As part of our international arbitration practice, earlier this year Reed Smith launched a global series of roundtables on "Hot Topics in International Arbitration." The aim of the roundtables is to bring thought leaders in international arbitration together to address issues of importance in this area of dispute resolution, and to generate ideas and solutions that can be disseminated more widely. The highlights of the first two roundtables are now published and we are delighted to make these available to you.

Our inaugural event was held in London in the spring. Chaired by Reed Smith disputes partner Mark Pring, we were joined by an eminent guest panel of renowned arbitrators Juliet Blanch Q.C. and Julian Lew Q.C., and Mylan global litigation counsel Mark Ferguson, together with Reed Smith international arbitration partner Gautam Bhattacharyya. The lively discussion covered four hot topics: confidentiality in arbitration; arbitrators' powers in summary dispositions; the role of local arbitration institutions; and improvements to the arbitral process. For more information, view the London roundtable highlights.

Hot on the heels of the London roundtable, in the autumn we held our second event in Paris at the ICC International Court of Arbitration's premises. Here, the topics under the spotlight were: independence of expert witnesses – myth or reality?; data security in arbitrations; witness statements – worth the paper they are written on?; and how much "baby splitting" is going on? As well as being "hot," these four topics were chosen for their ability to polarize views, and didn't disappoint, as shown by the divergence of views shared by our panel and guest audience. For this roundtable we were ably served by the chair – Peter Rosher, Reed Smith energy and natural resources partner, and our esteemed panel of François Doré (FCIArb), senior legal counsel, Risk and Disputes Management, Bouygues Construction; Karl Hennessee (FRAeS), senior vice-president and head of Litigation, Investigations & Regulatory Affairs, Airbus Group Legal & Compliance; Sophie Nappert, Avocat Bar of Quebec, Canada, solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales and arbitrator, 3 Verulam Buildings; and Reed Smith shipping and international trade partner Ana Atallah. For more information, view the Paris roundtable highlights.

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