Gary Born is the chair of the International Arbitration Practice Group. Mr. Born is widely regarded as the world's preeminent authority on international commercial arbitration and international litigation. He has been ranked for more than 20 years as one of the world's leading international arbitration advocates and the leading arbitration practitioner in London.

Practice

Mr. Born has participated as counsel in more than 675 international arbitrations, including four of the largest ICC arbitrations and several of the most significant ad hoc arbitrations in recent history. 

Among many accolades for his work as counsel, Mr. Born received the Global Arbitration Review inaugural “Advocate of the Year” award, the Client Choice award for “Best International Arbitration Practitioner” and the Best Lawyers “London Arbitration Lawyer of the Year” award. He is one of only two practitioners to achieve “starred” status for international arbitration in the Chambers Global and Chambers UK guides. Chambers recognized him for his “Outstanding Contribution to the Legal Profession,” describing him as the world's foremost authority on international arbitration and litigation.  Clients and competitors have also described Mr. Born as “awesome,” “inimitable,” and “in a league of his own,” praising him as “a phenomenal mind and a brilliant lawyer,” “easily the most capable disputes lawyer alive today,” and “at the absolute top of the international arbitration universe.”

Mr. Born has represented European, US, Asian and other companies in arbitrations under all leading institutional rules (ICC, LCIA, AAA, Vienna, Stockholm, ICSID) and in ad hoc arbitrations in all leading international seats (London, Paris, Geneva/Zurich, Vienna, Stockholm, New York, Washington, Singapore). He has particular experience in joint venture, investor-state, M&A, investment banking and other financial services, project finance, energy, oil and gas, intellectual property and insurance disputes.

Mr. Born heads the firm's international arbitration group, which is based in London with lawyers in in our New York, Washington, Boston, Silicon Valley, Beijing and Berlin offices. Mr. Born also advises on the litigation of international disputes in US courts. He has particular experience in the fields of jurisdiction, enforcement of judgments, conflict of laws and international judicial cooperation, and also serves as an expert witness on aspects of US private international law in foreign proceedings.

Mr. Born also sits as arbitrator (presiding arbitrator, sole arbitrator and co-arbitrator) and serves as expert witness. He has served as arbitrator in more than 250 institutional and ad hoc arbitrations.

Publications

Mr. Born has published a number of leading works on international arbitration, international litigation and other forms of dispute resolution, including International Commercial Arbitration (Kluwer 3d ed. 2021), the leading treatise in the field. This authoritative 5,000-page work, in three volumes, provides the most comprehensive available commentary on all aspects of the international commercial arbitration process. The First and Second Editions of International Commercial Arbitration have been widely cited by national courts and arbitral tribunals, including by Supreme Courts in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, India, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Netherlands and elsewhere. 

He has also authored International Arbitration: Law and Practice (Kluwer 3d ed. 2021), International Arbitration and Forum Selection Agreements: Drafting and Enforcing (Kluwer 6th ed. 2021), International Arbitration: Cases and Materials (Aspen 3d ed. 2021) and International Commercial Arbitration: Commentary and Materials (Kluwer 2d ed. 2001). Mr. Born is also the author (together with Peter Rutledge) of International Civil Litigation in United States Courts (Aspen 7th ed. 2022), the leading commentary on the subject.

Professional Activities

Mr. Born is an Honorary Professor of Law at the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland and Tsinghua University, Beijing. He has also taught at Harvard Law School, University of Pennsylvania Law School, Stanford Law School, Georgetown University Law Center, National University of Singapore, Peking University School of Transnational Law, University of Virginia School of Law, University College London and the University of Arizona College of Law.

Mr. Born is a member of the American Law Institute and of the Board of Trustees of the British Institute for International and Comparative Law. He has served on the Executive Council of the American Society of International Law, the Advisory Committee of the ALI's Restatement of US International Arbitration Law, the Advisory Committee of the ALI Restatement of US Foreign Relation Law (Fourth) and as co-chair of the ABA International Section, Committee on International Aspects of Litigation. He is also a Vice President of the American Society of International Law.

Mr. Born recently served as President of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) Court of Arbitration for six years. He is a member of the International Advisory Board of the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC), a member of the Global Advisory Board of the New York International Arbitration Center (NYIAC), a member of the International Arbitration Committee of the Korean Commercial Arbitration Board (KCAB) and a member of the Jerusalem Arbitration Center's Court of Arbitration.

He is a member of the Academic Council of the Institute for Transnational Arbitration, the Advisory Board of African International Legal Awareness, the Advisory Board of the Indian Journal of Arbitration Law and the Editorial Advisory Board of the Journal of World Investment and Trade.

Books

International Commercial Arbitration, Third Edition
This authoritative 5,000-page work, in three volumes, provides the most comprehensive available commentary on all aspects of the international commercial arbitration process. The Third Edition contains 27 chapters, which comprehensively examine the law and practice of international commercial arbitration, discussing all leading international conventions, national arbitration statutes and institutional arbitration rules. The treatise focuses on both international instruments (particularly the New York and Inter-American Conventions) and national law provisions in all leading jurisdictions (including the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration). The Third Edition was published by Kluwer Law International (2021).

International Arbitration and Forum Selection Agreements: Drafting and Enforcing, Sixth Edition
Drawing on a wealth of practical experience and academic analysis, this extensively revised edition expands upon one of the classic works in the field. It offers more than 200 model arbitration and forum selection clauses and associated provisions for international contracts. It also explains the advantages and disadvantages of different approaches in practical, easy-to-use terms. The latest edition has been updated extensively to address developments and includes key reference materials in easy-to-use appendices. The Sixth Edition was published by Kluwer Law International (2021).

International Civil Litigation in United States Courts, Seventh Edition
Written with Peter B. Rutledge, this book presents cases and materials, commentary and detailed notes supported with non-US materials to assist readers in a comparative study of the covered topics. The Sixth Edition was published by Aspen Publishing (2022).

International Arbitration: Law and Practice, Third Edition
The Third Edition of International Arbitration: Law and Practice provides a concise overview of the legal principles and practice of international arbitration. The 500-page book gives readers an accessible introduction to the contemporary legal framework for international commercial arbitration. It includes thoroughly revised and expanded discussions of international arbitration agreements, international arbitral procedures and international arbitral awards. The Third Edition was published by Kluwer Law International (2021). 

International Arbitration: Cases and Materials, Third Edition
A 1200-page casebook presents an international approach to international commercial arbitration, focusing on the New York Convention and UNCITRAL Model Law. The Third Edition was published by Aspen Publishers (2021). 

International Commercial Arbitration: Commentary and Materials, Second Edition
An 1100-page treatise on international commercial arbitration. The second edition was published by Kluwer Law International (2001).