Thursday, 4 April 2019, Paris, France

9.00: Welcome coffee and registration

9.20: Chairs' opening remarks

Peter Rosher, Reed Smith
Jane Davies Evans, 3 Verulam Buildings

9.30: Keynote address

Christopher Seppäla, White & Case

10.00: Session one: Delay experts – are their days numbered?

Almost every construction arbitration addresses delay, with substantial evidence, time and cost dedicated to proving (and disproving) the extent, timing, causes and liability for delay. As projects become ever more complex, are the traditional forms of schedule based delay analysis still relevant? Or are the traditional delay experts’ days numbered?

Moderator:
Peter Rosher, Reed Smith

Panel:
Wendy MacLaughlin, HKA
Todd Wetmore, Three Crowns
Caroline Duclercq, Altana Law
Pierrick Le Goff, General Counsel, Executive Committee, Alstom

11.00: Coffee break

11.30: Session two: Would construction arbitration benefit from value engineering, or does it need a full overhaul?

The construction sector has given rise to some of the most lengthy and costly arbitrations in history. Even a “simple” construction arbitration can take years to get from Request to Award, with multi-million dollar fees (for counsel, experts and arbitrators) not uncommon.  Our panel will consider whether or not construction arbitration is meeting the needs of the clients. What do clients actually want? Do they care about getting the “right” answer, or would they prefer something quicker and cheaper?

Moderator:
Jane Davies Evans, 3 Verulam Buildings

Panel:
Erin Miller Rankin, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
José Feris, Squire Patton Boggs
Laura Abrahamson, Senior Vice President, Deputy General Counsel, Global Head of Litigation, AECOM
Iain McKenny, Vannin Capital

12.30: Session three: When construction specialists meet investment law – are both sides out of their depth?

Investment treaty arbitration is becoming increasingly relevant to the construction sector, as international contractors bring their own financing to projects and/or combine construction with an operating concession agreement. But do construction lawyers really know what they’re doing when it comes to investment treaty issues? And vice versa – are investment treaty lawyers out of their depth when it comes to construction disputes?

During this interactive session, world class investment treaty specialists and construction lawyers will debate the issue, covering questions such as:

- How can treaty arbitrations assist contractors?
- What can public entities do to protect themselves from contractor claims?

Moderator:
Ali Malek QC, 3 Verulam Buildings

Panel:
Marie Stoyanov, Allen & Overy
Belinda Paisley, Reed Smith
Tony Dymond, Debevoise & Plimpton

13.30: Networking lunch

14.30: Session four: FIDIC 2017 - A golden goose or the curate’s egg?

FIDIC announced the latest edition of the rainbow suite in December 2017, but will the new edition lead to more or less arbitration in the construction sector? Using their collective experience, our esteemed panel will give us their predictions on this, as well as discussing the issues they anticipate will be fought over in FIDIC based construction arbitrations in the years to come.

Moderators:
Peter Rosher, Reed Smith
Jane Davies Evans, 3 Verulam Buildings

Panel:
Frédéric Gillion, Pinsent Masons
Garry Crossley, FTI Consulting
David Brown, Clyde & Co
Joseph Chedrawe, Vinson & Elkins
James Doe, Herbert Smith Freehills

15.30: Chairs' closing remarks

Peter Rosher, Reed Smith
Jane Davies Evans, 3 Verulam Buildings

15.40: Close of conference

19.00 onwards: Please join us at the 8th Annual Awards Ceremony for the unveiling of the GAR 30, the annual ranking of the world’s most active arbitration practices, and the presentation of our annual awards. For more information please click here.