PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY

Giorgio Sassine is an associate with the Firm’s Los Angeles office and is a member of the International Arbitration and Litigation and Construction Practice Groups. Mr. Sassine has extensive experience on domestic and international high-value, complex commercial, construction, and energy disputes. Mr. Sassine has been recognized in the 2024 Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America – Construction Law and the 2023 Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation.  Mr. Sassine has represented clients in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa. The litigation and international arbitration matters have been in various forums, including U.S. federal courts, state courts, and under the arbitral rules of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), American Arbitration Association – International Center of Dispute Resolution (AAA-ICDR), London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA), Dubai International Arbitration Centre (DIAC), and the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).

Prior to joining the Firm, Mr. Sassine was an associate for several top-ranked law firms across the globe and domestically, including in Paris, Beirut, New York, Chicago, and San Francisco.

Mr. Sassine received a B.A. in Economics, as well as a minor in Philosophy, from University of California, Davis.  He earned his J.D. with an emphasis in International Law from University of San Diego School of Law.  He earned his LL.M. in International Commercial Arbitration from Stockholm. While in law school, Mr. Sassine also attended a summer program at the Sorbonne – Université Paris I Panthéon, where he was first introduced and became passionate about international commercial arbitration.

Apart from his extensive international and domestic experience, Mr. Sassine is also active in the international arbitration community.  He is a member of California Arbitration, Inc.’s (CalArb) Board, the ICDR Young & International Board, and Stockholm University’s International Commercial Arbitration Alumni Board.  In addition, Mr. Sassine is the Co-Chair of CalArb’s Programming Committee, is on California International Arbitration Week’s Planning Committee, sits on CalArb’s Executive Committee, and is the Secretary of CalArb’s Board.  Mr. Sassine also coaches UCLA’s Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot Court team, which takes place annually in Vienna, Austria.

REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS

• Represented Dutch acquirer and U.S. subsidiary in breach of contract dispute against West Virginian company in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
• Represented French conglomerate in design and breach of contract dispute against Australian owner regarding a water treatment plant at a uranium mine. The venue of arbitration was London under the rules of the ICC.
• Represented U.S. engineering company in design, delay, disruption and breach of contract dispute against a German owner regarding a photovoltaic energy facility. The venue of the arbitration was in the United States under the rules of the AAA-ICDR.
• Represented Chinese company in a breach of contract and fraud dispute against a U.S. company regarding the sale and marketing of software in the Chinese-market. The venue of the arbitration was New York under the rules of the ICC.
• Represented Lebanese subcontractor in a delay and disruption and breach of contract dispute against a Qatari subsidiary of a U.S. company regarding construction of an airport-wide security contract package for an international airport in the Middle East. The venue of arbitration was Qatar under the rules of the ICC.
• Represented French art broker against New York art gallery in breach of contract dispute regarding the sale of highly valuable artwork in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
• Represented top 5 global EPCM firm against subcontractor in two-week bench trial related to alleged wrongful termination, fraud, and design of a 21-story glass window-wall system in Cook County, Illinois.
• Represented joint venture in a multi-billion-dollar highway project construction and design dispute.
• Represented global construction firm in a water dam construction and design dispute in the Superior Court of California.
• Represented global architectural firm in sports facility design dispute in San Francisco under the AAA arbitration rules.
• Represented county board of supervisors in land use dispute in United States District Court for the Northern District of California.
• Represented walnut manufacturer against purchaser in a cross-border dispute for breach of warranties and strict products liability claims in the Superior Court of California.

