The School of International Arbitration at Queen Mary University of London has appointed Special Counsel Maxi Scherer as professor for a Chair in International Arbitration, Dispute Resolution and Energy Law. She is the fourth professor to be appointed at the school since it was founded in 1985.
Scherer joined the school in 2011 and, among other things, is the director of Queen Mary's Paris LLM program, which was launched in 2012. The program has grown significantly, with more than 150 students from around the world. Next year, she will co-direct a new bilingual Double-LLM program, offered jointly by Queen Mary and the Sorbonne Law School.
Scherer teaches international arbitration, with a particular focus on energy disputes—both from a commercial and investment perspective. She has published extensively on topical issues of arbitration and international law. Recent publications include the books Transparency in International Investment Arbitration: A Guide to the UNCITRAL Rules on Transparency in Treaty-Based Investor-State Arbitration (2015 Cambridge University Press) and Arbitrating Under the 2014 LCIA Rules – A User's Guide (2015 Wolters Kluwer).
Gary Born, chair of the International Arbitration Practice, comments: “Maxi is uniquely talented and experienced, in the best tradition of our International Arbitration Practice. She combines a rigorous scholarly discipline, in both international procedural law and energy law, with broad practical experience as counsel and arbitrator. Her promotion to professor confirms her experience and capability.”
Scherer is also qualified as avocat in France and solicitor in England and Wales, and studied in Germany. At Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr, she has extensive experience with arbitral practice in civil and common law systems both in commercial and investment arbitration. She has served as presiding, sole or co-arbitrator in more than 30 arbitrations in different industry sectors. Most recently, she served as ICC emergency arbitrator in proceedings between Central and Eastern European parties.
Speaking of these proceedings, Scherer said that “the parties agreed on a timetable, exchanged two rounds of substantial written submissions, after which I rendered a reasoned order of almost 50 pages—all in less than two weeks. One often hears about complaints that arbitration proceedings are slow and inefficient, but it is remarkable what one can achieve in a short timeframe if everyone is committed.”
Other recent highlights include serving as co-arbitrator in a €1.3 billion dispute concerning the adaptation of a long-term energy contract, and presiding a series of parallel LCIA arbitrations concerning a joint venture dispute involving more than 40 parties.
Salim Moollan QC, one of the co-arbitrators in these LCIA cases, says “Maxi's firm hand and attention to detail ensured that those complex related cases were conducted in a seamless and very efficient manner. She will be able to bring to QMUL's LLM a perfect mixture of theory and practice.”
Scherer's other current or past academic appointments include global professor of law at New York University Law School, visiting professor at SciencesPo Law School Paris and adjunct professor at the Georgetown Centre of Transnational Legal Studies, as well as visiting positions at Bucerius Law School Hamburg, University of Melbourne, Freie Universität Berlin, Sorbonne Law School, Université de Versailles, Université de Fribourg Switzerland, Universität Würzburg, Pepperdine Law School, Université de Bourgogne, Universität Basel and Université de Paris X Nanterre.
She is the general editor of the Kluwer Journal of International Arbitration and a member of several groups, such as the International Bar Association's Recognition and Enforcement of Arbitral Awards Subcommittee, the International Chamber of Commerce's Task Force on Emergency Arbitration Proceedings, and the International Centre for Dispute Resolution's International Advisory Committee.