GAR Analysis

• No. of pending cases: 28
• Value of all claims: US$6billion
• No. of appearances in Who's Who: 2
• No. of treaty cases: 1
• No. of arbitration appointments (No. as chair or sole): 52(13)

O'Melveny & Myers has added three recognised arbitration figures at partner level in the past 14 months. Two of those are in London and one in Asia. Their arrivals have helped relaunch a practice following the departure of its former chair.

The new faces are Michael Moser, David Foster and David Kavanagh. All three regularly feature in various directories.

Moser is the former head of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer's Asian dispute resolution team. He works from Hong Kong and China and would be one of the first names many would think of if asked to free-associate 'arbitration' and 'Asia'. Moser is, among other things, the chairman of the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre, vice president of the Asia Regional Arbitration Group, and is on GAR's editorial board. "In China you can do no better than Moser. He's the first person I talk to when I have a dispute in China," says one source. Moser's practice now emphasises sitting as an arbitrator. For example, he was recently appointed by the Chinese company Wahaha to be its panel member in a dispute that has broken out with Danone. That arbitration is to take place under SCC rules.

O'Melveny & Myers has "an extremely strong platform in China," Moser told us soon after joining, referring to the large number of lawyers the firm has in the region, and particularly in China.

David Foster and David Kavanagh work from London. They joined from Watson Farley & Williams, where they often led the firm's arbitration work. They were, for example, the lead lawyers representing the government of India in arbitration with Bechtel and General Electric. That was a treaty-based arbitration over an abortive power station project. The American Lawyer magazine picked four of the firm's cases for its recent survey of 'Big arbitrations'.

Foster's recent work includes advising a Norwegian offshore exploration company in a dispute worth around £450 million. He has also been counsel to a Moscow oil refinery in an ICC dispute worth around US$300 million.

Their arrival has helped to offset the loss of Bruno Kimmelman, who was chair of the arbitration group. He moved to Allen & Overy in New York.

The practice is now chaired by Steve Smith, a well-regarded international disputes specialists who works from Los Angeles. The firm's lawyers took part in 25 merits hearings, of which seven were under regional rules used in Asia, including those of the HKIAC, SIAC and Vietnam's equivalent. Firms that have seen O'Melveny & Myers in action are WilmerHale, Herbert Smith, Simpson Thatcher & Bartlett and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton.

The practice has also added two specialists at the senior associate level. Friven Yeoh, 34, joined from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer; and Nadia Darwezah joined from Shearman & Sterling. They work in China.