People

Dr. Karsten Faulhaber Partner

Düsseldorf

Karsten represents clients in international arbitrations under all the main arbitral institutions, including the ICC and DIS, frequently acts as sole and party-appointed arbitrator and also represents clients before national courts in Germany with experience in setting aside and enforcement actions.

As a former M&A transactional lawyer Karsten has solid grounding in pre-contractual and contractual negotiations and advises among others, energy producers and distributors, both traditional (oil and gas) and renewables (solar, wind) construction conglomerates, financial institutions, JVs and biotech companies.

Karsten is praised for his "proactive and skillful" approach (Chambers Global) and has been recognized by Best Lawyers in Germany 2020 and Legal 500.

Harriet Foster Senior Associate

London

Harriet represents domestic and international clients from across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia across a variety of different forums, including the LCIA, ICC, SIAC, ICSID and under the UNCITRAL Rules.  As well as arbitration, Harriet also has experience in cross-border litigation, involving courts in England & Wales, Tanzania and the British Virgin Islands and has represented clients in a range of public international law matters, including before the International Court of Justice and on maritime boundary issues. Harriet is admitted as a solicitor-advocate and currently on the Young ITA leadership team.

Franziska Gräfin Grote, LL.M. Partner

Düsseldorf

Franziska acts as counsel and arbitrator in arbitration proceedings under various rules, including the ICC, DIS, ICSID, UNCITRAL and in ad hoc proceedings. She also deals with issues relating to the recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards. Franziska also advices on all stages of dispute resolution and acts as counsel for global enterprises in disputes before the national German courts. Her cases span a variety of industries including infrastructure projects, renewables, oil and gas, automotive, construction, technology and life science.

Franziska is a dual trained lawyer in Germany and France. She gained further experience by working in international arbitration hubs such as Paris and London and is active in various arbitration associations and was the regional co-chair of the DIS40, the young practitioners group of the German Arbitration Institution (DIS), until 2021. She teaches a seminar at the Beck Academy on Post M&A Disputes and regularly speaks at conferences on international arbitration topics.

James Hargrove Partner

Geneva; London

James has a particular specialization in arbitrations relating to energy, commodities, trading, finance and technology (he is particularly active in thought leadership on tech and arbitration issues).

Prior to joining Orrick, James practiced international arbitration and litigation at several international law firms in Geneva and London. James was, among other things, head of the Russia and CIS dispute resolution practice and has deep proficiency in Russia related-disputes and investigations and associated offshore litigation, applications and asset identification, tracing and enforcement.

Harriet Horswell Managing Associate

London

In addition to her core experience in ICC and LCIA arbitrations representing clients in the oil and gas, technology and airline industries, Harriet also has experience acting in sports-related arbitrations and representing clients in English High Court and Court of Appeal litigation and enforcement proceedings.

Konstantin Kasyan Special Legal Consultant

Washington, D.C.

Dr. Nicholas Kessler, LL.M., EMBA Partner

Düsseldorf

Nicholas has extensive experience with arbitral proceedings under the auspices of all of the major arbitral institutions and rules (e.g., ICC, DIS, SCC, LCIA, UNCITRAL, ICSID, ad hoc).

Nicholas graduated from law school in 2003 (University of Munster), earned a PhD in law and an Executive Master of Business Administration (M&A) in 2005 and was allowed to the German bar in 2007. In 2008 he received a Master of Laws diploma from the University of Cambridge (UK) and was entered on the roll as Solicitor of England & Wales in 2010.

Dr. Kessler is a visiting lecturer at the University of Münster and teaches the international arbitration and mediation in the university's post graduate program on mergers and acquisitions. He frequently publishes and holds speeches on arbitration and litigation-related topics.

Frederic Lalance Partner

Paris

Frédéric assists his clients in litigation arising from commercial, industrial and financial disputes, corporate law and insolvency proceedings, both before the French courts and in multi-jurisdictional cases – notably in Africa before the courts of OHADA jurisdictions.

He also assists his clients in international arbitration and alternative dispute resolution proceedings.

Frédéric advises French and foreign groups in investigations by administrative or judicial authorities involving bribery and corruption issues. He has deep experience in internal investigations (national and cross-border), and in the implementation of compliance programs.

Frédéric is serving a three-year term (2025-2027) as a member of the Paris Bar Council. He is consistently ranked as a leading litigator in France by the major legal benchmarking directories. He is the author of several publications on developments in litigation and anti-corruption regulation.

