Legal Guidance and Research / Experts / Heidi Yildiz
Heidi Yildiz#10258

Heidi Yildiz

The 36 Group
Heidi Yildiz practises international arbitration and commercial litigation as a barrister at 36 Stone, the 36 Group. She is also admitted to practise as an attorney in Finland and is a non-practising English solicitor, having previously practised for more than 12 years as a solicitor. In addition to her counsel practice, Heidi is developing a practice as an arbitrator. She is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and has been admitted to the SIAC Reserve Panel of Arbitrators.
 
Heidi is recognised in the Legal500 Private Practice Arbitration Powerlist UK 2022 and 2023 as a leading International Arbitration Counsel in the UK and has since 2018 been recognised by Who’s Who Legal Arbitration as one as one of the World's future arbitration leaders.
 
Heidi has nearly 15 years of experience as a counsel in complex and high-value international arbitration disputes, both of a private and public law nature. As counsel, Heidi has represented a broad range of clients across a range of different industry sectors in institutional arbitrations conducted under the ICC, LCIA, DIS, FAI, LMAA, UNCITRAL and PCA Rules as well as ad hoc arbitrations, governed by a variety of substantive and procedural laws. In addition to commercial litigation experience at English courts, she has gained a broad commercial litigation experience at all stages of a dispute and at all levels of court in Finland.
 
Heidi trained first as a solicitor in the London office of Wilmer Hale and upon qualification practiced international arbitration there until 2011. Her experience at WilmerHale included working as part of a team that successfully represented SPLM/A in the ground-breaking Abyei boundary delimitation proceedings against the Government of Sudan conducted under the auspices of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague. Thereafter, she worked nearly ten years at a leading Finnish firm, Dittmar & Indrenius in Helsinki until she transferred to the English Bar in July 2021 and joined 36 Stone as a full member. 

Practice Area

Panel

  • Contributing Author

Qualified Year

  • 2021

Experience

  • Dittmar & Indrenius Attorneys at Law Ltd, Helsinki, Finland (2011 - 2021)
  • Wilmer Hale, London (2005 - 2011)

Membership

  • The Bar Council England and Wales
  • The Honourable Society of Inner Temple, London
  • Law Society of England and Wales
  • The Finnish Bar Association
  • The Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, Fellow
  • The Commercial Bar Association (COMBAR)
  • SIAC Reserve Panel of Arbitrators
  • Arbitral Women
  • LCIA
  • The Finnish Arbitration Association
  • Swiss Arbitration Association
  • The Scottish Arbitration Centre
  • Young Arbitrators Stockholm

Qualifications

  • Barrister in England and Wales, the Honourable Society of the Inner Temple (2021)
  • Attorney in Finland, the Finnish Bar Association (2017)
  • Solicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales (2009)

Education

  • Accelerated route to fellowship, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (North America Branch) (2021)
  • LLM in International Dispute Resolution, Queen Mary University of London (2020)
  • Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice, BPP Law School, London (2004)
  • LLB (Honours), City, University of London (2003)

