Pierre Heitzmann

Professional career

• Pierre Heitzmann`s main areas of practice are international arbitration and complex commercial litigation related to post-acquisitions disputes, large construction and engineerihg projects, joint ventures, license agreement disputes in the pharmaceutical industry, distribution agreements, ,and environmental disputes. Pierre has recently advised private companies active in various sectors, including waste management, oil and gas, engineering and construction, chemicals, luxury goods, pharmaceutical products, and military weapons. Pierre has also advised sovereigns and state – owned entities in international disputes.
• Pierre acts both as arbitrator and counsel in international arbitration proceedings, including but not limited to ICC, SCC, and UNCITRAL proceedings, and he regularly appears before French courts in arbitration – related matters.
• He is the author of many articles and case notes published in arbitration periodicals, and a lecturer on international arbitration at the EFE (Edition Formation Entreprise).

Arbitration experience

• Representing a Japanese pharmaceutical company against a U.S. pharmaceutical company in a license agreement dispute related to the abandoned launch of a drug and misappropriation of trade secrets claims governed by New York law;
• Representing a Spanish automotive company against a Korean company in a joint venture dispute in connection white an investment in Korean law, French law and German law;
• Representing a French company against two Moroccan companies in a dispute relating to the construction of a cement plant and the demand of a bank guarantee involving Swiss law and Moroccan law;
• Representing a French company in a complex dispute relating to the construction of a cogeneration power plant in Southern France;
• Representing a Japanese pharmaceutical company against a U.S. pharmaceutical company in a license agreement dispute related to a French supplementary certificate of protection involving New Jersey law and French law issues;
• Representing a leading Japanese pharmaceutical company in claims against several generic manufacturers involving the launch of products before French courts;
• Representing an Austrian company against a Belgian pharmaceutical company in a license agreement dispute governed by Belgian law;
• Representing a Finnish industrial group in a dispute over the sale of a group of companies to a private investor group from the United Kingdom and French in a Frankfurt – based, ICC arbitration in English, under English and German law;
• Arbitrator in an ad hocarbitration between a French company and a Norwegian distributor governed by French law;
• Represented a French waste management company against an Italian company in ICC arbitration proceedings Italy in a complex post – M&A dispute involving parallel criminal and civil proceedings in Italy;
• Represented a Japanese motorcycle manufacturer against a French company in dispute relating a sponsorship agreement;
• Represented a French power distribution company against a state following the cancellation of a concession contract in Central America;
• Represented an English chemical company against a Luxembourg company in a dispute related to the distribution of chemical products in France;
• Represented a French oil company in a joint venture dispute in connection with the liquidation and winding up of an investment in Abu Dhabi (ICC in Paris);
• Represented a Swiss company against a Mauritius company in a dispute related to several agency agreements;
• Represented a French waste management company against a U.S. company and a Mexican company in two parallel ICC arbitration proceedings in New York in a complex post-M&A dispute involving Mexican environmental laws and regulation and New York law;
• Represented a German multinational in the hydropower generation business against a consortium of Italian companies in an ICC arbitration where the dispute arises out of a contract for part of the supply in connection with an engineering, procurement and construction contract for a hydroelectric and irrigation project in the Philippines relating to a claim for indemnity of performance guarantees;
• Represented a French company in connection with a US$ 25 million dispute under the law of a central European country concerning a joint venture with a state – owned power generation company.

Membership in organizations

• ASA Association Suisse de I`Arbitrage/Swiss Arbitration Association;
• IBA International Bar Association;
• CFA Comité français de I`arbitrage;
• IAI International Arbitration Institute;
• JCAA Japanese Commercial Arbitration Association.

Publications

1. The 2011 French Arbitration Reforms In Comparative Perspective, Mealey`s International Arbitration Report, Vol. 26, Issue #4 (April 2011);
2. Arbitration and Criminal Liability for Competition Law Violations in Europe, in: EU and US Antitrust Arbitration, Eds Gordon Blanke and Phillip Landolt (Wolters Kluwer, 2011), Chapter 31;
3. SNF v CYTEC Industrie: National Courts Within the EC Apply Different Standards to Review International Awards Allegedly Contrary to Article 81 EC, Stockholm International Arbitration Review;
4. Country Q&A, France, PLC Cross-border Arbitration Handbook 2009/10, p. 53-59;
5. French Supreme Court Refuses The Enforcement Of An Arbitral Award For Failure To Comply With Mandatory Insolvency Provisions, Mealey`s International Arbitration Report, Vol. 24, #9 (September 2009);
6. The International Chamber of Commerce, Institutional Arbitration, Schultess (2009);
7. Confidentiality and Privileges in Cross-Border Legal Practice: The Need for a Global Standard? 26 ASA BULLETIN 2/2008.