PUBLICATIONS

• Arbitrating Offshore Wind Project Disputes in California, Jus Mundi 2023 Construction Arbitration Report, June 2023

• Go Global, Los Angeles Lawyer, April 2023

• Federal Arbitration Act’s vacatur provisions apply in vacating international arbitration awards, Daily Journal, April 2023

• When Finality Is Not Desirable: What Are the Options for Appealing an Arbitral Award in California?, Musick Peeler Arbitration Alert, April 2023

• California International Arbitration Week - A hot ticket, high value, and free, Daily Journal, March 2023
• Interviews with our Editors: In Conversation with Giorgio Sassine, Co-Lead of the 2023 California International Arbitration Week (CIAW) Joint Planning Committee, Kluwer Arbitration Blog, March 2023
• FEDERAL CIRCUIT PROVIDES DIRECTION ON HOW THE CCCP IS APPLIED TO INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION, Musick Peeler Business Litigation Blog, February 2022
• A Look at California’s International Arbitration Future, Kluwer Arbitration Blog, January 2022
• Remedial Construction Services v AECOM: Incorporating arbitration provisions by reference under California law, IBA Construction Law International, December 2021
• Ninth Circuit Holds Article II, Section 3 of the New York Convention is “Self-Executing” and Not an “Act of Congress,” Thereby Affirming Order to Compel Arbitration, Kluwer Arbitration Blog, November 2021
• In Memoriam: How U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Influenced U.S. Perspectives on Arbitration and International Dispute Resolution, Kluwer Arbitration Blog, November 2020
• MZM Construction Company – Third Circuit Affirms “Clear and Unmistakable” Standard, But Did Its Dicta Go Too Far? Kluwer Arbitration Blog, October 2020
• Raising the Stakes of the 28 U.S.C. § 1782(a) Debate: the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit Holds § 1782(a) Applies to Private Arbitral Tribunals, Kluwer Arbitration Blog, September 2019
• Schein, Inc. v. Archer & White Sales, Inc: Upholding Principles of Arbitration, but Leaving Open Question Regarding Competence-Competence in Arbitral Rules as “Clear and Unmistakable” Evidence that Parties Agreed to Arbitrate Arbitrability, Kluwer Arbitration Blog, January 2019
• Eureka! Foreign Attorneys Can Now Participate in California-seated Arbitrations, Kluwer Arbitration Blog, August 2018
• A Call to Arms: Education to Prevent the Harsh Reality of Guerrilla Tactics in the Face of the UAE’s Recent Law on Possible Criminal Sanctions for Arbitrators, Kluwer Arbitration Blog, January 2017
• There Should be an Answer to § 1782(a) – as to whether its scope includes private arbitral tribunals, McGill Journal of Dispute Resolution, Vol. 3 (2016-2017
• California Must Become More Favorable to International Commercial Arbitration, Young Arbitration Review, April 2014

SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS

• "International Commercial Arbitration in the Philippines and California: A Meeting of the Minds" CalArb and Philippines Dispute Resolution Centre, California, July 2023
• “18^th Annual Coffee House Debate,” ICDR Y&I, Vienna, Austria, April 2023
• “Arbitrating Technology Disputes: Present Realities, Future Possibilities,” Young ICCA and Young CalArb, California, March 2023
• “The Many Facets of Arbitration,” Young ITA, California, March 2023
• “California International Arbitration: Coming of Age,” Daily Journal, California, March 2023
• “A Day in the Life of an International Arbitration Practitioner,” Young CalArb, California, March 2023
• “Everything You Want to Know About a Career in International Arbitration,” UC LAW SF, ABA International Law Section, and USCIB, California, February 2023
• “Of Privilege & Privacy: Navigating Inconsistent Legal Privilege and Personal Data Protection Regimes in International Arbitration,” CalArb and CIArb, California, December 2022
• “Islamic Finance and Banking and Arbitration,” California International Arbitration Week, Asian International Arbitration Centre (AIAC), California, March 2022
• “Current Developments in the Use of Technology in International Arbitration,” YICCA Workshop, San Francisco, California, Postponed Due to Covid-19
• “Multi-tier Dispute Resolution Clauses: Yay or Nay?” YConstruction, New York, March 2020
• “Introduction to International Arbitration and Arbitrator Intelligence”, Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM), Mexico City, June 2018
• “Re-wiring the Brain: Practical Steps to Address Inclusion and Diversity in International Dispute Resolution”, CIArb YMG and Alliance joint conference, Atlanta, Georgia, November 2018