Paolo Michele Patocchi

Practice Areas

International Arbitration (Counsel and Arbitrator)

Career

After practising for four years in Geneva (1982-1986), Paolo Michele Patocchi further specialised in international trade law and arbitration in London (1986-1988). He then joined an international law firm in London as an associate (1989-1991). In 1992 Michele joined a national law firm in Zurich. In 1994 he joined another national law firm in Geneva where he was made a partner in 1997. He has been in charge of the International Arbitration Group of the Geneva office of that firm from 1997 until 2013. In 2014 he established Patocchi & Marzolini with Paolo Marzolini.

Paolo Michele Patocchi has been a lecturer at the Faculty of Law of Geneva (Introduction to the Common Law tradition; 1989-2006) and at the Geneva School for Translators and Interpreters (ETI; Legal Translation English/Italian,1990-1993). He has been teaching the core course on international commercial arbitration at the Faculty of Law of İ. D. Bilkent University (Ankara) since 2013.

Professional Memberships

CIArb, ICCA, LCIA, ASA, DIS, IBA, BIICL, AIA (Associazione italiana per l'Arbitrato)

Publications

Please see: www.patocchimarzolini.con/en/publications

Work Highlights

Paolo Michele Patocchi has been on the ICSID list of arbitrators since 2012 (List of arbitrators designated by the Swiss Government) and has been involved in two ICSID cases, two ICSID Additional Facility Rules cases, one ICSID annulment case and one case under the OIC Treaty.

He has been a member of the team in charge of representing the Swiss Confederation before the International Court of Justice in the legal proceedings brought by the Kingdom of Belgium with respect to an alleged breach of the Lugano Convention by Switzerland. These proceedings were withdrawn by the Kingdom of Belgium after Switzerland filed its first memorial setting out its preliminary objections.

Industry Sector Expertise

The areas of commerce and industry in which Paolo Michele Patocchi has acted as counsel or as an arbitrator include construction (including infrastructure projects, off-shore projects, combined-cycle plants, roads, dams and railways projects), M&A transactions and JVAs in various areas (including civil aviation, nuclear energy, oil and gas, renewable energy), State Contracts and privatizations, price review under Gas Supply Agreements, licensing agreements in the pharma industry and the luxury industry.

Expert in these Jurisdictions

As a practising lawyer or as an arbitrator, Paolo Michele Patocchi has been called upon to work on matters involving a number of legal systems other than Swiss law, including in particular the laws of Albania, Algeria, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, China, Egypt, England and Wales, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Italy, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Latvia, the Netherlands, Palestine, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, South Korea, Spain, Turkey, the UAE, the U.S.A. and Venezuela.

Languages Spoken

English, French, Italian, German, Spanish and Portuguese; reading only: Swedish, Dutch and Romanian

Experience

Whether as counsel or as an arbitrator, Michele has taken part in over 250 international arbitrations to date. He has also provided expert opinions on the Swiss law of contract, the Swiss law of international arbitration and the Swiss private international law, as an expert or amicus curiae.

Education