Spotlight on Marco de Sousa

You moved to New York last year. You have also worked in Herbert Smith Freehills' Dubai, Hong Kong and London offices. How have these experiences shaped your practice?

Working across all those offices has been formative for me. I think living abroad is a great way of developing the cultural sensitivity that is required for working in international arbitration. So much of this work relies on understanding people. Knowing the cultural and legal background of your audience can impact not only how you present a case to your tribunal in a way that will resonate and be persuasive, but also how you earn the role of trusted advisor to clients. During my time in Hong Kong, I worked with clients from across Asia. I found that they often had very different corporate cultures to, say, clients from Europe or the US, and had very different expectations and requirements of their lawyers. That said, one thing they all had in common was the need for their lawyers to have the ability to convey complex concepts in a simple way. 

I also learned the value of food as an ice-breaker – everyone loves to talk about it, and you can learn a lot about someone from what they like to eat! 
 

You have a focus on the energy sector. What changes is the sector facing and what is the role of technology in those changes? 

You have an interest in business and human rights disputes. How is arbitration well-placed to resolve these types of disputes?

Arbitration has a lot of features that make it well-placed and – in fact –  possibly better-placed than some national court systems to resolve business and human rights disputes. Traditionally the criticism that has been levelled at arbitration is that it is geared towards private commercial parties, because they are more familiar with it and possibly stand to gain from the process being confidential. The benefit of international arbitration, however, is that it removes the dispute from national courts (who may not be neutral) and allows the parties to choose a panel of experts to adjudicate, who may have backgrounds outside the law and therefore bring a wider perspective. There has also been a move towards transparency in this context – the procedural rules available mean that parties can decide on what level is right for them. The Hague Rules on Business and Human Rights Arbitration represented a huge step forward in demonstrating how arbitration can cater to these disputes in practice. All of this is to say that I think arbitration is well-placed to balance the competing interests involved in this type of dispute.

What would you have done if you hadn't decided to become a lawyer?

I like to cook and particularly enjoy eating in weird and wonderful restaurants. Having lived all over the world, I have been fortunate to have had the opportunity to do a lot of that. If I hadn't been a lawyer, I might have considered becoming a chef. Although, having seen first hand how tough it is (my brother is one), I may have settled for being a food critic instead!