Biography: Arbitration

Dr Paolo Michele Patocchi is a partner of Lenz & Staehelin. He is acting as counsel representing clients in international arbitrations and sitting as an arbitrator in Switzerland and a number of European jurisdictions under various sets of arbitration rules, in cases conducted in English, French, German, Italian or Spanish.

He completed his graduate and post-graduate studies in Geneva (lic iur, 1977; LLM, 1980; PhD, 1983), The Hague (Academy of International Law, Diploma, Private International Law, 1982) and London (LLM, 1987). He has worked in law firms in Geneva (Lalive & Budin, 1982-1986), London (Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering, 1989-1991) and Zurich (Pestalozzi Gmür & Patry, 1992-1994) and joined Lenz & Staehelin in 1994.

He has been involved in more than 175 arbitrations to date (chiefly relating to joint ventures and R&D agreements, construction and turnkey contracts, licensing, privatisations and State contracts). Paolo Michele Patocchi has been a lecturer at the Geneva University Law School (Introduction to the English Legal System, 1989-2006).

He has been a member of the arbitration committees (supervisory bodies and appointing authorities) of the Chamber of Arbitration of Milan (2005-2011), of a number of Swiss Chambers of Commerce (Geneva, 1999-2002; Lugano, 1997-2007) as well as the first president of the national arbitration committee and special committee of the Swiss Chambers of Commerce (2004-2006), in charge of ruling, inter alia, on challenges of arbitrators.

He has published extensively on international arbitration and litigation and is currently the general editor of The Swiss International Arbitration Law Reports (Juris).

Lenz & Staehelin is the largest law firm in Switzerland with over 150 lawyers and offices in Geneva, Zurich and Lausanne, providing professional representation and advice in all areas of business law for Swiss and international clients.