Diego Gosis, an Arbitrator and a Florida Foreign Legal Consultant at GST LLP in Miami, speaks about the digitalisation of dispute resolution and the benefits of increased cultural diversity in the field.
What is your current role in dispute resolution?
I am a provider and an advisor of dispute resolution services. I work as counsel and arbitrator in international commercial and investment disputes.
I became interested in developing a career in dispute resolution when I realised that it was an area of practice where your success most depends on your legal skills, as opposed to the size of your firm or other non-legal factors. Also, it is one of the most international areas of practice, and the prospect of learning about and arguing issues under a variety of legal regimes was an interesting challenge.
Which processes do you use most frequently?
I mostly use arbitration, but I have acted as conciliator also, and there are many cases where an arbitration calls for some form of court activity, at the beginning of, during or after the arbitration proceedings themselves.
How is the market currently addressing parties’ needs?
In the large dispute arena, sophisticated players know exactly all the alternatives they can pursue. I have the sense, however, that providing an easier way for smaller players – corporates, individuals and states not so usually involved in international disputes – should probably benefit from more information on the different avenues available for the settlement of disputes.
How do you think the dispute resolution processes are likely to change in the future?
I think a deeper digitalisation of the dispute settlement mechanisms will by necessity occur. Currently, many hearings are held via teleconference or videoconference, but the paper trail of a complex case is still unnecessarily thick. Throughout the life of a complex arbitration tens of thousands of pages are printed which are not necessarily read in paper format by anyone.
How could an improved cross-cultural dialogue promote different forms of dispute resolution and improve access to justice?
The selection of a culturally wide base of adjudicators, and the choice of counsel teams with diverse ethnic an cultural backgrounds will certainly assist a client in getting through in more nuanced ways to international dispute tribunals.
Interviewed by Natasha Mellersh.
Diego Gosis has acted as counsel or arbitrator in numerous international disputes, serving as Of Counsel to the Treasury Department of the Republic of Argentina where he participated in dozens of cases resulting from the 2001 crisis in Argentina. His experience includes cases under the rules of the ICC, ICDR, UNCITRAL, and ICSID in matters disputed in Spanish, English, and Portuguese. He has appeared as an expert or counsel before courts in various jurisdictions.