Arbitration
International Court of Arbitration Secretary General to step down
ICC announced today that Jason Fry is stepping down as Secretary General of the ICC International Court of Arbitration to return to private practice at the law firm Clifford Chance, where he was a partner until he joined ICC in 2007. He will join the firm’s Paris office in September 2012.
Mr Fry is a highly respected arbitration specialist with experience as counsel, arbitrator and as the head of the ICC Court Secretariat, the world’s most prestigious arbitral institution. During his years at ICC he has played a key role leading a number of important strategic initiatives, notably establishing the ICC Secretariat’s presence in Hong Kong and Singapore, the creation of the ICC Hearing Centre in Paris and most recently, the revision of the ICC Rules of Arbitration, which came into effect earlier this year. Mr Fry is also Director of the ICC International Centre for ADR and co-author of a book on the new ICC Rules of Arbitration.
Mr Fry said: “I have immensely enjoyed my time at the ICC Court of Arbitration and the opportunity afforded to me to lead the development of ICC Arbitration and ICC’s other dispute resolution services (ADR). I have also enjoyed meeting and working with the people who comprise the Secretariat and the many lawyers and business users around the world associated with ICC dispute resolution.”
“The ICC Court has benefited enormously from the expertise and leadership of Jason Fry over the last four years”, said ICC Secretary General Jean-Guy Carrier. “Mr Fry expanded the reach of the Court and led the development of state-of-the-art rules of arbitration, which make it more effective and better able to serve the international business community, states and investors worldwide. We are confident of being able to count on his continued support in the future.”
A statement from President of the ICC Court John Beechey said: “I am delighted to learn of Jason Fry’s decision to accept Clifford Chance’s invitation to return to the firm for two reasons. First, I hope that others of similar standing and calibre will be encouraged by Jason’s demonstration that it is possible to move from a senior position in private practice to a prestigious post such as that of Secretary General of the ICC Court and back again and to excel in both. Second, I hope that the degree of confidence in their practice manifest in Jason’s return, together with the arrival of Simon Greenberg, will encourage Clifford Chance to take full advantage of this opportunity to restore and consolidate the firm’s standing as an international arbitration practice of the first rank. Jason has done an outstanding job for ICC. It is he whom ICC has largely to thank, along with Carl Salans, for seeing the Court through a difficult period in 2008. For that alone, he deserves the thanks and appreciation of this institution. It has been an enormous pleasure to work with him (again!) over the last three years. I wish him and his new (some, not so new) colleagues every success.”
Jason Fry is a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales and a Barrister and Solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and was the Member for New Zealand of the ICC International Court of Arbitration from 1999 until 2007.
