Dispute Resolution and Arbitration + Three Tokyo Bar Associations Efficiency and Effectiveness of International Arbitration

Anne-Marie Doernenburg is a counsel based in the Tokyo office of Nishimura & Asahi (Gaikokuho Kyodo Jigyo) specialising in international arbitration, public international law and cross-border dispute resolution. She has acted in investor-state and commercial arbitrations under the ICSID, ICC, JCAA, KCAB, SIAC, VIAC and UNCITRAL rules.

Prior to joining Nishimura & Asahi, Ms Doernenburg worked in the London, Paris and Washington, DC offices of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP and advised both corporations and governments in international arbitration and public international law disputes.

Ms Doernenburg graduated from the University of Passau (First State Examination, 2009) and the University of Edinburgh (LLM, 2014). She is admitted in Germany (Rechtsanwalt) and in England and Wales (solicitor). She speaks English, German, Japanese, Spanish, French and Catalan. She serves as Asia Chair of Young ITA and Honorary Secretary of CIArb YMG Japan Chapter.

Samantha J. Rowe is a partner in Debevoise & Plimpton’s International Dispute Resolution and Public International Law Groups and co-leads the firm’s ESG Group. Ms. Rowe has represented private clients, States and State-owned entities across multiple jurisdictions in arbitrations and litigations before domestic and international courts and tribunals, governed by various substantive laws and conducted under the rules of the ICC, LCIA, ICSID, UNCITRAL and SIAC.

Ms. Rowe has been named to The Lawyer’s Hot 100 list, which recognizes the profession’s most innovative and inspirational lawyers. The magazine noted the “precedent-setting cases” she advises on. She was also named a Rising Star for international arbitration by Law360, a UK Rising Star, and a Rising Star in the Commercial Arbitration practice category at the inaugural Euromoney Legal Media Group Europe Rising Stars Awards. Ms. Rowe is included in The Legal 500’s inaugural International Arbitration Powerlist, and she is listed by Who’s Who Legal (2022) as a leading lawyer and thought leader for arbitration. Chambers Global (2024), Chambers UK (2024) and The Legal 500 UK (2024) recommend her for International Arbitration, with the guides noting that she is “an excellent lawyer with a clarity and expression of thought that enables complex matters to be understood quickly.” She is said to be “everything that you would ever want in a lawyer,” “extremely professional and knowledgeable” and a “brilliant advocate.”

Ms. Rowe is a solicitor of the Senior Courts of England & Wales and is admitted to the New York bar. She is fluent in French and Spanish and proficient in Portuguese and frequently handles contentious matters involving these languages.

Ms. Ohara is a Partner at Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu. Her practice focuses on international dispute settlement, including arbitration, complex litigation and mediation. She serves as counsel as well as an arbitrator in arbitrations under the rules of major arbitration institutions in a wide range of areas, including joint ventures, M&A, natural resources, investment, insurance, construction, technology transfer, IP licensing, distributorship and sales. She is a member of ICSID Panel of Arbitrators nominated by Japanese government. She is a member of the Governing Board of ICCA, Executive Director of the Japan Arbitrators Association (JAA), a member of the Board of the Swiss Arbitration Association (ASA), and former Vice President of the ICC Court and LCIA Court.

Aoi Inoue is a partner and the Head of the International Arbitration Practice at Anderson Mori & Tomotsune. He specializes in international arbitration and litigation. He represents clients in a wide range of business disputes, including joint venture, post-M&A transactions, construction projects, licensing, distributorship, franchising, complex financial products, labor & employment and product liability. He has acted as counsel in a number of international arbitrations under various rules including the ICC, SIAC, HKIAC, AAA-ICDR, JCAA, CIETAC and UNCITRAL. He also serves as arbitrator and has been appointed to the panel of arbitrators of the JCAA, KCAB INTERNATIONAL and Japan Sports Arbitration Agency (JSAA).

He currently serves as an executive director of the Japan International Dispute Resolution Center (JIDRC) and a director of the Japan Association of Arbitrators (JAA). He is a member of the International Advisory Board of the Vienna International Arbitral Centre (VIAC). He has been recognized as a leading arbitration lawyer in Chambers & Partners, Who's Who Legal: Thought Leaders, The Legal 500, Benchmark Litigation and Best Lawyers.

Mr. Inoue received his LL.B. from the University of Tokyo, and holds an LL.M. from Columbia Law School. He is admitted to practice in Japan and New York. He worked for Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP, a New York law firm as a visiting attorney (2010 to 2011) before he resumed his position at Anderson Mori & Tomotsune.

Yoshihisa Hayakawa serves as a professor of law at Rikkyo University, Tokyo. He also teaches and researches in a number of foreign universities including Columbia University, Cornell University, QM College of University of London and Australian National University. He also serves as a partner at Uryu & Itoga, Tokyo. He serves as a counsel in many cases of transnational litigation and international commercial arbitration as well as serving as an arbitrator in many arbitration cases. He also serves as a representative from Japan for a number of inter-governmental organizations including UNCITRAL, APEC (ODR Project), ISO (ODR Project) and the Hague Conference on PIL. And he serves as President of Sport Law Commission of UIA, Japanese Member for Commission on Arbitration and ADR of ICC, Japanese Member of Users Council of SIAC and Arbitrator for Court of Arbitration for Sport. He also serves as Chair of IT/ODR Section of Japan Federation of Bar Associations.

Alec Emmerson is an international arbitrator. He first practised as an English solicitor in London & Guildford, from 1984 to 1996 as a Hong Kong solicitor and the regional managing partner of an international law firm, and for 18 years as a legal consultant in Dubai, UAE until December 2017. In January 2018 he established ADR Management Consultancies in order to practice full-time as an international arbitrator. He is a founding member of arbitra.

In his career as a lawyer Alec acted as party counsel in hundreds of arbitrations around the globe including disputes in international trade, shipping, ship building, insurance and reinsurance, energy, commercial contracts, JVs, property, telecomms and infrastructure.

Since 2008 (when he became a consultant of the law firm where he practised for 40 years) Alec has been appointed as co-arbitrator, chair or sole arbitrator in more than 230 arbitrations seated in a wide range of jurisdictions under the rules of ADCCAC, DIAC, DIFC-LCIA, EMAC, GCCAC, ICC, LCIA, SCCA and SIAC and in ad hoc (including on LMAA terms) and UNCITRAL arbitrations with a wide variety of governing laws.

Alec is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, a CEDR accredited mediator and a member of many institutional panels, including AAA-ICDR, ADCCAC, ADGM, AIAC (and certified adjudicator), ARIAS (Asia), BCDR, DIAC, EMAC, HKIAC, KCAB, SIAC (including emergency panel), SCCA, SICAC (Takheem) and SZAC.

He was a trustee and chief executive of DIFC Arbitration Institute from November 2015 to 20 September 2021 and a member of the LCIA Court from 2015-2020. In 2017 he became vice chairman of the ICC – UAE Commission on Arbitration and ADR Steering Committee which he served on from 2016 to 2023. He was appointed as a member of the Rules Advisory Committee of the Saudi Center for Commercial Arbitration in November 2019 (now its Global Advisory Committee) and as a member of SCCA Court from November 2022.

Alec speaks and writes widely on arbitration. He is the author of the Lexis Nexis Users’ Notes for the ADCCAC Rules 2014 and for the DIFC-LCIA Rules 2016 & 2021.

He has been listed as a leading individual in arbitration by GAR since 2009, and is platinum listed by Newton Arbitration, as well as appearing in many other legal and arbitration directories.