When a cross-border contract goes wrong, the dispute usually lands in institutional arbitration — LCIA in London, ICC in Paris, SIAC in Singapore or HKIAC in Hong Kong. We represent claimants and respondents through the full arbitration cycle and then turn awards into money via enforcement.
Our arbitration services
- pre-dispute assessment: merits, jurisdiction, realistic recovery and costs before you commit;
- arbitration clause audit and negotiation strategy at the contract stage;
- full representation: request for arbitration, statements, witness and expert evidence, hearings;
- arbitrator selection and challenges;
- interim measures and asset freezes in support of arbitration;
- recognition and enforcement of awards under the New York Convention, including in Russia and CIS;
- settlement negotiations at any stage — most cases can close earlier and cheaper.
How an institutional arbitration unfolds
- Case assessment (1–3 weeks). We review the contract, the arbitration clause and the evidence, and give a frank written opinion: strength of the claim, likely recovery, cost budget and duration.
- Commencement. Request for arbitration (LCIA, SIAC) or request under the ICC Rules, payment of filing fees, respondent’s answer and constitution of the tribunal.
- Written phase. Statements of claim and defence, document production (Redfern schedules), witness statements and expert reports — usually the longest and most labour-intensive stage.
- Hearing and award. Evidentiary hearing (in person or hybrid), post-hearing briefs, then the award — typically 12–24 months from commencement depending on the institution and complexity.
- Enforcement. Recognition of the award where the debtor’s assets are: Russian arbitrazh courts, CIS jurisdictions, or asset-tracing and freezing abroad.
What arbitration costs
Budget has three layers: institutional fees (calculated from the amount in dispute — ICC and SIAC publish calculators), tribunal fees, and counsel fees. For a mid-size commercial dispute the total typically runs from tens to a few hundred thousand dollars — which is why the pre-dispute assessment matters: it tells you whether the claim is worth pursuing at all, and whether a negotiated settlement is the better outcome. Costs generally follow the event: the losing party is usually ordered to bear a substantial share of the winner’s costs.
Enforcement in Russia and the CIS
An award is only as good as its enforcement. Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and other CIS states are parties to the New York Convention, and foreign awards are enforced through the local courts subject to the Convention’s limited defences. We handle the full enforcement track: exequatur applications, responses to public-policy objections, parallel sanctions-related arguments, and interim asset freezes so the debtor’s assets do not move while proceedings run.
Why clients engage us
We combine international procedure with deep knowledge of Russian and CIS parties — where the assets, witnesses and enforcement targets often are. We work in English and Russian, coordinate foreign counsel where local admission is required, and keep the budget transparent at every stage. Fee structures are flexible: hourly, capped or staged. Send the contract and the story — we will give a frank assessment of your position within three business days.