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Bart Legum

Bart Legum

OFFICE DETAILS

  • Paris
    5 boulevard Malesherbes
    75008 Paris
    France

PRACTICE AREAS

Partner, Head - Investment Treaty Arbitration

    • T  +33 1 42 68 48 00
    F  +33 1 42 68 71 55
    E  
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Bart Legum is a partner in Salans' Paris office and head of the firm's investment treaty arbitration practice. Bart has over 20 years' experience in litigating complex cases and has argued before numerous international arbitration tribunals, the International Court of Justice and a range of trial and appeals courts in the United States. His practice focuses on international arbitration and litigation in general and arbitration under investment treaties in particular.

From 2000 to 2004, Bart served as Chief of the NAFTA Arbitration Division in the Office of the Legal Adviser, United States Department of State. In that capacity, he acted as lead counsel for the United States Government defending over USD 2 billion in claims submitted to arbitration under the investment chapter of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The United States won every case decided under his tenure.

Bart is the Chair-Elect of the Section of International Law of the American Bar Association.  He is a member of the Executive Committee, the Council and the Administration Committee of the Section and, under the Section's by-laws, he will become Chair in 2012. He served as Programs Officer from 2006-2008, Chair of the Section's Disputes Division from 2004-2006 and as Co-Chair of the Section's International Litigation Committee from 1999 to 2003. He is also an officer of the Mediation Committee of the International Bar Association.

He is the editor of International Litigation Strategies and Practice (2005), a book published by the American Bar Association. Bart is often published on international dispute resolution topics and frequently speaks at conferences on international arbitration and litigation.

In Chambers Global 2011, Bart is noted "as an expert in the field [of investement treaty arbitration], praised for his "clear view of what the client needs" and excellent "negotiation skills."  Chambers adds that " clients prais[e] his negotiation style and regard him as "intelligent and pragmatic."

Recent Experience:

  • Arbitrator in an ICSID arbitration between Middle Eastern companies and a Middle Eastern State under a bilateral investment treaty
  • Counsel for a Dutch company in an ICSID arbitration against an Eastern European State under a bilateral investment treaty
  • Counsel for a German company in an ICSID arbitration against an Eastern European State under a bilateral investment treaty
  • Counsel for a US company in an ICSID arbitration against an African State under a bilateral investment treaty
  • Counsel for high net-worth individuals in an UNCITRAL arbitration against an Eastern European State and related court proceedings
  • Counsel for an Eastern European State in an ICSID arbitration brought by a US company
  • Counsel for a Central Asian State and state enterprises in SCC and ICSID arbitrations brought by a US company
  • Counsel for US companies in an ICSID arbitration under the investment chapter of the North American Free Trade Agreement
  • Advising a government in UNCITRAL arbitrations under the investment chapter of the North American Free Trade Agreement
  • Counsel for a European company with respect to investigations by the US Department of Justice and Securities and Exchange Commission into allegations of corruption in the company's worldwide operations
  • Counsel for a US company with respect to an informal inquiry by the US Securities and Exchange Commission into allegations of corruption at the company's operations in a European country
  • Counsel for a US company with respect to a criminal investigation by the French authorities into an environmental incident
  • Counsel for a UK company with respect to a Nigerian transaction qualified as "suspicious" by the company's independent auditors
  • Counsel for UK and Netherlands companies with respect to an action in US court on behalf of a purported worldwide class of securities purchasers

Career:

  • Joined Salans (2009)
  • Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, Paris, France (2004-2008)
  • Chief, NAFTA Arbitration Division, United States Department of State, Washington, DC (2000-2004)
  • Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, New York (1987-1999)
  • Law Clerk for the Honorable Carolyn Dineen King, United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, Houston, Texas (1986-1987)
  • Admitted to the New York Bar (1988)
  • Admitted to the Paris Bar (2008)
  • Vice Chair, Member of Executive Committee, Council and Administration Committee, Section of International Law of the American Bar Association (2010 to date)
  • Financial Officer and Chair of the Finance Committee, Member of Executive Committee, Council and Administration Committee, Section of International Law of the American Bar Association (2008-2010)
  • Programs Officer and Chair of the Programs Committee, Member of Council and Administration Committee, Section of International Law of the American Bar Association (2006-2008)
  • Chair, Disputes Division, Section of International Law of the American Bar Association (2004-2006) - responsible for oversight of International Commercial Dispute Resolution, International Litigation, International Courts and International Criminal Law Committees
  • Co-Chair, International Litigation Committee, Section of International Law of the American Bar Association, (1999-2003); (Vice-Chair, 1997-1999)
  • Member, Ad Hoc Group of Experts on International Investment Law, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (2007 to date)
  • Vice-Chair, Subcommittee on State Mediation, Mediation Committee, International Bar Association (2008 to date)
  • Associate Editor, Transnational Dispute Management (2004 to date)
  • Member, Commission Française de l'Arbitrage International, ICC Comité National Français (2005 to date)
  • Member, Roster of Foreign Arbitrators, ICC French National Committee (2005 to date)
  • Member, American Society of International Law (2005 to date)
  • Member, Disputes Resolution Interest Group (2005 to date)
  • Member, American Branch of the International Law Association (1988 to date)
  • Member, Committee on International Civil and Commercial Dispute Resolution (2003 to date)
  • Member, London Court of International Arbitration (2005 to date)

Education:

  • Université de Paris II (D.E.A. in public international law, 1987)
  • University of Georgia School of Law (J.D. magna cum laude, 1985)
  • Rice University (B.A., 1982)

Publications:

