Sven Volkmer
Biography
Overview
Sven Volkmer is an international disputes lawyer and partner in White & Case's international arbitration practice, based in New York.
Sven represents private and sovereign clients in arbitrations around the globe, across industries (including oil and gas, renewables, insurance, telecoms, water supply, and foreign investments) and under all major arbitration rules. His counsel work covers the full range of disputes, including those arising from mergers and acquisitions, shareholder agreements, licensing agreements, supply agreements, and other commercial transactions. He also supports clients with pre-dispute risk assessments and foreign investment planning.
Clients and peers praise Sven as "the complete package," "quick in identifying the relevant issues of a case," with a "remarkable ability to break down complex issues in submissions" and "sound views on procedural and tactical aspects of a case." (Who's Who Legal 2024)
Sven is a German national who is trained and admitted to practice law in both common law (New York) and civil law (France) jurisdictions. He spent several years in White & Case's Paris office before transferring to New York. He is fluent in German, French and Spanish.
An active member of the international arbitration community, Sven speaks at conferences and publishes articles. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and a member of the International Commercial Disputes Committee of the New York City Bar Association. He is also committed to pro bono work, such as arbitration capacity-building initiatives for private practitioners and civil servants in The Gambia and Kenya.
Experience
His commercial arbitration experience includes:
- Representing a Portuguese telecoms company in a Paris-seated ICC arbitration, governed by Angolan law, arising out of a shareholder dispute concerning an Angolan telecoms company.
- Representing Toshiba in three San Francisco-seated ICC arbitrations, governed by California law, in connection with a dispute over the sale of Toshiba's multi-billion dollar memory business.
- Representing a French energy company in a Paris-seated ICC arbitration, governed by Dutch law, relating to a price review dispute under long-term gas supply contract.
- Representing an insurer in a London-seated ad hoc arbitration, governed by New York law, relating to an insurance claim for damage to gas assets.
- Representing a German energy company in a Stockholm-seated ad hoc arbitration, governed by Swiss law, relating to a price review dispute under long-term gas supply contract.
- Representing a U.S. energy company in a contract-based ICSID arbitration, governed by English law, in a dispute arising out of the acquisition of an electric utility.
- Representing a Caribbean government in negotiations with international oil companies under production sharing agreements, licenses and long-term sales agreements.
His investment arbitration experience includes:
- Afriland First Group SA and others v. Democratic Republic of the Congo: representing the claimants in an ICSID arbitration relating to an investment in a bank.
- Consolidated Water Coöperatief, U.A. v. United Mexican States: representing the claimant in an ICSID arbitration relating to an investment in a desalination plant and accompanying pipelines.
- Mason Capital L.P. and Mason Management LLC v. Korea: representing the respondent in an UNCITRAL arbitration relating to shareholdings in Samsung companies.
- ACF Renewable Energy Limited v. Bulgaria: representing the respondent in an ICSID arbitration relating to an investment in a solar photovoltaic power plant.
- Samsung Engineering Co. Ltd. v. Saudi Arabia: representing the respondent in an ICSID arbitration relating to the construction of a power and desalination plant in Saudi Arabia.
- Energo-Pro a.s. v. Bulgaria: representing the respondent in an ICSID arbitration relating to investments in hydropower plants.
- Schindler Holding AG v. Korea: representing the respondent in an UNCITRAL arbitration relating to an investment in an elevator company.
- B3 Croatian Courier Cooperatief U.A. v. Croatia: representing the claimant in an ICSID arbitration relating to an investment in a postal services company.
- Vigotop Ltd. v. Hungary: representing the respondent in an ICSID arbitration relating to an investment in a casino resort project.
Energy Transition and the Modernized Energy Charter Treaty, White & Case client alert (2022)
"Balancing State, Investor Interests In The Energy Transition," Legal News & Analysis on Litigation, Policy, Deals : Law360 (2022)
NAFTA's Sunset Period Will End in June 2023 – NAFTA Investors Should Consider their Options Now, White & Case client alert (2022)
"The Legality Requirement in Investment Arbitration," in Jurisdiction in Investment Treaty Arbitration, IAI Series on International Arbitration No. 8, at 65 (Y. Banifatemi ed., Juris Publishing, 2018) (co-author with Michael Polkinghorne)
"Price re-openers in long-term gas supply agreements", in Leading Practitioners' Guide to Oil & Gas Arbitration, 2015, (co-author with Michael Polkinghorne)
"Stay of Enforcement Decisions in ICSID Annulment Proceedings: Taking Stock", Journal of International Arbitration, Volume 29, Issue 6, 691, 2012