Vanessa Liborio Partner

Geneva

Vanessa is “a leading arbitration practitioner…well known for her consistently excellent dispute resolution work” (Who’s Who Legal: Arbitration), and acts as counsel in international arbitration proceedings before the ICC, LCIA, the Swiss Arbitration Centre and other international fora and subject to a variety of procedural and substantive laws (including English, French, Italian, Qatari, New York, Mexican, Swiss and Tunisian law). Vanessa's experience spans a variety of industries including construction, life sciences, food and beverages, financial services, insurance and aviation. Most recently, Vanessa has conducted an arbitration on behalf of a sub-contractor involved in the construction of part of an international airport and was successful in representing a Swiss not-for-profit foundation supporting advanced clinical research in rare pediatric diseases. 

Described by clients as an "excellent" lawyer who delivers "very high-quality legal services" (Legal 500), Vanessa has also represented parties in setting aside proceedings before the Swiss Supreme Court and regularly acts as party-appointed arbitrator, sole arbitrator of chair in arbitrations worldwide.

Vanessa serves as a member of the ICC's Commission on Arbitration & ADR and in addition to her activities in the field of arbitration, Vanessa advises on export control regulations and economic sanctions administered by the U.S., the European Union and Switzerland, including matters relating to customs regulations, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, anti-money laundering rules and anti-boycott requirements and regularly provides advice to clients on Swiss substantive law, particularly in contract law.

Prior to joining Orrick, Vanessa practiced for Swiss and international firms based in Geneva and Miami.

Christopher Lippert Associate

London

Chris is a solicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales with experience acting for and against States, commercial parties and individuals in commercial arbitration and litigation. He often works on cross-border disputes, spanning the UK, Canada, Peru, Brazil, Romania, Italy and France.

Sara Little Managing Associate

Paris; London

Sara represents clients across the United States, Europe and Asia in the energy and infrastructure, real estate, licensing and distribution, defense, and aerospace industries. She has experience handling disputes governed by French, Swiss, Iranian, and US (Maryland, New York, Washington, Illinois) law in most of the major arbitral forums, including the ICC, HKIAC, ICSID, and the Swiss Arbitration Centre.

With a strong background in Public International Law, Sara brings a nuanced understanding of the international legal frameworks that impact cross-border disputes to her cases. She also has a keen interest in defense technology and aviation, combining industry-specific knowledge with a solutions-oriented mindset to tackle the unique legal challenges these fields present.

Before joining Orrick, Sara gained valuable experience working in the Emerging Companies department of another major international law firm in New York City. She also represented the City of New York in family court, prosecuting child abuse and neglect cases for two years. In addition to her legal practice, Sara serves as a coach for the International Criminal Court moot court and is a Steering Committee member of the young practitioners’ group of the International Institute for Conflict Prevention & Resolution (CPR).

Sara is recognised for International Arbitration by Legal 500 France.

Jean-Pierre Martel Partner

Paris

He is called on by boards and management teams to advise on mergers, divestitures, corporate acquisitions and restructurings as well as litigations and arbitrations. He is the founding partner of the premier French boutique Rambaud Martel, which combined with Orrick’s global platform in 2006.

Jean-Pierre has recently had a hand in the most significant cross-border deals in the French market. His work includes advising the board of Alstom on the $17 billion sale of its power units to General Electric, counseling L’Oréal on buying back 8% of its own capital from Nestlé, associated with the sale of assets, advising Peugeot’s family on the restructuring of Peugeot SA’s capital which involved China’s Dongfeng Motor Group and the French state, the board of Club Méditerranée in the context of competing take-over bids from China’s Fosun Group and Italia’s Bonomi’s Group, the board of Areva in the financial restructuring of the company.  

Chambers & Partners recognized Jean-Pierre as an “Individual Star” in Corporate/M&A, noting that he is a “seasoned and highly-respected M&A practitioner whose experience covers a wide range of transactional activities.

Jean-Pierre has also developed very substantial litigation and arbitration experience, being ranked Band 1 by Chambers in Dispute Resolution. Most notably, among his successes, the very high-profile Bernard Tapie Case where he has been assisting Consortium de Réalisation, the French government entity tasked with liquidating the assets of Crédit Lyonnais for the French State. Jean-Pierre won rulings from the Paris Court of Appeal in 2015 that withdrew initial arbitral awards that had required CDR to pay €404 million to Tapie’s liquidators and companies and sentenced them to repay CDR the full amount plus interests and costs. He has just succeeded in obtaining visible Court decisions which have released from any criminal liability charged persons with tax fraud.

Jean-Pierre also serves as an arbitrator in ad hoc, ICC and AFA arbitration proceedings.

He speaks and publishes regularly.

Jean-Pierre is the founder and a member of the board of the Institute for Brain and Spinal Cord Disorders - ICM, a state-approved foundation which is on its way to becoming the leading international research center in Europe in the Neurosciences.