Giorgio A. Sassine

Giorgio Sassine is an associate with the Firm’s Los Angeles office and is a member of the International Arbitration and Litigation and Construction Practice Groups.  Having previously worked in Beirut and Paris before returning back to the States, Mr. Sassine has extensive experience in international and domestic high-value, complex construction and energy disputes.  Mr. Sassine has been recognized in the 2024 Super Lawyers Southern California – Rising Stars, 2024-2025 Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America – Construction Law, and the 2023-2024 Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation.  Mr. Sassine has represented clients across the globe in U.S. federal and state court litigations and under various international arbitral rules in venues including Paris, London, the MENA-region, New York and California.

Mr. Sassine received a B.A. in Economics, as well as a minor in Philosophy, from University of California, Davis. He earned his J.D. with an emphasis in International Law from University of San Diego School of Law. He earned his LL.M. in International Commercial Arbitration from Stockholm University. While in law school, Mr. Sassine also attended a summer program at the Sorbonne – Université Paris I Panthéon, where he was first introduced and became passionate about international arbitration.

Apart from his extensive legal experience, Mr. Sassine is also active in the international arbitration community. He is a member of California Arbitration, Inc.’s (CalArb) Board, the ICDR Young & International Board, and Stockholm University’s International Commercial Arbitration Alumni Board. In addition, Mr. Sassine is the Co-Chair of CalArb’s Programming Committee, is on California International Arbitration Week’s Planning Committee, sits on CalArb’s Executive Committee, and is the Secretary of CalArb’s Board. Mr. Sassine also coaches UCLA’s Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot Court team, which takes place annually in Vienna, Austria.

Publications

• Arbitrating Offshore Wind Project Disputes in California, Jus Mundi 2023 Construction Arbitration Report, June 2023
• Go Global, Los Angeles Lawyer, April 2023
• Federal Arbitration Act’s vacatur provisions apply in vacating international arbitration awards, Daily Journal, April 2023
• California International Arbitration Week - A hot ticket, high value, and free, Daily Journal, March 2023
• Interviews with our Editors: In Conversation with Giorgio Sassine, Co-Lead of the 2023 California International Arbitration Week (CIAW) Joint Planning Committee, Kluwer Arbitration Blog, March 2023
• A Look at California’s International Arbitration Future, Kluwer Arbitration Blog, January 2022
• Remedial Construction Services v AECOM: Incorporating arbitration provisions by reference under California law, IBA Construction Law International, December 2021
• Ninth Circuit Holds Article II, Section 3 of the New York Convention is “Self-Executing” and Not an “Act of Congress,” Thereby Affirming Order to Compel Arbitration, Kluwer Arbitration Blog, November 2021
• In Memoriam: How U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Influenced U.S. Perspectives on Arbitration and International Dispute Resolution, Kluwer Arbitration Blog, November 2020
• MZM Construction Company – Third Circuit Affirms “Clear and Unmistakable” Standard, But Did Its Dicta Go Too Far? Kluwer Arbitration Blog, October 2020
• Raising the Stakes of the 28 U.S.C. § 1782(a) Debate: the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit Holds § 1782(a) Applies to Private Arbitral Tribunals, Kluwer Arbitration Blog, September 2019
• Schein, Inc. v. Archer & White Sales, Inc: Upholding Principles of Arbitration, but Leaving Open Question Regarding Competence-Competence in Arbitral Rules as “Clear and Unmistakable” Evidence that Parties Agreed to Arbitrate Arbitrability, Kluwer Arbitration Blog, January 2019
• Eureka! Foreign Attorneys Can Now Participate in California-seated Arbitrations, Kluwer Arbitration Blog, August 2018
• A Call to Arms: Education to Prevent the Harsh Reality of Guerrilla Tactics in the Face of the UAE’s Recent Law on Possible Criminal Sanctions for Arbitrators, Kluwer Arbitration Blog, January 2017
• There Should be an Answer to § 1782(a) – as to whether its scope includes private arbitral tribunals, McGill Journal of Dispute Resolution, Vol. 3 , 2016-2017

