Attractiveness of arbitration in a nutshell 👇🏼
Paris-based Dispute Resolution lawyer - Partner at Signature Litigation - Arbitrator ⚖ Strategy designer for complex legal disputes
To celebrate the 5 year anniversary of its launch, Signature Litigation Paris is interviewing its ecosystem. I had the opportunity in this context to interview Maximin de Fontmichel Professor of Law, Director of the Masters of #Arbitration and #InternationalCommercialLaw, Paris-Saclay. Maximin shares his insight as professor, and considers that "the most important lesson [to teach on arbitration law] from [his] point of view is the singularity and originality of the French conception of arbitration law. This unique conception allows current and future practitioners to imagine audacious solutions for the interests of their clients (for example, seeking the enforcement of an annulled award by the courts of the country where the arbitration is based)." He also considers, from the point of view of the environment of arbitral practice, that "it is important to communicate, through both instruction and the accumulation of legal knowledge, a certain manner of doing business. Those who practice arbitration must be able to navigate different cultures, legal and social alike, in an environment where the form of one’s work matters", encouraging students to acquire "the essential business acumen to maximize their potential in this demanding environment." He shares that the popularity of arbitration among students is not slowing down, "the difference being that the students discover and develop an interest in this topic from their very first years of law school, which was not necessarily the case before," as shown by the range of offerings for training in arbitration. He reminds however that "it is essential that students do not lose sight of the importance of developing skills and knowledge in substantive law: mastery of contract law, private international law, and general business law is crucial to the practice of arbitration." As far as career opportunities in arbitration are concerned, he notes these are wide-ranging from law firms to businesses and institutions. "Concerning law firms, in the past few years, I have noticed a rebalancing between large American firms, which have kept their attractiveness but may find their litigation departments disadvantaged in comparison to their M&A departments, and boutiques or medium-sized firms specialized in litigation, which are attracting more and more graduates as their first choice for job placement. The profiles of jobseekers have also changed: young lawyers are looking more and more for autonomy and flexibility within their corporate structure and have less of a tendency to accept certain traditional conditions in the workplace."
