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Mr. Goldstein today served as moderator of an ABA International Section teleconference, with a live venue in Toronto, entitled “International Arbitration Canadian Style: A Distinctive Approach?”  Panelists were Professor Janet Walker of the Osgoode Hall Law School,  John Lorn MacDougall Q.C., senior partner Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP, and John Judge, senior partner Stikeman Elliott LLP.  Mr. Goldstein is Co-Chair of the Canada Committee in the International Section of the ABA, and Senior Advisor to the Section’s International Arbitration Committee, which he co-chaired from 1999 to 2001.

Mr. Goldstein today delivered closing arguments in an ICDR arbitration in New York between his Chinese client and their New York based adversary.  Opposing counsel was a large multinational law firm with more than two dozen offices and 1,500 attorneys worldwide. Mr. Goldstein continues to accept new engagements as counsel in international arbitrations and litigations, and secures on an as-needed basis the services of additional lawyers and paralegal support personnel.

Marc was a panelist today in a program on ethics in international arbitration at the Spring Meeting of the ABA’s Section of International Law. The program was presented a co-sponsored by the Canada Committe of the Section, of which March is vice-chair and chair-elect, and the Section’s International Commercial Dispute Resolution Committee, of which March is a former co-chair.

Newly engaged by a Hong Kong software/web design firm, Marc J. Goldstein Litigation & Arbitration Chambers last week commenced an action in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan for appointment of arbitrator under Section 5 of the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”). The dispute involves a New York City firm for which the Hong Kong company supplied software and performed design and installation services.

The contract in question provides that it will be governed and construed in accordance with Hong Kong law. It further provides that the parties will settle disputes through arbitration, but specifies no method to appoint an arbitrator –neither directly nor by adoption of arbitration rules.

The petition alleges, among other things, that Hong Kong’s Arbitration Ordinance only designates a competent authority to make arbitral appointments in international cases (the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre) when the parties have agreed that Hong Kong will be the juridical seat of the arbitration. The petition further alleges that the U.S. court should enforce the agreement to arbitrate under the New York Convention, in accordance with the FAA, by appointing an arbitrator to hear the case.

Marc has been selected by the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC) for inclusion on the HKIAC Panel of Arbitrators.  The HKIAC administers international arbitrations that the parties have agreed to conduct under its Rules, which are an adaptation of the UNCITRAL international arbitration rules. The HKIAC is also the default appointing authority under the Hong Kong Arbitration Ordinance.  Based upon statistics gathered by the HKIAC, it is the world’s fourth-largest institutional administrator of international arbitrations, ranking behind only the CIETAC (China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission), American Arbitration Association, and the ICC International Court of Arbitration.   More information about HKIAC can be found on its website at www.hkiac.org

Marc has been selected by peer review for inclusion in the 2010 edition of The Best Lawyers in America in the specialty of international arbitration. Best Lawyers has been described by The American Lawyer as “the most respected referral list of attorneys in practice.”

Marc’s commentary “Replacing the Deceased or Disabled Arbitrator: Is American Law Out of Step?” has been published by Transnational Dispute Management, a leading online publisher of commentaries on international arbitration law and practice.

Marc has been appointed to the mediator roster of the Commercial Division of New York Supreme Court, and will begin to hear cases as a mediator on a limited basis. “An effective litigator has a great deal to contribute as a mediator, and by acting as mediator also sharpens his advocacy skills,” Marc observed.

Marc has been appointed to three CPR Panels of Distinguished Neutrals: International, Banking – Accounting – Financial Services, and Entertainment by the International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution (CPR).

More information about the CPR and its Panels of Distinguished Neutrals can be found on the CPR Website (www.cpradr.org)

Andrea Natalie Goldstein, born December 9, 1986, today has become a graduate magna cum laude from the University of Chicago.