  • Editor, International Litigation Strategies and Practice (ABA Int'l Practitioner's Deskbook Series 2005)
  • Local Remedies and Investment Treaties: Policy Choices and Drafting Solutions, in Protection Of Foreign Investments Through Modern Treaty Arbiration 87 (ASA Special Series No. 34, 2010)
  • The Effectiveness of Pre-Dispute Waivers of Recourse to Investment Treaty Arbitration, in Kaj Hobér, Ed., Liber Amicorum For Ulf Franke 183 (2010) (with Jeffrey Hertzfeld)
  • France, in The International Arbitration Review 98 (2010) (with Jean-Christophe Honlet and Anne-Sophie Dufêtre)
  • Coûts et durée des procédures (étude comparée des mécanismes CIRDI et CNUDCI), 6 Revue Droit & Affaires 52 (2008)
  • The Definitions of Precedent in International Arbitration, in Emmanuel Gaillard & Yas Banifatemi, EDS., Precedent in International Arbitration 5 (2008)
  • Understanding Performance Requirement Prohibitions in Investment Treaties, in Arthur W. Rovine, Contemporary Issues in International Arbitration and Mediation: The Fordham Papers 2007 53 (2008)
  • Book Review, Investment Disputes under NAFTA: An Annotated Guide to NAFTA Chapter 11, 24 ARB. INT'L 347 (2008)
  • Are States Responsible for the Acts of Their Instrumentalities? Case Law of Tribunals Other Than ICC and ICSID, in Emmanuel Gaillard & Jennifer Younan, EDS., State entities in International Arbitration 57 (2008)
  • Options to Establish an Appellate Mechanism for Investment Disputes, in Karl P. Sauvant & Michael Chiswick-Patterson, EDS., Appeals Mechanism in International Investment Disputes 231 (2008)
  • La réforme du CIRDI : vers une juridictionnalisation de l'arbitrage transnational ?, in Ferhat Horchani, ED., Où va le Droit de l'Investissement? 283 (2006)
  • Defining Investment and Investor: Who is entitled to claim?, 22 ARB. INT'L 521 (2006)
  • The Difficulties of Conciliation in Investment Treaty Cases: A Comment on Professor Jack C. Coe's "Toward a Complementary Use of Conciliation in Investor-State Disputes-A Preliminary Sketch", 21:4 Mealey's Arbitration Rep. 72 (2006), reprinted in 2:2 Mediation Committee Newsletter R 27 (Int'l Bar Ass'n 2006); 4 Transnational Dispute Management (Issue No. 1, Feb. 2007)
  • Visualizing an Appellate System, in Federico Ortino, Audley Sheppard & Hugo Warner, EDS., Investment Treaty Law 121 (2006), reprinted in 2 Transnational Dispute Management 64 (Issue No. 2, Apr. 2005) ( www.transnational-dispute-management.com )
  • Communicating Effectively with Foreign Clients and Counsel, in International Litigation Strategies and Practice 11 (ABA Int'l Practitioner's Deskbook Series 2005)
  • Investment Treaty Arbitration: An Option Not to Be Overlooked, in International Litigation Strategies and Practice 189 (ABA Int'l Practitioner's Deskbook Series 2005)
  • The Contribution of Investment Treaty Arbitration to International Commercial Arbitration, 60 Dispute Resolution J. 70 (Aug.-Oct. 2005).
  • Investment Treaty Arbitration: The Big Bang, 99 A.S.I.L. Proc. (2005)
  • Investor-State Arbitrator Disqualified for Pre-Appointment Statements on Challenged Measures, 21 Arb. Int'l 241 (2005)
  • Does the Loewen Award Endanger the Credibility of the NAFTA Dispute Settlement Mechanism?, 6 J. World Investment & Trade 89 (2005)
  • Lessons Learned from the NAFTA: The New Generation of US Investment Treaty Arbitration Provisions, 19 ICSID Rev.-Foreign Investment L.J. 344 (2004)
  • The Introduction of an Appellate Mechanism: The U.S. Trade Act of 2002, in Emmanuel Gaillard & Yas Banifatemi, Eds., Annulment of ICSID Awards 289 (2004)
  • Trends and Challenges in Investor-State Arbitration, 19 Arb. Int'l 143 (2003)
  • The Innovation of Investor-State Arbitration under NAFTA, 43 Harv. J. Int'l L. 531 (2002), reprinted in Fiona Beveridge, Ed., Globalization and International Investment127 (2005); 2 Oil-Gas-Energy Intelligence Service (OGEL) (No. 2, Apr. 2004) ( www.ogel.org )
  • Commentary: ICSID Proceedings in the Absence of a Bilateral Investment Treaty, 18 Arb. Int'l 305 (2002)
  • Roundtable Commentary: Regulatory Expropriation in International Law, 11 N.Y.U. Envt'l L.J. 208 (2002)
  • Federalism, NAFTA Chapter Eleven and the Jay Treaty of 1794, 95 A.S.I.L. Proc. 202 (2001), reprinted in 18 News from ICSID 11 (Spring 2001)
  • Representing States - a US Perspective, 6 Arbitration & ADR 46 (IBA Newsletter, Committee D, June 2001)
  • The Role of US Counsel in Foreign Litigation, in 1999 Private Investments Abroad (Matthew Bender & Co.)
  • Editor, International Litigation, in International Legal Developments in Review: 1998, 33 Int'l Lawyer 403 (1999)
  • L'assistance des juridictions américaines à l'obtention de preuve aux Etats-Unis dans le cadre de procédures étrangères/Discovery in Aid of Foreign Proceedings Provided by United States Courts, 7 Revue de Droit des Affaires Internationales/Int'l Bus. L.J. 747 (1998)
  • Attempts to Use Section 1782 to Obtain US Discovery in Aid of Foreign Arbitrations, 14 Arb. Int'l 213 (1998) (with David W. Rivkin)
  • Editor, International Litigation, in International Legal Developments in Review: 1997, 32 Int'l Lawyer 223 (1998)
  • Developments in International Human Rights Litigation, in 90 A.S.I.L. Proc. 71 (1996)
  • Cross-Border Financial Litigation in the United States in Cross-Border Financial Litigation: An International Financial Law Review Supplement (1994) (with David W. Rivkin and Donald Francis Donovan)

Languages:

  • English
  • French
  • Spanish

Publications: