Marc S. Palay Joins Sidley Austin LLP as a Partner in Geneva

GENEVA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--International law firm Sidley Austin LLP announced today that Marc S. Palay has joined the firm as a global coordinator of its International Arbitration practice. He will also serve as co-managing partner of the Geneva, Switzerland office where he will continue to focus on international commercial arbitration and complex transnational litigation. Mr. Palay has been engaged in these matters for more than 30 years, working the last seventeen years from Geneva, where he has developed one of the top-ranked international arbitration practices in Switzerland. He brings with him a team of associates.

“I look forward to working with my esteemed colleagues here in Geneva, and in the firm’s offices in London, Hong Kong, Singapore and Washington, D.C., to enhance the international commercial arbitration practice and expand Sidley’s impact in this practice area on a global scale”

“Marc is a highly skilled international commercial arbitration litigator with broad experience handling some of Europe’s most high-profile international arbitrations and cross-border disputes in recent years,” said Stanimir A. Alexandrov, a global coordinator of the firm’s International Arbitration practice. “Marc has developed an impressive track record in major cases. I believe he will be a great addition to Sidley, to diversify both our Geneva office’s capabilities and our international commercial arbitration experience.”

Mr. Palay’s practice extends across all areas of business disputes, including complex contract, fraud, insurance, products liability, securities and construction disputes, as well as intellectual property matters arising out of licensing and technology transfer agreements. He also counsels clients on a wide variety of international commercial matters and has extensive experience in the drafting and negotiation of international commercial agreements.

“Expanding the International Commercial Arbitration practice is one of the firm’s top priorities,” said Charles W. Douglas, chair of Sidley’s Management Committee. “Marc’s practice complements our existing international litigation resources and demonstrates Sidley’s commitment to these areas.”

Mr. Palay has practiced before a wide variety of international arbitral and judicial forums, including the International Chamber of Commerce, the Swiss Chambers of Commerce, the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce, the Iran-U.S. Claims Tribunal and various other arbitral institutions. He continues to represent multinational firms before various state and federal courts throughout the United States and has been counsel of record in a number of leading U.S. cases involving the recognition and enforcement of international arbitral agreements and awards.

“I look forward to working with my esteemed colleagues here in Geneva, and in the firm’s offices in London, Hong Kong, Singapore and Washington, D.C., to enhance the international commercial arbitration practice and expand Sidley’s impact in this practice area on a global scale,” said Mr. Palay.

Mr. Palay received an A.B., cum laude, from Washington University and a J.D., with high honors, from the George Washington University National Law Center, where he was a member of the Order of the Coif and the Law Review. He is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court and various U.S. Federal Courts, and is a member of the bars of the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Sidley’s International Arbitration team is a leader in assisting clients with complex, cross-border dispute resolution. The firm’s commercial arbitration lawyers represent clients in connection with all types of commercial disputes before a wide variety of international arbitral forums around the globe. Sidley is consistently ranked as among the top practices in international arbitration by the leading legal directories, and Sidley won the 2010 gold award for “best U.S. law firm for international arbitration” from the International Legal Alliance. The team represents governments and companies from around the globe in investor-state disputes before all the major international arbitral institutions, and has achieved victories for such clients as Vivendi, Cargill, General Electric and Bechtel.

Sidley’s Geneva office was established in 2002 to assist companies, trade associations and governments navigate international trade and investment rules. The team of seasoned trade and investment negotiators, WTO litigators and policy advisers draws on extensive private sector and government experience to help our clients shape these rules and resolve disputes arising under them. With a combined experience of effectively 60 years in Geneva, Sidley’s WTO litigators have also been involved in more than 230 of the 400-plus complaints brought through the WTO’s dispute settlement process.

Sidley Austin LLP is one of the world’s largest full-service law firms, with approximately 1600 lawyers practicing in 17 U.S. and international cities, including Beijing, Brussels, Frankfurt, Geneva, Hong Kong, London, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney and Tokyo. Sidley is recognized for service and responsiveness—BTI, a Boston-based research and consulting firm, has named Sidley as one of only two firms to have been in the top ten of the BTI Client Service rankings every year since the inception of those rankings in 2001, and as number one in three of those years.

For purposes of the New York State Bar rules, this press release may be considered Attorney Advertising and the headquarters of the firm are Sidley Austin LLP 787 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10019, 212.839.5300 and Sidley Austin LLP One South Dearborn, Chicago, IL 60603, 312.853.7000. Prior results described herein do not guarantee a similar outcome.