Nicola Sturgeon
Nicola Sturgeon is a qualified solicitor and a Scottish politician who was First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Scottish National Party from 2014 to 2023. She served as a member of the Scottish Parliament from 1999 to 2026.
Andrew Mackenzie
Andrew Mackenzie has been Chief Executive of the Scottish Arbitration Centre since its establishment in 2011. A solicitor on secondment to the Centre from the Scottish Government, Andrew previously worked as a policy lead in Justice and as a legal adviser to that Government.
Andrew is Co-Chair of the Global Leadership of the Campaign for Greener Arbitration. A Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (Ciarb), he is Honorary Secretary and Treasurer of the Ciarb Scottish Branch.
Andrew is Co-Chair of the International Bar Association (IBA) Government and Public Lawyers Forum. He has previously sat on the Advisory Board and Council of the IBA Section on Public and Professional Interest Council and is a former Co-Chair of the IBA Access to Justice and Legal Aid Committee. Andrew also sits on the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service Arbitration Court Users Group and is a public interest member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland Investigation Committee.
Gillian Carmichael Lemaire
Gillian is a bilingual (English/French) arbitrator and mediator working in the UK and internationally. She started out as a litigator in Glasgow and, after moving to Paris, spent most of her career there in international arbitration and mediation, including partner roles in international law firms. She founded her own practice in Paris in 2014 and returned to the UK soon afterwards. Gillian is a former practising member of the Paris Bar (now an honorary member) and a former solicitor (now a Fellow of the Law Society of Scotland). She is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and is the Chair of the Scottish Arbitration Centre
Brandon Malone
Brandon is an Advocate at the Scottish Bar, and a Barrister of the Inner Temple. He is a practising arbitrator, adjudicator and expert determiner, and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. He is a member of the panel of arbitrators at AAA/ICDR, New York, SIAC, Singapore, DIAC, Dubai,
CIETAC, Beijing, HKIAC Hong Kong, and many other arbitral institutions. He is also a FIDIC Certified Adjudicator and an eminent Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (FRICS). He chairs the ICCA-NYC Bar-CPR Working Group on Cybersecurity in International Arbitration.
Brandon is visiting professor at Strathclyde Law School, a teaching fellow at the University of Aberdeen, an Honorary Lecturer at the Centre for Energy, Petroleum and Mineral Law and Policy at the University of Dundee and is a former External Examiner in arbitration law at Robert Gordon
University. He was a driving force behind the establishment of the Scottish Arbitration Centre. As well as having chaired the Board of the Scottish Arbitration Centre from its inception in 2011 until 2022 (he remains a director of the Centre), he is Co-Director of the International Centre for Energy
Arbitration.
Lise Bosman
Lise Bosman is based at the Peace Palace in The Hague, as Executive Director of the International Council for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA) and Senior Legal Counsel at the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA). She is appointed as Adjunct Professor at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, and has published and spoken widely in the field of international arbitration.
Lise is the General Editor of the ICCA International Handbook on Commercial Arbitration (a seven-volume loose-leaf collection of arbitration-related legislation and commentary on over 85 jurisdictions; Kluwer Law International, published since 1984) and the General Editor and contributing author of Arbitration in Africa: a Practitioner’s Guide (Kluwer Law International, Second Edition 2021). Her areas of specialization are: international commercial arbitration law and practice; the practice and development of international arbitration in Africa; international investment law; investor-State arbitration; and State-State arbitration.
Prof Peter Cameron
Peter Cameron is an arbitrator, barrister, expert and academic, with a long-term specialism in the energy sector dating from his student days at Edinburgh University. He holds the recently created Chair in Energy and Climate Law at the Centre for Commercial Law Studies, Queen Mary University of London. He is the author of several books on international energy investment and is currently finalising a book on the energy transition and international arbitration.
Peter was an arbitrator in two of the ISDS cases on renewables under ICSID and has also worked under the ICC Rules. He is a frequent expert in arbitration and litigation for governments such as India and Qatar and companies such as Shell and MOL. In the past, he has worked extensively for the international development banks, DfID and the FCDO, and his book on governance in the extractive industries has been downloaded more than 86,000 times from the World Bank website.
Peter is an Edinburgh University graduate, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and has managed to squeeze into his career time to train for and complete the New York, Stockholm and Amsterdam Marathons (and has the T-shirts to prove it).
Sarah Vasani
Sarah Vasani is an internationally recognized arbitrator and the founder of Vasani International
Arbitration (“VIA”), a London-based chambers from which she serves as a full-time independent
arbitrator with over 20 years of experience in international commercial arbitrations and investor-state
disputes. Sarah sits exclusively as arbitrator and no longer accepts instructions as counsel.
