Profile: Jay L Alexander

Commercial Arbitration

Biography: Commercial Arbitration

Jay Alexander is a partner in the Washington, DC office of Baker Botts LLP. During the past 20 years, he has been representing private parties and sovereign states in their international disputes.

Mr Alexander has conducted arbitrations under the auspices of many arbitral institutions, including the ICC, ICSID, LCIA ICDR, AAA, Stockholm Chamber of Commerce, Zurich Chamber of Commerce and the Korean Commercial Arbitration Board. These disputes arise in many industry sectors (including energy, finance, manufacturing, mining and telecoms), frequently present issues of public international law, and often implicate the laws of more than one nation.

Because of his understanding of the concerns and issues facing both states and investors in incipient disputes, Mr Alexander is frequently asked to assist his clients develop strategies to minimise political risk. Mr Alexander also represents sovereign states in their pursuit and defence of legal claims in US courts. In this context, he has often litigated questions of sovereign immunity, act of state, international comity, choice of law and forum non conveniens.

Mr Alexander has helped parties resolve disputes arising in many jurisdictions, including Brazil, Canada, China, Czechoslovakia, Ecuador, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, the Netherlands Antilles, Norway, Panama, Russia, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, the United States and Venezuela. Through this work, he gained the experiences that led to his book Navigating the Cross-Cultural Waters of International Disputes (co-authored with Michael Goldberg). Following his graduation from Dartmouth College (summa cum laude) and Stanford Law School (with distinction), Mr Alexander clerked for now-Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. He has also taught at the National Institute for Trial Advocacy.