Arbitration in court: exception or expectation?

Clea Bigelow-Nuttall FCIArb is a shareholder at Greenberg Traurig, where she focuses on international commercial and investment arbitration. With deep experience across the infrastructure, construction, and mining and energy sectors, Clea has successfully represented private companies, state-owned entities and sovereign states in high-stakes arbitrations under leading institutional rules, including ICC, LCIA, DIAC, HKIAC, SIAC, ICSID, and ad hoc arbitrations under UNCITRAL Rules.

In addition, Clea is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, sits as an executive board member of the global organization ArbitralWomen and has spent two years as co-chair the global Mute-Off Thursday knowledge-sharing platform for senior women in arbitration. She has previously acted as secretary to arbitral tribunals in contractual disputes in the energy and heavy infrastructure sectors and is fluent in French and English.

Sara Cockerill was educated at her local state primary school and then Lady Eleanor Holles School (on the Assisted Places Scheme) before reading Jurisprudence at Oxford.

In 1990 she was called to the Bar by Lincoln’s Inn and joined Essex Court Chambers in 1991. She practised as a barrister from those chambers until 2017, specialising in commercial cases and in compelled evidence.

She became a high court judge in 2017, assigned to the King’s Bench Division and as one of the judges of the commercial court. She was authorised to sit in cases in the financial list, the competition appeal tribunal and the technology and construction court as well as in the administrative court and other King’s Bench work, including crime. She was the judge in charge of the commercial court from August 2020 until 31 July 2022.

She is the author of ‘Compelled Evidence in Civil Proceedings’ (2012 OUP), Eleanor of Castile – The Shadow Queen (2014 Amberley) and Eleanor of Aquitaine – Queen of France and England, Mother of Empires (2019 Amberley).

She became a Lady Justice of Appeal on 9 October 2025 and deputy head of civil justice on 1 November 2025.

Anneliese Day KC is one of the leading silks at the Bar, described as a “powerhouse”, with a stellar reputation for being “a standout genius” who is “untouchable on her feet” with a “towering intellect”.

Anneliese’s practice as “a leading lawyer of her generation” and “a ruthlessly brilliant advocate” covers all facets of commercial litigation and arbitration (as both lead counsel and arbitrator). She has worked on significant and complex cases (at both first instance and appellate level) in the UK and Ireland, Asia Pacific, the Caribbean, Europe and the Middle East. One of the limited number of “Stars at the Bar”, she is recognised as a “leading light” in multiple practice areas by the legal directories not only in the UK but in a variety of jurisdictions around the world and as a Global Elite Thought Leader in Who’s Who Legal.

Shobana Iyer FCIArb is the founder of Swan Chambers and works with other barrister within her networks when and if the client’s needs require it, particularly leading KC’s and other experts.

She is a qualified practising barrister, called to the Bar of England and Wales in 1998 and completed pupillages in commercial (domestic and international practice) and chancery law in October 2002. She is also an accredited tutor for the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.

Kevin Nash is the Director General of the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA). The director general fulfils the role of chief executive officer, with day-to-day responsibility for the conduct of the business of the LCIA, serves as the principal point of contact between the institution and its board and court, and represents the LCIA on the international stage.

Kevin joined the LCIA after 13 years in Singapore where he served as the registrar of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC). In this capacity, Kevin led the 25-member secretariat in the administration of thousands of international cases under all versions of the SIAC Rules and the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules. As registrar, Kevin advised the President and the SIAC Court of Arbitration, and took decisions on, procedural applications under the SIAC Rules, the appointment of arbitrators, and he was responsible for the review and approval of all awards issued in SIAC arbitrations.

Kevin also led the drafting on the SIAC Rules 2016, SIAC Investment Arbitration Rules 2017, and SIAC Rules 2025.