Prior to launching VIA in 2025, Sarah was Co-Head of the International Arbitration Group and Head of
Investor-State Dispute Resolution at CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP, where she led and
managed high-stakes disputes across the UK, CEE, Middle East, Türkiye, Singapore, and Latin America.
Her sectoral expertise spans agriculture, aviation, commodities, energy, oil and gas, renewables,
mining, public procurement, and infrastructure, with substantial experience in large-scale projects
across Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, the Indian Subcontinent, and Latin America, including
those involving States and state-owned entities.
Adopting a proactive, robust, and flexible approach to case management, Sarah is committed to ensuring that the arbitrations
in which she sits are party-centred, service-driven, and tailored to the particularities of the parties and the dispute at hand.
She is recognised as a global thought leader in the field of international arbitration, and is highly commended for her legal,
interpersonal, and case management skills. Chambers & Partners ranked Sarah as 1 of only 13 arbitrators in Band 1 – UK
Arbitrators, remarking that she “is known not only for her legal excellence but also for her commercial awareness and practical,
solution-driven approach”; “… you can’t get anyone better than her as arbitrator.”
Sarah represents the United States as a member of the ICC International Court of Arbitration and serves as an Equality,
Diversity & Inclusion Champion & Steering Committee Member on the LCIA’s EDI Task Force, and was active in drafting the
LCIA’s EDI Guidelines. Sarah also serves as an Executive Committee Member and Co-Chair of the Strategic Planning Committee
for the Institute for Transnational Arbitration, a member of the IBA’s Task Force on the Nationality, and is a Fellow of the
Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (“CIArb”)
Sarah is dual-qualified in England & Wales and the U.S. (Texas and Washington D.C.), a Solicitor-Advocate of the Higher Courts
of England & Wales, and works fluently in English and Spanish
Craig Tevendale
Craig leads Herbert Smith Freehills’ International Arbitration group in London. His practice comprises multi-jurisdictional work subject to a wide range of governing laws. Craig has acted in arbitrations as counsel, advocate and arbitrator in ad hoc proceedings and before all of the major arbitral institutions. His broader contribution to the arbitral community includes appointments to the ICC UK National Committee for Arbitration, to the ICC Commission upon the nomination of the ICC UK National Committee, to the Advisory Committee of the Cairo Regional Centre for International Commercial Arbitration (CRCICA), and as Deputy Chairman at the Advisory Committee to the Oman Arbitration Centre (OAC).
Craig is regularly published on issues relating to private international law, arbitration and energy disputes, and lectures on energy law at the University of London. Fluent in Arabic and French, Craig is frequently instructed in disputes arising from investments, projects and transactions in Africa and the Middle East
Brandon Nolan
Brandon Nolan retired as a partner in Pinsent Masons in April 2021 having spent his legal career in the Firm and its legacy firms. Brandon’s main focus was advisory and disputes work in the construction sector and over the last 25 years also in the oil and gas sector. Brandon acted for thee construction joint venture on Skye Bridge and subsequently on a number of PFI pathfinder projects including roads and hospitals. Risk and strategic advisory work also formed a significant part of Brandon’s practice as well as forensic investigation work in various geographical locations.
Marie-Louise O'Hara
Marie-Louise O’Hara is Head of Legal & Contracts at UTEC Geo-Services, part of the Acteon Group. With over 20 years’ in-house experience across offshore energy, marine and renewables projects worldwide, she takes a pragmatic, commercially-focused approach to risk. While experienced in supporting and managing major disputes and claims, her primary focus is dispute avoidance through clear and fair contracting and sensible risk allocation from the outset and from building and maintaining strong long-term client relationships while recognising the important role of arbitration in resolving complex international energy disputes.
David Anderson
David is a partner at Shepherd and Wedderburn LLP and has specialised in construction and energy disputes for over 25 years. He has represented parties in arbitrations undertaken under the LCIA and ICC rules and has advised clients in relation to disputes in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. He has been a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators since 2015 and has sat as arbitrator in a number of complex construction disputes. He is also a member of the Arbitration Court Users Group in Scotland.
Dr Gloria Álvarez
Dr. Álvarez’s career stands out for its sophisticated integration of arbitral practice and academia in alternative dispute resolution, particularly in commercial and investment arbitration across the infrastructure, construction, and energy sectors.
