Vanessa Naish
Vanessa is the Arbitration Practice Manager and a Professional Support Consultant at Herbert Smith Freehills LLP, working with clients and colleagues globally on complex issues relating to arbitration, dispute resolution and the enforcement of arbitral awards and judgments. She also advises on public international law, in particular on state immunity, investment protection and investor-state dispute settlement. Vanessa is an editor of the firm’s arbitration and PIL blogs and an author and editor of various other internal and external publications.
Vanessa also supports the management of Herbert Smith Freehills’ global arbitration practice in business planning and strategy development. Vanessa's particular areas of interest include alternative fee arrangements, difficult legal issues arising out of the complex interactions of multiple laws and arbitral procedure.
Practice Area
Panels
- Consulting Editorial Board
- Contributing Author
Qualified Year
- 2005
Membership
- IBA: membership of Arbitration Committee, International Trade and Women Lawyers
- Arbitral Women
- Member of the Law Society’s Trade in Legal Services Working Party
Qualifications
- City LPC, BPP Law School (Distinction) (2002)
- PGDL Oxford Brookes University (First class) (2001)
Education
- MA, Clare College, University of Cambridge, (First class) 2000
2 Contributions by Vanessa Naish
PRACTICE NOTES
Cybersecurity in international arbitration: threats, AI risks, responsibilities, institutional rules and practical measures for parties, counsel, arbitrators, experts and institutions
This Practice Note considers cybersecurity in international arbitration.
An introduction to cybercrime and cybersecurity in international arbitration
A single arbitration may draw in many actors from varied jurisdictions—parties, funders and insurers, arbitrators, counsel, experts, witnesses, the administering arbitral institution or another organising body, plus external service providers—collectively, the ‘Participants’. Within the process, they exchange material that is not publicly available. Unauthorised access could cause commercial harm, sway share prices, reshape corporate strategies or even government policy. The result of a case can reverberate through financial markets; obtaining a draft award before it is issued to the parties could be highly profitable for cyber criminals. Accordingly, the arbitral process is a target for cyber attacks, especially where hackers can locate a weak link in the chain of custody.
Because arbitration’s speed and practicality rely on digital information-sharing among multiple parties, institutions and organisations, on diverse platforms and across jurisdictions, cybersecurity is fundamental to arbitration’s continued viability as the preferred mechanism for resolving cross-border disputes. Accordingly, there is an increasing consensus among...
Arbitration
PRACTICE NOTES
State immunity in international arbitration: principles, SOEs, applicable law, waivers, service, and enforcement/execution strategies
This Practice Note considers the role of state immunity in relation to arbitration proceedings in general terms.
For fuller and more detailed guidance on state immunity and arbitration in the United Kingdom under the State Immunity Act 1978 (SIA 1978), consult Practice Note: State immunity in proceedings relating to arbitration (England & Wales). In addition, for additional Practice Notes covering state immunity across a range of jurisdictions around the world (including China, Russia and Singapore), refer to the ‘State immunity’ subtopic: State immunity and arbitration—overview.
In the modern global economy, commercial actors regularly deal with states and entities owned or controlled by states when pursuing overseas investment prospects or entering into cross-border agreements. As with dealings exclusively between private parties, participants in such international arrangements are increasingly selecting international arbitration to resolve prospective disputes rather than pursuing court litigation.
This trend is probably due to advantages that international arbitration has over transnational court proceedings, including:
neutrality—matters are determined by an impartial arbitral tribunal chosen by the parties or the relevant arbitral institution.
...
Arbitration
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