Speaking Engagements

• "The Future Speaks: Young Practitioner Perspectives on the International Arbitration of Tomorrow," 8th Annual USC-JAMS Arbitration Symposium with SIAC and CalArb: Arbitration in the Pacific Rim, Los Angeles, September 2024
• “What Domestic ADR Practitioners Can Learn from International Commercial Arbitration,” ABA Section of Dispute Resolution Spring Conference, San Diego, April 2024
• “GAR Live Debate – GAR Live Technology Disputes,” San Francisco, March 2024
• “Recent Trends in International Arbitration - Saudi Arabian, US and English perspectives,” Riyadh, March 2024
• “SVAMC-DIAC Technology ADR Training,” Dubai, March 2024
• “Losing Sleep over the “Midnight Clause”: Drafting Disputes Provisions for Cross-border Technology Agreements and Protecting Foreign Investments,” Riyadh, March 2024
• “When AI Meets ADR: Experts Discuss Appropriate Uses and Protocols for AI in Arbitrations,” Riyadh, March 2024
• “Energy Innovation: Challenges and solutions on the road to Energy Transition,” ACICA, San Francisco, March 2024
• “California Offshore Wind, the Challenges and Opportunities,” CalArb, San Francisco, March 2024
• “Nuts and Bolts of Delay Analysis,” ICDR Y&I, California, December 2023
• "International Commercial Arbitration in the Philippines and California: A Meeting of the Minds" CalArb and Philippines Dispute Resolution Centre, California, July 2023
• “18th Annual Coffee House Debate,” ICDR Y&I, Vienna, Austria, April 2023
• “Arbitrating Technology Disputes: Present Realities, Future Possibilities,” Young ICCA and Young CalArb, California, March 2023
• “The Many Facets of Arbitration,” Young ITA, California, March 2023
• “California International Arbitration: Coming of Age,” Daily Journal, California, March 2023
• “A Day in the Life of an International Arbitration Practitioner,” Young CalArb, California, March 2023
• “Everything You Want to Know About a Career in International Arbitration,” UC LAW SF, ABA International Law Section, and USCIB, California, February 2023
• “Of Privilege & Privacy: Navigating Inconsistent Legal Privilege and Personal Data Protection Regimes in International Arbitration,” CalArb and CIArb, California, December 2022
• “Islamic Finance and Banking and Arbitration,” California International Arbitration Week, Asian International Arbitration Centre (AIAC), California, March 2022
• “Current Developments in the Use of Technology in International Arbitration,” YICCA Workshop, San Francisco, California, Postponed Due to Covid-19
• “Multi-tier Dispute Resolution Clauses: Yay or Nay?” YConstruction, New York, March 2020
• “Introduction to International Arbitration and Arbitrator Intelligence”, Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM), Mexico City, June 2018
• “Re-wiring the Brain: Practical Steps to Address Inclusion and Diversity in International Dispute Resolution”, CIArb YMG and Alliance joint conference, Atlanta, Georgia, November 2018

Admissions & Associations

State Bar of California

State Bar of New York

Member of the ICDR’s Young & International’s Board

Member of the ICAL Alumni Association's Board

California Arbitration, Secretary of the Board, Member of the Executive Committee, and Co-Chair of Programming Committee

Representative Matters

Represented U.S. clean energy company in breach of contract dispute against public utility company. The venue of arbitration was California under the rules of the AAA.

Represented Dutch acquirer in multiple federal and state litigations related to allegations of fraud, conspiracy to commit fraud, and state and federal RICO violations.

Represented Dutch acquirer and U.S. subsidiary in breach of contract dispute against West Virginian company in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Represented French conglomerate in design and breach of contract dispute against Australian owner regarding a water treatment plant at a uranium mine. The venue of arbitration was London under the rules of the ICC.

Represented U.S. engineering company in design, delay, disruption and breach of contract dispute against a German owner regarding a photovoltaic energy facility. The venue of the arbitration was in the United States under the rules of the AAA-ICDR.

Represented Chinese company in a breach of contract and fraud dispute against a U.S. company regarding the sale and marketing of software in the Chinese-market. The venue of the arbitration was New York under the rules of the ICC.

Represented Lebanese subcontractor in a delay and disruption and breach of contract dispute against a Qatari subsidiary of a U.S. company regarding construction of an airport-wide security contract package for an international airport in the Middle East. The venue of arbitration was Qatar under the rules of the ICC.

Represented French art broker against New York art gallery in breach of contract dispute regarding the sale of highly valuable artwork in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Represented top 5 global EPCM firm against subcontractor in two-week bench trial related to alleged wrongful termination, fraud, and design of a 21-story glass window-wall system in Cook County, Illinois.

Represented joint venture in a multi-billion-dollar highway project construction and design dispute.

Represented global construction firm in a water dam construction and design dispute in the Superior Court of California.

Represented global architectural firm in sports facility design dispute in San Francisco under the AAA arbitration rules.

Represented county board of supervisors in land use dispute in United States District Court for the Northern District of California.

Represented walnut manufacturer against purchaser in a cross-border dispute for breach of warranties and strict products liability claims in the Superior Court of California.