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Atlanta Center for International Arbitration and Mediation

About Atlanta

Why an international arbitration center in Atlanta? A commercial hub with transparent courts and the most arbitration friendly legal regime in the United States, Atlanta offers congenial legal environment, world-class convenience, cost savings and competent professionals – in a cosmopolitan city.

Congenial Legal Environment

Georgia courts follow a predictable and non-interventionist policy when it comes to arbitration and mediation. In addition, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, the most international arbitration friendly court in the United States, is located in Atlanta.

Georgia’s state law has a modern international arbitration code closely aligned with the 1985 UNCITRAL Model Law.

http://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/en-US/display/20112012/SB/383

Georgia allows foreign lawyers to represent clients on a pro hac vice basis in state court proceedings ancillary to arbitration.

http://www.gabar.org/barrules/handbookdetail.cfm?what=rule&id=129

The ABA has recognized Georgia as a model for addressing issues arising from globalization, cross-border legal practice and lawyer mobility.

http://arbitrateatlanta.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/FINAL-ITILS-toolkit-2-4-12.pdf

World Class Convenience

Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport is the world’s busiest passenger airport. It handles over 96 million passengers annually and offers non-stop flights to and from 70 non-U.S. cities and 160 cities within the U.S.

Downtown Atlanta is 16.1 kilometers (10 miles) from the airport, a 20-30 minute trip by taxi and 30-40 minutes by MARTA train (the Atlanta rapid transport system).

Proceedings at the Center will be supported by a concierge service that will ensure that all persons involved can focus on the business at hand without concerning about translations, transportation, technology, hotel and meal reservations or other logistical needs.

For more information, see:

http://www.atlanta-airport.com/

http://www.itsmarta.com/

Less Expense

World-class accommodations and services are inexpensive relative to other global hubs. By way of example, Atlanta’s average hotel rate is:

47% of New York’s
51% of Paris’
52% of London’s
58% of Singapore’s
63% of Dubai’s
74% of Hong Kong’s
26% of Geneva, and
79% of Vienna’s

For more information, see:

http://www.kpmg.com/us/en/issuesandinsights/articlespublications/press-releases/pages/atlanta-most-cost-friendly-business-location-among-large-us-cities-cincinnati-orlando-follow-closely-kpmg-study.aspx

http://www.hotel-price-index.com/2014/spring/#p19

Competent Professionals

Atlanta’s sophisticated legal professionals serves the third largest concentration of Fortune 500 companies in the U.S. including international giants such as Coca-Cola, Delta Airlines, Home Depot and United Parcel Service.

The profession’s global reach arises out of service to a city widely acknowledged as the capital of the southeastern U.S., a region with a gross annual product of $3.3 trillion and a population of over 79 million, with international trade through the Atlanta airport and the port of Savannah.

Local universities (including Emory, Georgia State, Georgia Tech, Kennesaw, Morehouse, the University of Georgia), institutions (including CARE International, Centers for Disease Control, Technology Association of Georgia) and businesses (including AT&T, General Electric, Lockheed Martin) provide access to well-qualified technical experts across the spectrum of business and scientific disciplines.

For more information, see:

http://www.metroatlantachamber.com/business/global-commerce/investment/why-atlanta-presentations

A Cosmopolitan City

While retaining its southern charm, this former Olympic venue is a global city with remarkable diversity, over 70 foreign consular offices and over 40 bi-national chambers of commerce.

Atlanta’s population includes over 700,000 foreign-born residents, and each year an additional 17,000 foreigners move to the city – in fact, Atlanta ranks second in the U.S. for annual immigration.

International institutions in Atlanta include the Carter Center and the Martin Luther King Jr. Center, which honor and continue the work of Nobel Laureates from Georgia.

A Comfortable City

Atlanta – famously called the “city too busy to hate” – is known for its friendliness, openness and diversity, as well as its art, sports, parks and food.

http://www.globalatlanta.com/article/26218/andrew-young-atlanta-has-trump-cards-in-arbitration-efforts/

http://arbitrateatlanta.org/a-tradition-of-hospitality/

http://www.historians.org/annual-meeting/supplement-to-the-121st-annual-meeting

http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/city-guides/atlanta-georgia/

Why the Atlanta Center?

A state of the art hearing facility offering a global concierge service located within the new $82.5 million Georgia State Law building in downtown Atlanta, the center is the realization of the efforts of the Atlanta International Arbitration Society and other stakeholders to see that Atlanta remains among the world’s most hospitable venues  for international dispute resolution.

Advisory Council

  • David Adelman – Partner, Reed Smith
  • Claire Angelle – Director of International Affairs, City of Atlanta
  • Alrene Barr – Director International Business, Hartsfield – Jackson Atlanta International Airport
  • Ember Bishop – Deputy Commissioner, Georgia Department of Economic Development
  • Julie Brown – President and CEOGeorgia Foreign Trade Zone
  • Stephens Clay – Partner, Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP
  • Linda DiSantis – Executive in Residence at GA State College of Business Center for Ethics and Corporate Responsibility
  • Jorge Fernandez – VP Global Commerce, Metro Atlanta Chamber
  • Ben Greer – Retired PartnerAlston & Bird
  • Glenn Hendrix – Managing Partner, Arnall Golden Gregory LLP
  • Robert McCallum – Former U.S. Ambassador to Australia
  • Gary McCalley – General Counsel – Printpack Inc.
  • Paul Reeve – Counsel, UPS
  • Elizabeth Silbert – Senior Associate, King & Spalding LLP
  • Charles Shapiro – President, World Affairs Council of Atlanta
  • Carita Wallgren Lindholm – Partner, Lindholm Wallgren, Attorneys LTD


Additional Conference Facilities

In addition to the hearing rooms in the Center, the College of Law can, with sufficient notice make space available in the Majorie and Ralph Knowles Conference Center and in the Advocacy Skills Center. These spaces are shown below and include rooms seating up to 230 people.

