California International Arbitration: Coming of Age

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Here are the supplementary materials for the MCLE test, which includes 5 columns on the topic of California international arbitration.

Moderator:

Howard Miller

Contributing Editor, Daily Journal

JAMS Mediator and Arbitrator

Speakers

Giorgio Sassine is an associate with Musick, Peeler & Garrett and is a member of the firm's International Arbitration and Litigation and Construction Practice Groups. Mr. Sassine has extensive experience on domestic and international high-value, complex commercial, construction, and energy disputes and has represented clients in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa. He earned his LL.M. in International Commercial Arbitration from Stockholm University, and while in law school, Mr. Sassine also attended the Sorbonne - Université Paris I Panthéon, where he was first introduced and became passionate about international commercial arbitration.

Jeff Daar is a principal of the law firm Daar & Newman in Los Angeles. He has more than 20 years of extensive experience in international litigation and arbitration disputes. Jeff also is a panelist for the American Arbitration Association.

His diverse expertise includes strategic planning, complex state and federal litigation, innovative dispute resolution, and international transactions and disputes. While Jeff is a United States trained lawyer, he has close working relationships with lawyers throughout Europe, Latin America and Asia. This permits him to assemble international legal teams for innovative global solutions to business disputes and transactions.

Jeff is the Chair of the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Committee of the California Lawyers Association, an officer of California Arbitration, and a Past Chair of both The State Bar of California International Law Section and the International Law Section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association. Jeff has been appointed by three different Mayors of the City of Los Angeles as a City Commissioner. He is currently President of the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission, has served on the Board of Airport Commissioners for the Los Angeles World Airports, and was Chairperson of the Los Angeles Rent Adjustment Commission for 10 years.

Laura C. Abrahamson, Esq. brings extensive domestic and international ADR experience dealing with conflicts in the energy, engineering, construction and chemicals industries to her practice as a full time arbitrator and mediator with JAMS. Prior to joining JAMS in 2020, Ms. Abrahamson served for five years as Senior Vice President, Deputy General Counsel and Global Head of Litigation at AECOM, a multinational firm that provides engineering, design, consulting and construction services, where she oversaw complex, cross-border disputes. Previously, Ms. Abrahamson spent nearly 20 years in-house at Occidental Petroleum (OXY), where she led major litigation and domestic and international arbitration efforts.

Ms. Abrahamson is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb), a board member of CIArb's North American Branch, a Vice President of California Arbitration and is a panelist on multiple domestic and international arbitration centers, including the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC); the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA); the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and California's Public Works Contract Arbitration Program (PWCA).

Ms. Abrahamson holds a degree in business administration from the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley, with a dual major in accounting and finance, and a J.D. from the UCLA School of Law.