Dr. Maxi Scherer is a special counsel in the firm's Litigation/Controversy Department, and a member of the International Arbitration Practice Group. She joined the firm in 2005.
Practice
Dr. Scherer's practice focuses on complex multi-jurisdictional disputes. She has extensive experience with arbitral practice and procedure both in civil and common law systems.
Dr. Scherer has represented clients in ad-hoc arbitrations and before major arbitral institutions (including ICC, LCIA and VIAC), at multiple seats and governed by a broad variety of substantive and procedural laws. She has a particular focus on energy, joint venture, M&A, financial services, project finance, as well as commercial and corporate disputes.
Dr. Scherer regularly counsels clients on conflict of laws issues and international enforcement of arbitration awards and judgments, including against state entities. She also advises parties on the protection of foreign investments under bilateral investment treaties and similar instruments.
Dr. Scherer serves as arbitrator, including as sole arbitrator, and is included on the roster of several major arbitral institutions.
Recent Highlights
- Successfully represented a leading telecommunication company in a series of joint venture disputes in Eastern Europe, sited in Vienna, with an amount in dispute of several billion Euros;
- Advised a client on multi-jurisdictional and complex proceedings regarding the enforcement and annulment of a series of awards, including in Austria, Switzerland and Poland;
- Successfully represented a leading German company in a multi-billion ICC arbitration sited in Geneva, governed by Swiss law concerning the negotiation of a joint-venture;
- Successfully represented a leading US insurance company in an M&A dispute with amounts in dispute of over 100 million US$, conducted under ICC Rules, sited in Paris; and
- Successfully represented clients in proceedings under the Hague Convention on the Taking of Evidence Abroad and relating to letters rogatory requests for judicial assistance.
Professional Activities
Dr. Scherer is a distinguished academic. She teaches International Arbitration and Litigation, International Private Law, European Civil Procedure and Comparative Law. She is currently an adjunct professor at Georgetown Center of Transnational Legal Studies and SciencesPo Law School Paris. Other teaching activities include Queen Mary University London, University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, University of Melbourne, Business School ESCP-EAP Europe, Pepperdine Law School, University of Basel, Universities of Fribourg/Bern/Neuchâtel, University of Versailles and University of Paris 10 Nanterre.
In 2011, Dr. Scherer was appointed as Global Hauser Research Fellow at NYU Law School for the spring term. She has also been selected to serve as Director of Studies at the Hague Academy of International Law in 2016.
Dr. Scherer is a member of the French Comity on Private International Law (Comité Français de Droit International Privé), the French Comparative Law Society (Société de Législation Comparé), LCIA and ASA. She was selected as a scholar of the German National Academic Foundation (Studienstifung des Deutschen Volkes).
Dr. Scherer is also a member of the global advisory board of the ICDR Young and International, the international arm of the American Arbitration Association.
Publications and Speaking Engagements
Dr. Scherer speaks regularly on international arbitration at conferences and seminars, including at the British Institute for International and Comparative Law (BIICL), the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators’ Regional Chapter of the Baltic States, the Young Arbitrators Forum (YAF) of the ICC, the Young International Arbitration Group (YIAG) of the LCIA, the Inaugural Conference of the Society of International Economic Law (SIEL) and the Centre for Research on International Investment Law (CREDIMI).
Dr. Scherer has also published extensively on topical issues of arbitration and international law. She is the co-author of “The New York Convention on Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards: A Commentary” (forthcoming with C. H. Beck München & Hart Publishing Oxford).
For a list of representative publications and speaking engagements please see the links at the left margin.