California International Arbitration Week draws global audience

The turnout for the 3rd Annual California International Arbitration Week in San Francisco was better than expected, organizers said.

Delegations were there from ADR organizations in Singapore, Australia and Japan, as well as throughout California and across the nation.

“The participation and enthusiasm for this year’s California International Arbitration week was fantastic and a testament to the continued opportunities for international arbitration in the state” said Chris Poole, CEO at JAMS, a major sponsor of the event. “CIAW is a forum that allows attendees to learn from, network and collaborate with professionals from across the state, country and globe and JAMS looks forward to continuing to support the event in the years to come.”

Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., gave the opening remarks for the event. Roughly 500 attended, nearly 300 of them in person. People attended virtually from the UK, Europe, Australia, Canada, China, India, Japan, Korea, Mexico and Singapore. There was discussion on deteriorating trade, investment and geopolitical relations between the U.S. and China and how supply chains continue to diversify away from China, including overseas “nearshoring” by Chinese companies.

“The event brought together practitioners from all over the world to highlight the importance of international arbitration in California and the centrality of California to the Pacific Rim,” Jeff Daar, co-chair of the CIAW, said. “We look forward to continuing the tradition of hosting CIAW each year, building on the successes of years past to celebrate international arbitration in California.”

Daar is from Daar & Newman LLP. His co-chair of CIAW is Dana Welch of Welch ADR. Next year’s event is scheduled for the week of March 10 in Los Angeles.