NEWS

  • JULY 13 (FRIDAY) NOON–1:30 P.M.AtlAS Plenary Meeting. Arnall Golden Gregory, 171 17th St. NW 2100, Atlanta, GA 30363. New attendees should contact mbarnes38@gsu.edu
  • JULY 13 (FRIDAY) NOON–1:30 P.M.AtlAS Plenary Meeting. Arnall Golden Gregory, 171 17th St. NW 2100, Atlanta, GA 30363. New attendees should contact mbarnes38@gsu.edu
  • JULY 13 (FRIDAY) NOON–1:30 P.M.AtlAS Plenary Meeting. Arnall Golden Gregory, 171 17th St. NW 2100, Atlanta, GA 30363. New attendees should contact mbarnes38@gsu.edu
  • SEPT. 14 (FRIDAY) NOON–1:30 P.M.AtlAS Plenary Meeting hosted by Eversheds Sutherland, 999 Peachtree St. NE # 2300, Atlanta, GA 30309. New attendees should contact mbarnes38@gsu.edu
  • JULY 13 (FRIDAY) NOON–1:30 P.M.AtlAS Plenary Meeting hosted by Arnall Golden Gregory, 171 17th St. NW 2100, Atlanta, GA 30363. New attendees should contact mbarnes38@gsu.edu
  • ONE YEAR LATER: HAS ATLANTA’S ARBITRATION PUSH PAID OFF? – GLOBAL ATLANTA, JULY 26, 2016It’s been almost a year since the Atlanta Center for International Arbitration and Mediation opened at Georgia State University to compete for international arbitration proceedings with cities such as Miami, New York, London, Brussels and Hong Kong.The city’s civic and legal communities believed that Atlanta’s accessibility, its status as a base for Fortune 500 firms and its position in a pro-arbitration state welcoming to international attorneys would be a formula for success. But has Atlanta’s “If we build it, they will come” legal gamble paid off? To many, it’s too early to tell, although the signs are positive. Glenn Hendrix,…
  • INTERNATIONAL LAW ALIVE AND WELL IN ATLANTA – DEAN RUSK CENTER (UGA LAW), JUN. 9, 2016Last week was a busy one for international law in Atlanta. On Thursday evening, the Young Arbitrators Group for the Atlanta International Arbitration Society (AtlAS) and the International Chamber of Commerce Young Arbitrators Forum (ICC YAF) presented an excellent event on international law practice in Atlanta. As announced, it featured four attorneys serving as in-house counsel at major corporations, including: -Gary Bunce, Assistant General Counsel, Delta Airlines -Carolyn Dinberg, VP and Associate General Counsel, InterContinental Hotels Group -Eugenia Milinelli, Counsel, JAS Freight Forwarding -Nicole Levy, Executive Director and Senior Legal Counsel, AT&TKing and Spalding Attended by many young members of…
  • ATLANTA LINKS INTERNATIONAL DISPUTES AND AIRPORT AS RUNWAY TO GLOBAL SERVICES ECONOMY – BROOKINGS INSTITUTION, MAREK GOOTMAN & RACHEL BARKER, MAY 25, 2016Scanning the departures and arrivals board on the way home from launching metro Atlanta’s new foreign direct investment strategy under the Global Cities Initiative, it was easy to understand why local leaders remain focused on finding strategies to better leverage their airport as a unique infrastructure asset for global economic opportunities. Not only does Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport continue to move more travelers than any other airport in the world, it ranks first in international through-traffic passengers. Atlanta also serves more nonstop international destinations than the next three busiest U.S. airports (Los Angeles Airport, Chicago’s O’Hare Airport, and Dallas/Fort Worth…
  • ARBITRATION HUB IN THE SOUTHERN UNITED STATES – NORTON ROSE FULBRIGHT , LUCY GREENWOOD, MAY 2016Update from the US: Atlanta now has a specialized court to handle international arbitration as well as a centre for international arbitration and mediation (established 2015) and an arbitration code (enacted 2012) based on the UNCITRAL model law. Since the launch of the Atlanta International Arbitration Society in 2012, Atlanta has sought to position itself as an international arbitration hub for disputes in the southern United States. 2015 saw two developments, with the opening of the Atlanta Centre for International Arbitration and Mediation and the announcement that the superior court of Fulton County – Georgia’s trial court of general jurisdiction…
  • REGIONAL MEETINGS ON ALI PROJECT – THE AMERICAN LAW INSTITUTE, APR. 19, 2016George Bermann, Chief Reporter, lead a lively breakfast discussion of the Restatement of the Law, the U.S. Law on International Commercial Arbitration project on February 26, 2016, at Georgia State University College of Law in Atlanta. The event was organized by Atlanta area ALI members Dorothy Beasley, James Noble, Stephanie Parker, and Richard Herzog. Hosting the event with ALI were the Atlanta International Arbitration Society, the Atlanta Center for International Arbitration Center, and the State Bar of Georgia Sections on Dispute Resolution and International Law as well as its Standing Committee on Judicial Procedure & Administration/Uniform Rules. Bermann led the…

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