SVAMC News

PALO ALTO, Calif. – March 11, 2024 – The Silicon Valley Arbitration & Mediation Center (SVAMC) has released its highly anticipated 2024 List of the World’s Leading Technology Neutrals (the "Tech List"). California-based non-profit, SVAMC, promotes efficient and effective technology dispute resolution, including the use of arbitration and mediation to ...

As reported in August 2023, the Silicon Valley Arbitration and Mediation Center released the draft Guidelines on the Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Arbitration (Guidelines) for public consultation. The Guidelines offer a set of best practices on the use of AI in international arbitration for all those involved in ...

As announced in July 2023, the Silicon Valley Arbitration and Mediation Center is working towards publishing Guidelines on the Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in International Arbitration (Guidelines). The SVAMC Guidelines Drafting Subcommittee is pleased to release the draft Guidelines for public consultation. The Guidelines offer a set of best ...

The legal landscape is witnessing unprecedented changes with the integration of cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Courts are already grappling with related challenges, from lawyers citing non-existent precedents derived from AI tools to judges requiring human verification certificates for AI-generated submissions. These developments underscore the pressing ...

SVAMC’s “Call for Papers” invites submissions for its inaugural writing competition. This competition seeks to provide an opportunity to young practitioners, including law students, to write about technology dispute resolution-related issues. · Eligible Participants: Open to all law students and to all lawyers who have practiced for less than 10 ...

PALO ALTO, Calif. – March 6, 2023 – The Silicon Valley Arbitration & Mediation Center (SVAMC), has released its highly anticipated 2023 List of the World’s Leading Technology Neutrals (the "Tech List"). California-based non-profit, SVAMC, promotes efficient and effective technology dispute resolution, including the use of arbitration and mediation to ...

On November 3, 2022, the Miami office of Reed Smith LLP hosted the roundtable “Dispute Resolution at the Forefront: New Tech, Litigation, and Arbitration Across Worlds”. The event was co-organized by the College of Law at Florida International University and the Silicon Valley Arbitration and Mediation Center (SVAMC). The panelists ...

by Gary L. Benton* Arbitration in the Post-Pandemic Era: Much has been said of efficiency in arbitration, including the need to appropriately balance time and cost efficiency with a process ensuring a fair and just result. The COVID-19 pandemic has ushered in the adoption of new technologies in arbitration, along ...

The Silicon Valley Arbitration and Mediation Center (SVAMC), a not-for-profit “think tank” organization with a global focus that encourages the use of alternative dispute resolution in the technology sector, has established this Task Force on Tech Disputes, Tech Companies & International Arbitration (the “Task Force”). The Task Force, which is ...

PALO ALTO, Calif. – November 16, 2020 – The Board of Directors of the Silicon Valley Arbitration & Mediation Center (SVAMC) announced today the appointments of six new SVAMC Directors. The group of leading arbitration and mediation practitioners includes Bill Baker, an independent arbitrator and mediator in New York City ...

On May 20th, Les will be a speaker for the ITechLaw “Disputes in Space: Mediate and Arbitrate” Webinar. Aerospace is one of the most technically diverse and innovative industries today. Technology development, design, and application provide state-of-the-art aircraft, satellites, missiles, rockets, drones, and related hardware and software. The business of ...

PALO ALTO, Calif. – November 10, 2020 - Silicon Valley Arbitration & Mediation Center (SVAMC) announced today that Dr. Janet Martinez, Senior Lecturer at Stanford Law School, Director of Stanford’s Gould Negotiation and Mediation Program and Director of the Gould Alternative Dispute Resolution Research Initiative, is the recipient of SVAMC's ...

Thomas Walsh, Sofia Klot, Tim Chen, and Matheus Bastos Oliveira Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer US LLP Our team participated in one of the first virtual merits hearings held under the auspices of the ICC due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The arbitration was seated in Brazil and involved parties, counsel and arbitrators ...

