Arbitration
Alexander Fessas promoted to Court Managing Counsel
Alexander Fessas, Former Counsel of the Eastern Mediterranean team of the Secretariat of the International Court of Arbitration of ICC, has been promoted to the position of Managing Counsel, replacing Christian Albanesi who has returned to private practice.
Mr Fessas joined the Secretariat of the Court in 2011 and first served as Deputy Counsel, working principally on cases from Central and Eastern Europe before becoming Counsel of the North American team to manage cases from the United States of America and Canada, a position he held until the opening of SICANA – the US corporate entity responsible for the administration of cases under ICC dispute resolution rules.
Andrea Carlevaris, Secretary General of the Court stated: “The promotion of Alexander is a vote of confidence in the abilities of this adept and versatile lawyer.I am certain that Alexander will thrive in his new role as the Court strives to meet the evolving needs of arbitration users, whether they be companies, states or state entities.”
A Cypriot national born in Athens, Mr Fessas obtained his undergraduate and postgraduate degrees from the Faculty of Law of the University of Athens, having specialized in conflict of laws, arbitration and comparative law. Until 2008, he was an associate at Stelios Koussoulis & Partners, an Athens-based law firm, and a sole practitioner thereafter. Mr Fessas’ previous arbitration experience ranges from assisting arbitrators and providing administrative and case management services to appearing as counsel in international and domestic commercial arbitration cases. He has also undertaken other roles including editor-in-chief of the Hellenic Review of International Law.
Mr Fessas took up his new position on 30 June 2014. Proficient in English, French and Greek, he is admitted to the Athens Bar and is a member of the board of the Hellenic Arbitration Association.
Mr Fessas said: “I am happy to take on this challenging commitment in what are interesting times for the Court. I very much look forward to working with the case management teams of the Secretariat in Paris, Hong Kong and New York City and contributing to maintaining the high standard of services we are known to provide”.
The ICC Court is a world leader in resolving international commercial disputes, a service vital for international trade and investment in today’s global economy.
In his new role Mr Fessas will be responsible for ensuring uniformity of practices and consistency in the approach to complex arbitration issues and ensure quality at every step for users of ICC Arbitration and enhancing arbitration worldwide.