She is the founding partner of GM Arbitration, with offices in Mexico City and London, where she serves as independent arbitrator and expert under ICC, ICSID, LCIA, CIIAM, CAM, CANACO and CCL rules. As an associate professor at the University of Aberdeen, she teaches dispute resolution and energy law, and also lectures at the University of Lausanne and Osgoode Hall Law School.
Dr. Álvarez serves as co-chair of the UNCITRAL Working Group III Academic Forum. Her scholarly contributions include Arbitration in Mexico, International Arbitration in Latin America: Energy and Natural Resources Disputes, International Investment Law in the Energy Transition, Energy Arbitration in Latin America, and the Routledge Handbook on Energy Law.
Helen McCombe
Helen has worked as a lawyer in the energy industry with SSE plc since 2010, having started her career as a corporate lawyer. She has experience across all of SSE’s businesses in both regulated electricity networks and generation. She currently leads a team of projects and commercial lawyers supporting SSE’s energy businesses in the UK and Ireland as well as Southern Europe and Japan. The portfolio of projects covers wind, hydro and gas fired flexible generation. SSE’s Thermal business is involved in Zero Carbon Humber and the Scottish Cluster of Hydrogen projects.
Valerie Allan
Valerie is a partner in CMS’s international energy disputes team, with over 25 year’s experience advising on complex offshore energy disputes and regulatory issues, at all project stages from consenting to decommissioning.
Dual qualified in England & Wales and Scotland, Valerie is recognised for her UKCS expertise – a key lawyer in Legal 500, individually ranked in Chambers and an Acritas-Start rated lawyer.
Valerie co-authored “Maximising Economic Recovery – a new approach to regulating the UK’s offshore oil & gas industry” (with Judith Aldersey-Williams, published 2023) and contributed to Gordon, Paterson and Usenmez, “UK Oil and Gas Law: Current Practice and Emerging Trends”. She has co-authored publications on arbitration and consequential loss and she is also a trained mediator.
“She can simplify complex legal matters and structures her advice strategically to give you a way forwards.” – Chambers Global Guide, 2025
Frauke Nitsche
Frauke Nitschke is a Chief Counsel at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). Frauke serves as the team lead for ICSID staff handling proceedings in English. Frauke also serves as Secretary of tribunals, conciliation commissions, mediators and ad hoc committees in investor-State proceedings conducted pursuant to the ICSID Convention, the ICSID Additional Facility Rules and ICSID Mediation Rules. Frauke further leads ICSID’s investor-State mediation activities, including the drafting of the 2022 ICSID Mediation Rules and amendments to ICSID’s conciliation frameworks. Frauke has conducted investment mediation skills trainings for practitioners, mediators and government officials. Frauke regularly speaks at international conferences on investment dispute settlement and chaired ICSID’s Investment Mediation Insights webinar series. Prior to joining ICSID, Frauke served in the World Bank’s Legal Vice Presidency and the Inspection Panel. Frauke is fellow of the Weinstein JAMS International Fellowship Program and an accredited mediator. She is admitted to the D.C. and New York State Bars and holds a law degree from the Freie Universität Berlin, an LLM from Georgetown University Law Center, and a master’s degree in psychology from the FernUniversität Hagen. Mediation Awards.
Sarah Lancaster
Sarah Lancaster is an Independent Arbitrator with Arbitration Chambers, based in London. Sarah has sat as sole, co- and presiding arbitrator under the Rules of the SIAC, ICC, HKIAC, LCIA and DIAC (as well as in ad hoc arbitrations) seated in London, Singapore, Hong Kong, DIFC and Dubai.
Sarah started her career at Baker McKenzie, where she spent 14 years as counsel (ten in London and four in Sydney) focussing on international commercial arbitration, litigation, and dispute avoidance, across a range of sectors, including telecommunications, technology, energy and natural resources, banking, and sports. She then served for eight years as Registrar of the LCIA, leading the casework secretariat in the administration of thousands of arbitrations and overseeing the implementation of the LCIA Rules 2014 and 2020.
Sarah is a member of the Board of the Scottish Arbitration Centre, a member of the Court of the Saudi Center for Commercial Arbitration, and a Specialist Member of the Sport Resolutions Panel. She is recognised as a Thought Leader for arbitration by Lexology Index (formerly Who’s Who Legal). Sarah has an LLB (Law with European Law) with first class honours from the University of Nottingham and a Post-Graduate Certificate in Sports Law from Kings College, London. She is admitted as a Solicitor in England & Wales, New South Wales (Australia) and the High Court of Australia.
