“Clients appreciate arbitration and technical expertise”

Dusseldorf, February 11, 2015 – Cohausz & Florack (C&F) is continuing to expand its presence in arbitration proceedings: Erik Schäfer, lawyer and partner at C&F, was appointed to the Board of Trustees of the Dubai International Arbitration Centre at the beginning of 2015. In 2014, he had already been placed on the list of arbitrators in disputes concerning intellectual property rights at the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) and on the general list of arbitrators of the Kuala Lumpur Regional Centre for Arbitration (KLRCA). For more than ten years he has been a member of the Standing Committee of Arbitration and ADR of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Paris, where he has led several working groups, including one on the use of IT in arbitration. 

From C&F’s point of view, commercial arbitration plays a particularly im-portant role: When it comes to business transactions it is often the more competent and neutral means of dispute resolution compared to national courts. “Especially in the area of intellectual property rights and technology-heavy, complex contracts, and international legal relations in particular, clients often have a hard time finding technically sound courts that quickly arrive at a binding ruling in appeal stages too", says Schäfer. The varying national procedural laws and the language often also lead to problems. This is where, according to Schäfer, arbitration procedures are often the better alternative. Here the parties decide themselves on the composition of the court and the respective language of the case.

Arbitration is indispensable, especially in international business

In addition to the legal representation, function as arbitrator and (technical) co-counsel, C&F attorneys are also involved in expert and mediation procedures. “The special combination of arbitration and technical expertise is very much appreciated by many of our clients", explained Erik Schäfer. 

Furthermore, Schäfer has also authored numerous publications on arbitration – most recently a chapter on "Arbitration of Intellectual Property related disputes in Germany" in the new edition of the standard work "Arbitration in Germany" (December 2014, Wolters Kluwer).