Interviews with Our Editors: Arbitrating Silicon Valley Disputes with Lester Schiefelbein, CEO of the Silicon Valley Arbitration & Mediation Center (SVAMC). Read the full interview on the Kluwer Arbitration blog here ...

With the onset of the Coronavirus – COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, videoconferencing has taken on new attention and importance for use in technology arbitration proceedings as well as in mediations coming from disputes in technology arbitration or elsewhere. Below are some helpful resources: Advisories Silicon Valley Arbitration and Mediation ...

International Women's Day 2020: "An Equal World is an Enabled World." The Silicon Valley Arbitration & Mediation Center (SVAMC) is committed to promoting diversity within the ADR community through membership, leadership opportunities and partnerships with international and domestic arbitration institutions that focus on creating a gender inclusive workplace. On March ...

In light of ongoing coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreaks in the US and internationally, Silicon Valley Arbitration and Mediation Center (SVAMC) encourages everyone engaged in the technology ADR sector to review and comply with state, national and international public health advisories, including with respect to limitations on non-essential travel where recommended. Parties, ...

On January 14th, SVAMC and Morrison & Foerster co-hosted a program titled "Drinks & Data-Practical Tips for Navigating Cybersecurity and Data Protection in International Arbitration." Programs speakers, listed from left to right, included James Schurz- Partner, Morrison & Foerster, Kathleen Paisley- International Arbitrator, Ambos Lawyers, Aaron Gothelf- Vice President, Commercial Division, AAA, Mark Morril- ...

Dear SVAMC Members, As you know, SVAMC conducted its First Annual All-Member Meeting on April 30th at Farella Braun + Martell in San Francisco. With Gary and Chris, I want to thank Rod Thompson and his team for hosting the meeting. A thank you to Bill Seward and Amy for ...

This survey is designed as a tool to learn more about what technologies are being used in the region and how disputes over these can be resolved more quickly, inexpensively and reliably. On October 16, 2018 the SVAMC began distributing this survey to in-house counsel, outside counsel, ADR institutions, business ...

HKIAC Secretary General Sarah Grimmer Visits with SVAMC On May 31, SVAMC joined the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC) and the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (HKETO) in San Francisco in sponsoring a luncheon program titled Doing Business with China: Why Arbitration Matters? All SVAMC members were invited ...

SVAMC members and visitors are encouraged to participate. New Zealand International Arbitration Centre SURVEY: Dispute Resolution in the IT sector The purpose of this survey is to gather insights and opinions as to the main causes of misalignment in IT project and services engagements. Click the link above to access ...

In January, Tech List Members Jonathan W. Fitch and Philip D. O’Neill, Jr. moderated a program at the Boston Bar Association: “Insider Views on International Dispute Resolution.” SVAMC was a co-sponsor of the event, whose panel members included Secretary General Alexander Fessas of the ICC International Court of Arbitration; Mark ...

On January 29-30, 2018, the ICC held its 4th International Arbitration Conference in Panama, an important international business and financial hub. Some 150-200 attorneys, government officials and arbitrators from Central, South & North America and Europe took part in this PANARB-2018 Conference which was organized into four main panel sessions ...

Silicon Valley Arbitration & Mediation Center's Young Professionals successfully held their first event earlier this month -- in partnership with Stanford Law School, Shearman & Sterling LLP, and the International Centre for Dispute Resolution. The program consisted of two panels: 1) Why international arbitration & mediation is appropriate for disputes ...

On October 26, 2017, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, PC, hosted SVAMC’s first Law Firm Roundtable: A gathering of 13 senior lawyers from ten of Silicon Valley’s major firms, co-sponsored by the International Institute for Conflict Prevention & Resolution (“CPR”). Chris Compton moderated the program, joined by SVAMC’s Chairman Gary ...

On September 20, the Tech List Coordinating Committee kicked off its upcoming series of webinars with Arbitrating Patent Cases, Setting the Right Course. The webinar was presented by tech list appointees David Allgeyer, author of the new ABA book Arbitrating Patent Cases: A Practical Guide, and Yaroslav (Yarko) Sochynsky, an ...