5 Contributions by Heidi Yildiz

Ad hoc international arbitration clauses: UNCITRAL and IBA models, seat, governing law (Arbitration Act 1996/2025), language and appointments; Fiona Trust and Enka v Chubb (England, Wales and Northern Ireland)
PRACTICE NOTES
Ad hoc international arbitration clauses: UNCITRAL and IBA models, seat, governing law (Arbitration Act 1996/2025), language and appointments; Fiona Trust and Enka v Chubb (England, Wales and Northern Ireland)
Arbitration clauses Arbitration clauses stipulate that disputes are resolved by a constituted arbitral tribunal and may appear in both domestic and international settings. An arbitration clause may, or may not, nominate an institution—such as the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) or the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA)—to administer the case under its own rules or other rules. A clause may equally call for proceedings that are not institutionally administered but are conducted in line with established procedural rules, for example the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules. In practice, most ad hoc arbitrations proceed under the UNCITRAL Rules because they offer a recognised and well-tested framework for the conduct of proceedings. A further advantage of adopting the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules is the provision for an appointing authority to constitute the arbitral tribunal, enabling the arbitration to move forward where a respondent attempts to stymie the process by declining to participate in the appointment. The International Bar Association (IBA) has also issued guidance for drafting international arbitration clauses that sets out widely accepted and well-tested model wording, including clauses for ad hoc arbitration...
Arbitration
Breach of Arbitration Agreements: Court Stays, Anti‑Suit Relief, Renegotiation, Tribunal Powers and Summary Disposal (England and Wales)
PRACTICE NOTES
Breach of Arbitration Agreements: Court Stays, Anti‑Suit Relief, Renegotiation, Tribunal Powers and Summary Disposal (England and Wales)
An arbitration agreement records the parties’ consent to settle their dispute through arbitration, and that validly given consent cannot later be retracted by one side alone. Moreover, the duty to arbitrate is separable and independent from the principal contract. If a party breaches that understanding by trying to have the dispute determined through court proceedings, there are remedies, at both national and international level, available to compel compliance with the duty to arbitrate as reflected in the arbitration agreement. The remedy of enforcement of an arbitration agreement by a stay of proceedings Under section 9(1) of the Arbitration Act 1996 (AA 1996), as amended by the Arbitration Act 2025, a party to an arbitration agreement who is sued in court over a matter that, under that agreement, must be referred to arbitration, may apply to the court in which the legal proceedings have been brought to stay the court proceedings, in so far as they concern that same matter...
Arbitration
Domestic arbitration clauses in England and Wales: CIArb model wording, Fiona Trust scope, sole arbitrator appointments, and drafting points under the Arbitration Act 1996
PRACTICE NOTES
Domestic arbitration clauses in England and Wales: CIArb model wording, Fiona Trust scope, sole arbitrator appointments, and drafting points under the Arbitration Act 1996
Arbitration clauses and agreements set out that disputes are resolved by a designated arbitral tribunal, and may feature in both domestic and cross-border situations alike. For further details on arbitration agreements, consult the following Practice Notes: Arbitration agreements—definition, aims and interpretation Arbitration agreements—the in writing requirement Arbitration agreements—content Arbitration agreements—requirements of the New York Convention Will my arbitration agreement be upheld?...
Arbitration
LCIA arbitration clause: model wording, scope, procedure, tribunal appointment, seat, language and governing law (England and Wales)
PRACTICE NOTES
LCIA arbitration clause: model wording, scope, procedure, tribunal appointment, seat, language and governing law (England and Wales)
Arbitration clauses Arbitration clauses stipulate that disputes are resolved by a designated arbitral tribunal appointed for the purpose, and may feature in both domestic and cross‑border matters. Arbitration may proceed on an ad hoc footing—following a chosen set of rules, for example the London Maritime Arbitrators Association (LMAA) Terms, and/or the applicable national arbitration statute—or be administered by an arbitral institution, ordinarily in accordance with that institution’s own procedural rules. A broad range of institutional rulebooks is available for incorporation into arbitration agreements; prominent options include, in particular, the International Chamber of Commerce’s ICC Rules and the London Court of International Arbitration’s LCIA Rules. By way of illustration, this Practice Note, applying the law of England and Wales, considers the LCIA’s recommended arbitration clause for future disputes arising, while noting that the points raised may equally bear on other institutional arbitration clauses...
Arbitration
The seat of arbitration: choosing, determining and legal consequences under the Arbitration Act 1996 (as amended 2025) in England, Wales and Northern Ireland
PRACTICE NOTES
The seat of arbitration: choosing, determining and legal consequences under the Arbitration Act 1996 (as amended 2025) in England, Wales and Northern Ireland
This Practice Note explores the key idea of the seat of an arbitration, with a particular focus on the law of England and Wales and Northern Ireland (England and English are used here as shorthand). See also Practice Note: Choosing the seat of arbitration. The importance of the arbitral seat The seat of arbitration is the juridical, or legal, place of the arbitration (often termed the locus arbitri). The law of that seat (the lex arbitri) governs many elements of the procedure and the award, and is inextricably linked to the courts’ curial or supervisory jurisdiction to support and enforce the arbitration (Enka v Chubb). It indicates the connection between the arbitration and a system of law (Process & Industrial Developments v Nigeria). In international arbitration, selecting the seat is one of the most significant choices because it shapes—and often determines—the following: the applicable procedural law of the arbitration (also referred to as the curial law or lex fori) the law governing the arbitration agreement unless the parties have expressly chosen otherwise ...
Arbitration
Expert page AD
If you expected to see yourself on this page, click here.