Orrick Adds Top-Tier International Arbitration Team in Paris: Leading Arbitrator Michael Bühler and Rising Star Nicole Dolenz


October.02.2019

Version française: Orrick Rambaud Martel se renforce à Paris avec l’arrivée de Michael Bühler, figure de référence en arbitrage international et de Nicole Dolenz, étoile montante du secteur

Orrick announced today that Michael Bühler and Nicole Dolenz have joined our Paris office as partners in the firm's international arbitration practice. Michael will co-lead Orrick’s international arbitration practice with former U.S. Ambassador Charles Adams in Geneva.

“We are thrilled to grow our Paris platform and our international arbitration practice with a team of Michael and Nicole’s caliber,” said Orrick Chairman and CEO Mitch Zuklie. “Client demand for international arbitration support is growing across all three sectors on which we focus – and we’re committed to leadership in this important market.”

Charles Adams was "excited to collaborate with Michael and Nicole to continue to grow our international arbitration practice, particularly at a time when our clients are increasingly requiring high-level support to resolve international disputes worldwide.”

Michael is a recognized leader in international dispute resolution, having previously co-led the international litigation and arbitration practice at Jones Day representing major corporations, state-owned entities and States in more than 200 arbitrations. He has also served as chairman, sole arbitrator and party-appointed arbitrator in dozens of arbitrations worldwide over the last twenty years. 

With particularly substantial experience in the energy and infrastructure sector, Michael has conducted arbitrations throughout Europe, North America, the Middle East, Africa and the Asia-Pacific region in areas ranging from civil construction, engineering, industrial and power plants as well as oil & gas projects to the food and leisure industries. He co-chaired the ICC Commission on Arbitration Task Force on the revision of the 2012 ICC arbitration rules and is a member of the ICC Commission on International Arbitration. He also co-authored the ICC Arbitration Handbook, now in its fourth edition, and served as lead consultant (2017-2018) for the Organization for the Harmonization of African Business Law (OHADA) in its recent reform of the region’s arbitration law and of the arbitration rules of the Common Court of Justice and Arbitration (CCJA) and the adoption of a new mediation law.

“I am deeply impressed by Orrick’s sector focus and commitment to international arbitration as a distinct discipline,” Michael said. “The firm is known as an innovator, and Nicole and I look forward to joining Charles Kaplan and the exceptional arbitration team in Paris and cooperating with Charles Adams worldwide to build something special.”

Nicole is a rising star in international arbitration and recognized in Who’s Who – Future Leaders in Arbitration (2017 – 2019). She has represented European, as well as North and South American clients in commercial and investment arbitrations spanning numerous industries, including oil & gas, nuclear energy, aviation, construction, food and beverage, transportation and insurance. Dual-educated in Austria and the U.S., Nicole practiced in Vienna and New York before joining Jones Day in Paris.

The arrival of Michael and Nicole along with two other team members marks the latest additions to Orrick’s burgeoning international arbitration and dispute resolution practice worldwide, following partners Mark Beeley and James Hargrove who joined the team in London and Geneva last year.