Arbitration



Patrick has long been an advocate of arbitration as affording a private, cost effective, and less time consuming alternative to litigation. In the international arena, arbitral awards have the added benefit of greater enforceability in foreign jurisdictions than national court judgments. The wisdom of arbitration is becoming increasingly recognized by commercial parties who now contract expressly for the submission of any dispute arising from their contract to an arbitral panel rather than to a court.

As in his litigation practice, Patrick has acted in a range of sizes and types of commercial arbitrations, both domestic and international. Patrick’s reputation for excellence in advocacy has made him the outside special counsel of choice to Robertsons, a large international law firm in Hong Kong which benefits from Patrick’s English common law expertise.


Recent arbitrations in which Patrick has acted include:


  • A claim by a terminated franchisee against a major Canadian franchise corporation for wrongful termination of franchise. Prior to the commencement of arbitral proceedings, Patrick negotiated a cash settlement which was much greater than what the corporate franchise had originally offered the client upon termination.

  • The defence of a claim against Patrick’s Canada-based cargo carrier client, by a multinational U.S. based logistics company, for cargo lost in transport. The dispute was heard by a panel of the American Arbitration Association under its rules applicable to international arbitrations. Despite a provision in the contract making Patrick’s client unconditionally liable for lost cargo, the claimant did not obtain satisfaction of the entirety of its claim.


    • Recent articles and Papers by Patrick on the topic of arbitration, domestic and international (click on title to view full text in pdf):


    Compulsory Consolidation: The Next Step in International Construction Arbitration

    Confidentiality and the Protection of Trade Secrets in International Commercial Arbitrations

    The Pre-eminence of Hong Kong in International Commercial Arbitrations