Michael Schneider at the GAR Awards
Lalive co-founder Michael Schneider’s remarkable career and sense of internationalism were highlighted at the GAR Awards, as he received a lifetime achievement award introduced by Georgios Petrochilos KC and James Castello.
The prominent Geneva-based arbitrator, who has practised for more than 50 years, pick up his award at the event in Paris last night.
Petrochilos, executive partner at Three Crowns, called Schneider “a leader of our profession, a pioneer and a pillar of our legal community”. He highlighted Schneider’s love of advocacy, his work on law reform at UNCITRAL and his mentorship of others.
He also spoke of Schneider’s “personal charm, an utter lack of pretention, heaps of goodwill and a belief in the innate goodness of others”.
Petrochilos described Schneider’s upbringing following his birth in 1939 in the “serene” central German town of Fulda and his years of classical and historical education, which Schneider says shaped his method of compiling evidence and assessing the reliability of sources as a lawyer.
Petrochilos mentioned Schneider’s close relationship with his parents, who encouraged him to spend 1957-1958 as an exchange student in Washington, DC – a “watershed event” as it meant a year in a foreign culture – after which he decided to study law.
Schneider and his mother, 1980s
Schneider studied in Munich, taking an internship at Shell’s operations in Sierra Leone, which taught him accounting skills. He graduated in 1963 and spent seven years as an academic in The Hague and Geneva – which Petrochilos said was a period of “absorbing law of all stripes like a sponge”.
In the 1960s, Schneider met his future wife Shadia at the Graduate Institute of Geneva. Petrochilos said their marriage was one of “gloriously ever after: luminous, in love, and competing for sartorial flare”.
Schneider and Shadia, 2003
In 1970, Schneider started as a trainee at Lalive & Budin, led by Pierre Lalive. While there, Petrochilos said Schneider got involved with “most of the sexy cases of the era”. These included the first ever ICSID case in 1972; a Libyan nationalisation case brought by Texaco; a case brought by Aminoil against Kuwait; and the Westland Helicopters case, which ended up in the House of Lords and the Swiss Federal Tribunal.
During this time, Schneider was working on disputes covering large infrastructure projects, mining and natural resources, licensing and telecoms.
Castello described the kind of the cases that Schneider took on after co-founding the second incarnation of Lalive in 1994. His team defended Iraq against eight claims before the UN Compensation Commission after the first Gulf War, including environmental claims from six neighbouring states.
Defending Iraq at the UNCC
Schneider’s work also included the Shrimp Turtle dispute between India, Pakistan, Thailand and the US.
Castello also highlighted Schneider’s “mastery of construction disputes”, which entailed a significant number of site visits – including to a hydro power station in the Himalayas and the European Space Observatory in the Atacama Desert in Chile.
Schneider also took on various high-profile roles, becoming an inaugural fellow and later president of the International Academy of Construction Lawyers, co-chair of the IBA committee on international construction, and president of the Swiss Arbitration Association (ASA).
Castello recalled one of Schneider’s bulletins as ASA president was a humorous attack on the excess of “soft law” guidance for arbitrators, entitled “The Essential Guidelines for the Preparation of Guidelines, Directives, Notes, Protocols and other Methods Intended to Help International Arbitration Practitioners Avoid the Need for Independent Thinking and to Promote the Transformation of Errors into Best Practices.”
Schneider joined the UNCITRAL arbitration working group in 2004 where he helped to resolve an impasse over whether the Model Law should allow ex parte interim measures. “Swords were drawn, but Michael brought peace,” Castello said.
Schneider was then chosen to chair the first revision of the UNCITRAL arbitration rules in 35 years. Castello said Schneider’s chairing method was “a fearsome thing to behold”.
At Lalive
Castello praised Schneider’s legal mind and “limitless energy for new challenges”, noting that most emails he had received from him were sent after midnight. “I’ve concluded that Michael’s impeccable attire disguises a restless spirit within.”
He also noted that Schneider had “always valued diversity” and loves meeting people from other cultures and experiences far from his own. Finally, he added that Schneider had an “abiding love of the arts” and had promoted cultural exchange.
Castello praised Schneider’s “unique mix of serious legal thought, good humour, and a keen interest in the ideas of others”. Calling him a citizen of the world, he concluded: “It is because he has embraced his global citizenship with such enthusiasm and dedication that Michael so richly deserves tonight’s GAR Lifetime Achievement Award.”
There followed a video of tributes from colleagues including Vera van Houtte, Jones Day partner Amy Klasener, GBS Disputes co-founder Mohamed Shelbaya, Peter Rees KC of 39 Essex Chambers, and Dorothy Ufot SAN. GAR will make the video available to view soon.
Accepting the award, Schneider thanked all those who had paid tribute to him. He said he was proud of Lalive’s progress and praised partner Domitille Baizeau in particular for her work at the firm.
Finally, he singled out his wife Shadia in the audience, saying she had been a pillar in his life.
Last year, GAR lifetime achievement awards were presented to Swiss arbitrator Gabrielle Kaufmann-Kohler andJustice B N Srikrishna in India.
The GAR Awards 2024 was supported by gold sponsors Docket Navigator and Squire Patton Boggs, silver sponsor Dentons, bronze sponsors Accuracy, Foley Hoag, Gibson Dunn, Orrick and Peter & Kim and supporting organisation Lexology. Secretariat hosted a drinks reception before the event, while the after-party was hosted by Gaillard Banifatemi Shelbaya Disputes.
