Eckhard R. Hellbeck

Eckhard Hellbeck's practice focuses on the resolution of complex international disputes, in particular arbitration and litigation involving sovereign state parties and a broad range of industries. His experience includes public international law, investment protection under bilateral and multilateral treaties, sovereign state responsibility and immunity, and the enforcement of foreign judgments and arbitral awards. Mr. Hellbeck also advises on matters of German and European Union law. As an attorney admitted both in Germany and the United States who is fluent in English, French and German, Mr. Hellbeck is especially well positioned to work on international matters, which often require a keen knowledge of the differences between civil law and common law systems.

Mr. Hellbeck has represented sovereign and private parties in international arbitrations involving financial instruments, privatization of formerly State-owned industries in the chemical, steel, and oil and gas sectors, infrastructure projects, including in the power generation, telecommunications, transportation and real estate development sectors. Mr. Hellbeck's experience includes proceedings before the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) and its Additional Facility, the American Arbitration Association (AAA), the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA), the Vienna International Arbitral Centre, the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce, and the International Court of Justice (ICJ). He also has advised on corporate claims before the United Nations Compensation Commission (UNCC) in Geneva, and on political risk insurance claims before the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC). Mr. Hellbeck has been appointed to the International Investment Agreements Expert Group of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, and as the Course Advisor for Arbitration for Judges at the International Law Institute in Washington, DC. Mr. Hellbeck is a frequent speaker and has widely published on topics of international arbitration.

Prior to joining White & Case LLP, Mr. Hellbeck was a lawyer and diplomat with the German Foreign Service for nine years. During that time, Mr. Hellbeck concentrated in international dispute resolution, multilateral affairs, export controls and economic sanctions, and international negotiation.  For example, Mr. Hellbeck participated in the negotiation of treaties between the Federal Republic of Germany and the then Soviet Union that were the precondition for German unification. For five years, Mr. Hellbeck represented Germany at the United Nations General Assembly and Security Council in New York. As a result of his tenure with the German Foreign Service, Mr. Hellbeck is acutely accustomed to working with governments on politically sensitive matters.