Spotlight on Emily Fox

You have a broad practice, focussing on many sectors, including energy, mining, construction and aviation. What trends are you seeing right now?

Over the last couple of years, we have seen that geopolitical and environmental crises have generated a significant number of disputes. Issues such as sanctions, disrupted supply chains, the energy transition – including high demand for critical minerals – and ESG considerations have all given rise to disputes. 

In my practice, I have had first-hand experience of the impact of the energy transition and post-M&A disputes, in particular. In the energy transition space, we have seen a tension between a drive to expand newer energy technologies on the one hand and an uncertainty regarding the viability of certain transactions on the other. In the M&A arena, the general mood of uncertainty also seems to have resulted in an increased appetite for post-transaction dispute resolution, in circumstances where companies feel they are not getting what they bargained for or are keen to de-risk in the short-term rather than stay tied to potentially risky investments.

In such contexts, it is important that the tribunal will be comfortable with certain relevant principles applicable in the local jurisdiction, even if the contract and underlying dispute are governed by a different law. The interaction between these different elements is often key to understanding the parties' intentions and considerations, which in turn helps our team to develop and execute a persuasive case strategy. 

You also sit as arbitrator. Do you have any tips for aspiring arbitrators?

Three tips spring to mind:

Firstly, try to develop and maintain strong links with institutions. When the institutions are called on to make appointments, especially for smaller cases or emergency arbitrations, they will be more likely to look for profiles of younger and more diverse arbitrators and it will help if you are on their radar.

Secondly, your relationships with your peers and the community will also be a great help, including counsel and arbitrators you will have encountered doing counsel work. I have been approached for appointments by colleagues in the community who were on the other side of an arbitration or whom I appeared before in a hearing.

Lastly, find a unique selling point which will make you stand out and make people think of you for the right cases. Being a bilingual English qualified lawyer in France has meant that I have been approached for appointments specifically where the parties have wanted an arbitrator with that dual approach, or someone to have a more 'common law' take on a civil law dispute, or vice versa!

What's your favourite thing about being an arbitration lawyer? 

It sounds very cliché, but my favourite thing about being an arbitration lawyer is the fact that I get to work with so many people from all over the world on a daily basis. On my current cases, I work daily with our London, New York and Johannesburg offices, and more generally I have worked closely with colleagues in Dubai, Hong Kong and Singapore. I grew in a multicultural family, went to an international school and I have close family around the world. For me, it would have been inconceivable not to have that international dimension to my career.

I also love the fact that, with each new case, you have to immerse yourself deeply in the subject matter of the dispute and become a technical expert on all manners of subjects. From the technology behind pigging pipelines and drilling oil and gas wells, to how radars work, or the minutiae of tax law in a West African country. Working with clients and experts and learning about a new industry is fascinating.