Bio

Siegfried Elsing, based in Orrick's Düsseldorf office, is a globally recognized international arbitration lawyer with more than 30 years of experience acting as counsel, party-appointed arbitrator, sole arbitrator or chairman. He represents private investors, international companies, sovereign states and state agencies on a national and international level. Siegfried has acted in approximately 300 arbitrations, including ad hoc proceedings as well as arbitral proceedings under the rules of leading arbitral institutions such as DIS, HCCI, HKIAC, ICC, ICSID, SCC, SCAI, VIAC and others. From 2011 to September 2017, he served on the Panel of Conciliators for the Administrative Council of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). Siegfried's experience extends in particular to complex disputes involving M&A and corporate transactions, investment protection, energy law, infrastructure disputes, financing arrangements, insurances, joint ventures, distributorship agreements and IP disputes. He also advises on transactional matters, financing, licensing, construction, joint ventures and M&A transactions. He is dual qualified, admitted in both Germany and New York, and is fluent in German, English and French. He has appeared as a legal expert witness in the German, U.S. and UK courts (on German law matters) and before other foreign law-making institutions. Market commentary in Chambers Global 2020 describes Siegfried Elsing as a “star individual” who “is frequently appointed as arbitrator on complex cross-border arbitrations”. He is lauded as “a leading practitioner in investment arbitration” with “extensive expertise as arbitrator on investment cases”. Siegfried co-founded German law firm Hölters & Elsing in 1989 and oversaw the firm's merger with Orrick in 2008. Since 2007 he is Honorary Professor at the Heinrich Heine University Faculty of Law, Düsseldorf, where he teaches International Arbitration and Civil Procedure. Siegfried is a member of the Board of the German Arbitration Institute (DIS) and was (until May 2020) a Council Member of the American Arbitration Association (AAA). Siegfried was a member of the Drafting Committee for 2018 DIS Arbitration Rules. He is co-editor of the German Arbitration Journal (SchiedsVZ). Siegfried was also chair of the Mediation Committee of the International Bar Association (IBA). In 2013 Siegfried was selected to serve as Honorary Consul of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.