ll be in a team of maybe 10 or 15 lawyers working on the case. On the side of the tribunal, it is quite different. It’ll just be you, and it’ll be your responsibility to brief the arbitrator who you’re working for on the case.
I realize that this might not be the most satisfactory of answers, so if anyone out there has any questions about what it is like to be a tribunal secretary or what their day-to-day looks like, they’re welcome to reach out to me on LinkedIn.
Arbroad: From your experience, which benefits could one obtain only when working as a tribunal secretary, exclusively from this position — and not as a counsel?
Arno: One thing is connections. You meet a lot more arbitrators as a tribunal secretary than you ever would as a junior associate in a big law firm that handles counsel work — just because your caseload will be bigger, but also you are just right there with the tribunal, so you get to make very valuable connections in the arbitration world. And these are the big names. These are the people that, after being a law firm partner at, say, White & Case for 20 years, decided to go independent and become arbitrators. And then you, a 24-year-old, are sitting right next to them. So that’s pretty cool. I think that’s very unique to a tribunal secretary position. You will never have the same opportunity in terms of networking at a big law firm.
Then the second point also goes to networking — the institutions. You get to be in touch with the people at the ICC or at the LCIA or at the SIAC — all about case management stuff, of course. So it’s not something really substantive, but again, it gives you an opportunity to get to know these people. I think that’s just very valuable because everyone in the arbitration world, whether they are an intern or whether they are Brigitte Stern, has to work with these people. Naturally, the case managers at the arbitral institutions have a lot of connections and you never know when that might come in handy. They also have a lot of power when it comes to appointing arbitrators. So, looking way into the future, if you ever want to become an arbitrator, those are the people to know, especially for your first appointment.
And then, the benefit of observing those tribunal dynamics from the inside is also invaluable. This is especially so if later you go back to counsel work because it makes you understand how a tribunal works. It makes you understand how people from different jurisdictions might typically have different views on certain legal issues. It makes you understand how an award is drafted, how you have to take that into account when you’re acting as counsel, because at the end of the day, you’re pleading a case, but you’re pleading it to someone. So being on that side of things is very valuable and definitely helps me now that I’m back on the counsel side a little more.
Arbroad: In your opinion, what is the most challenging aspect of the work of a tribunal secretary?
Arno: I can say one thing — what I had issues with in the beginning was shutting up. I know the case. I’ve read it from A to Z, and I’ve read all the exhibits. I was a part of it, but I can’t speak. I can’t have an opinion on it because I’m the tribunal secretary.
So you’re sitting in the hearing — because tribunal secretaries typically attend the hearings; whether they can attend the deliberations is not always so clear…. and so you hear the tribunal speak about the case and you want to say, “No, but look at Exhibit C-12, though”. But you cannot. You absolutely cannot, especially when the parties are present. If it’s just the tribunal and you, and you slip up, the arbitrators will think that that’s unprofessional and you shouldn’t do that. If you slip up in front of the parties, it has the potential of becoming a whole thing.
I’m not sure if you’ve heard about the case in England, I believe, where the arbitrator forwarded an email that he received from a party to his tribunal secretary. That email to his tribunal secretary said, “What do you think?” That’s it. But the arbitrator accidentally copied the parties as well. I think they either applied to set aside the award or had the arbitrator removed from the tribunal. So that’s the most difficult, especially in the beginning when you’re not used to these things. It’s like you’ve been taught for over six years to have an opinion on things. And then suddenly you have to shut up.
Blitz Poll
Arbroad: What is the most beautiful place in Dubai?
Arno: That’s so difficult. I can’t believe you want me to answer that in a one-liner.
I would say Hatta. It’s in the emirate of Dubai, not in the city, but it has this lake right in the middle of the mountains. You can kayak there. It’s amazing.
Arbroad: What is your favorite free time activity?
Arno: Biking.
Arbroad: Do you prefer a slow or active vacation?
Arno: Active.
Arbroad: Belgian waffles or Belgian chocolate?
Arno: Waffles, hands down.
Arbroad: What is your favorite place as a travel destination?
Arno: Namibia.
Arbroad: If you could time travel, would you travel to the past or to the future?
Arno: I would travel to the past before the cell phone was invented.
Arbroad: Do you prefer to start work or leave work early?
Arno: Leave early.
Arbroad: Where does the road lead?
Arno: That is philosophical. I would say it always leads to better things. No matter how disappointing the road might look at first.
Advice
Arbroad: What advice would you give to an arbitration lawyer wanting to move jurisdictions?
Arno: This is speaking from personal experience, obviously. I guess I’m a little bit clouded by what I’ve done to get here. I’m not sure if this is the formula that works, but I’ll just tell people what I think works, which, first of all, is to make your profile as international as you can, showing that you have experience or at least familiarity with a wide range of jurisdictions. It can only benefit you even if you end up staying in your own jurisdiction. If you practice international arbitration, that will always be appreciated. That’s number one.
Second is connections. Connections are everything. Always be kind and friendly with people, even if you disagree with them. Far too often, I see practitioners of all levels of seniority be rude or unnecessarily aggressive, be it in submissions or towards arbitrators or towards the institutions. That won’t get you anywhere. Arbitration is a small world, and you never know what is going to happen next. A counsel at the ICC might know of a law firm that’s looking for an arbitration lawyer, for example. If you’re on good terms with them, they might tell you about it. Connections are also how I got my first traineeship and got the ball rolling. I try to live by that philosophy here in Dubai as well, in a new jurisdiction where I still have to get to know a lot of people.
And then, there’s language. English is still the most widely used language in international arbitration, even though there are obviously many more regional arbitrations that are conducted in other languages. But I would say that trying your utmost to make sure your English is as good and professional as possible will really help you get ahead. Because what’s often a significant impediment for people coming from a non-native background is that common law lawyers have a very big presence in arbitration still (and typically, they are native English speakers). So if you’re competing against them for a job, it’s important that your language skills do not put you at a disadvantage. I also think that we are becoming more and more accepting of pleadings drafted in bad English. I’m allergic to that kind of stuff. You are getting paid to represent a client to the best of your abilities. Those abilities necessarily include mastering the language in which the arbitration is conducted. I don’t go around saying I can represent clients in German, even though I speak a word or two. I don’t think English should be any different.
Finally, I would say keep an open mind. I actually never thought I was going to end up in Dubai. When I left for the U.S., I thought I was going to stay in the U.S. When I moved to London, I thought I was going to stay in London. When I moved to Europe, I thought I was going to stay in Europe, and now I’m here. You never know where and when opportunities might present themselves.
*The interview was conducted on 11 July 2023.