Prof Bryan Clark
Bryan Clark is Professor and Head of the School of Law at Lancaster University. He is an established teacher, trainer and researcher with over two decades working in the field. His main research interests lie in the fields of commercial dispute resolution, mediation and its interaction with formal civil justice processes and the workings of lawyers. He is Vice President of the Family Mediators Association, Trustee of the Arab Mediation Centre and former Trustee of Scottish Mediation. He won the ADR Academic of the Year award at the 2024 UK National
Kelly Stricklin-Coutinho
Kelly Stricklin-Coutinho is the Chair of the Civil Mediation Council, and a barrister, mediator and arbitrator at 39 Essex Chambers. She is a member of the Civil Procedure Rule Committee, which makes the rules of court in England and Wales for the Civil Division of the Court of Appeal, the High Court and the County Court. She is a member of Sport Resolutions’ panels of arbitrators and mediators respectively, a member of CEDR’s Faculty of Trainers, their UK Panel and their P2B panel. Her practice includes commercial disputes (including shareholder disputes and financial services), energy (nuclear, electricity and gas), high value tax disputes, international and EU law, and commercial public law, mainly around regeneration projects, local authority powers and subsidy, procurement and competition law. She is ranked in the Legal 500, Chambers & Partners and International Tax Review. She is called to the Bar in England and Wales and in the Republic of Ireland and has EU rights of audience.
Joe Tirado
Joe Tirado is an Independent International Arbitrator, Adjudicator, Expert Determiner, Conciliator, Accredited Commercial and Investor-State Mediator and ADR Consultant based in London. He has over 35 years of dispute resolution experience having held global leadership positions in leading firms from four major jurisdictions; UK, US (Illinois and Texas) and Spain. He has handled hundreds of cases in more than 70 jurisdictions with a combined total in dispute of over US$ 10 billion. He is a solicitoradvocate with full rights of audience before all civil courts in England & Wales, a CEDR accredited commercial and Investor-State mediator, a Civil Mediation Council Fellow, a former ICSID conciliator appointed by the President of the World Bank Group (2018-2024), a panel member of a number of leading invitation-only arbitration and mediation panels, including the European Union and the United Nations, and a former Co-Chair of the IBA Mediation Committee.
Samantha Cumming
Samantha Cumming focuses her practice on Government litigation, white collar defence, and investigations. Samantha advises corporations in relation to matters which are often business critical, involving financial and reputational risk, and which relate to allegations of financial misconduct, corruption, fraud, and bribery. Samantha’s extensive litigation experience includes acting on complex and multijurisdictional commercial litigation and judicial review in the High Court and the Court of Appeal, and arbitral proceedings conducted under ICC, LCIA, and UNCITRAL arbitration rules, with seats in London and Singapore. Samantha is recommended in both the Financial Services – Contentious, and the Regulatory Investigations and Corporate Crime (advice to corporates) categories of Legal 500 UK 2025, where clients note that “Samantha is exceptional,” “an up-and-comer, with a bright future ahead” and that she “works around the clock to protect clients.”
Laura Halonen
Laura is a Berlin-based solicitor with Finnish roots. She has over 20 years of experience in international arbitration, having worked previously with prominent firms in London, Paris and Geneva. These days she divides her time between acting as arbitrator in commercial cases in particular in the energy, pharma, construction and transport sectors and advising and representing parties in investment disputes. Laura also lectures in investment arbitration and is a co-chair of the Campaign for Greener Arbitrations. Despite years of playing ice hockey for a British University, this is her first trip to Scotland.
Alan McMillan
Alan has almost 30 years’ experience in disputes work in Scotland and beyond, both as an advocate in arbitrations and as an arbitrator. He is regularly listed as a leading individual in legal directories.
His experience ranges across a wide spectrum of the property, energy, and commercial sectors and he has wide experience of acting in contentious planning and other commercial disputes. A solicitor advocate, he has also acted in many high-profile cases. He is an accredited mediator (CEDR), and also has a good awareness of the particular issues surrounding third sector and public sector clients and projects. He has a great deal of experience acting as an arbitrator in Scotland (commercial). He speaks conversational Spanish, and basic Dutch and Thai.
Amanda Neil
Amanda Neil is an arbitrator and legal counsel, specialising in international commercial and investment arbitration. She has extensive experience both in-house and in private practice, having previously served as General Counsel of the Head Group and Special Counsel at Freshfields, where she focused on post-M&A disputes and disputes relating to the finance and energy sectors. Amanda has worked in Sydney, London and Vienna and is qualified as a solicitor in both New South Wales, Australia and England and Wales. She speaks English and German.