International Arbitration & Litigation

International Arbitration Practice Based in Los Angeles, California

Musick Peeler's International Arbitration and Litigation Group is a Los Angeles-based international arbitration practice representing clients in high-stakes cross-border disputes worldwide. From our main office in California, our attorneys have appeared as counsel in international arbitrations seated across Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and North America, with particular depth in the construction, energy, renewable energy, life sciences, aerospace, technology, and entertainment sectors.

Our team's experience has been earned in arbitral venues both within and beyond the United States. With collective experience spanning more than 100 arbitrations, and years of practice in European, Middle East, Asia as well as U.S. arbitral seats, our attorneys understand how a dispute will actually unfold before a tribunal in Geneva or Rotterdam, how an award will be enforced in Los Angeles or New York, and how to bridge the civil law and common law expectations that shape international proceedings. That perspective informs everything from early case assessment and procedural strategy to the drafting of submissions with eventual enforcement in view.

Deep International Arbitration Experience, California Roots

Our attorneys have served as counsel in arbitrations under the ICC, ICDR, AAA, DIAC, SIAC, UNCITRAL, NAI, WIPO, and ad hoc rules, in seats including Los Angeles, Paris, London, Geneva, Zurich, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Rotterdam, Singapore, and New York. We advise sovereigns, multinational corporations, and private clients at every stage of cross-border dispute resolution, from arbitration clause drafting and jurisdictional strategy through merits proceedings to enforcement of arbitral awards under the New York Convention in U.S. federal courts. Through our membership in Ally Law, a network of more than 70 firms in over 100 jurisdictions, we deliver coordinated cross-border support wherever a dispute arises.

Our matters are staffed leanly and led by senior international arbitration practitioners. Every submission reflects experienced judgment, and every engagement is structured around the actual demands of the case: an approach that yields both disciplined budgets and manageable outcomes in complex disputes.

Types of Disputes We Have Handled

Construction & Infrastructure

• Represented a specialty installer/subcontractor in an ICC arbitration seated in Geneva, in a dispute with an EPC contractor arising out of the construction of a coal steam power plant.
• Represented a party in an ICC arbitration arising out of a port construction dispute in Abu Dhabi.
• Represented a marine and dredging contractor in an ICC arbitration seated in Zurich, Switzerland, arising out of the expansion of Port Taichung.
• Represented a supplier in a dispute involving the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project.
• Represented a joint venture in disputes arising out of California's $2.5 billion LAX automated tramway project in Los Angeles.

Energy & Renewable Energy

• Represented an EPC contractor in an ICC arbitration involving claims exceeding $300 million, arising out of a natural gas-fired power facility in the Northwestern United States.
• Represented a European developer of a 250-megawatt photovoltaic solar facility in four separate ICC arbitrations.
• Represented a U.S. wind farm owner/operator in an ICDR arbitration seated in California arising out of a breach of a power purchase agreement (PPA) with a public utility.
• Represented a subcontractor providing marine construction solutions for the expansion of the Ras Laffan Industrial City in Qatar, in a dispute with the EPC contractor, in an ICC arbitration based in Geneva, Switzerland. 

Life Sciences & Medical Devices

• Represented a distributor of a blood and fluid warming device in an ICC arbitration seated in Singapore in a dispute with the manufacturer.
• Represented a joint venture partner in an ICC arbitration seated in New York arising out of an agreement to manufacture and sell warming blankets.
• Represented a manufacturer and seller of post-operative patient temperature management devices in an ICC arbitration seated in London in a dispute with a former distributor.

Technology, IP & Software

• Represented the developer and supplier of hydraulic and steering solutions for driverless heavy-duty vehicles in dispute with an AI-focused developer of autonomous trucks in an ICDR arbitration seated in San Francisco, California. 
• Represented a member of a Swiss-based joint venture for the development of software regarding claims sounding in fraud and breach of contract in a WIPO-administered arbitration in Geneva, Switzerland.
• Represented a licensor in an NAI arbitration seated in Brussels, Belgium involving automotive drive-train technology.

Shipping, Ports & Maritime:

• Represented a European vessel owner in an ICC arbitration seated in Zurich, Switzerland arising out of a charter-party dispute.
• Represented a manufacturer of marine equipment in an ICC arbitration governed by the CISG and Swiss law, based in Geneva, Switzerland.
• Represented a shipowner in a dispute arising out of a charter-party for the carriage of salt.

Entertainment, Sports & General Commercial

• Represented a promoter in a JAMS arbitration arising out of a non-PGA professional golf tournament.
• Represented an industrial-size printing plant builder/distributor in an NAI arbitration seated in Rotterdam in a multi-party joint-venture and distribution dispute.
• Represented a payment processor in a dispute with an acquiring bank in several ICC arbitrations seated in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. 
• Represented a party in an AAA arbitration involving veterinary services and a national pet store chain, seated in Los Angeles. 

International Enforcement & Litigation:

• Represented a subsidiary of a Dutch bank in multiple lawsuits in federal courts in California, Nevada, and New York arising out of a payment processing platform and related agreements.
• Represented a Mexican bank in U.S. money laundering litigation resulting in dismissal.
• Enforced international arbitral awards under the New York Convention in U.S. federal courts on behalf of foreign and domestic clients.

Contact Our Los Angeles International Arbitration Attorneys 

To discuss a pending or potential cross-border dispute with a member of our international arbitration team, please contact Partner Nathan O'Malley at n.omalley@musickpeeler.com to schedule a consultation.