On April 23, an annual Litigation Forum organized by Pravo.ru, a leading Russian legal news outlet, was held in Moscow. Experienced lawyers and litigators discussed the complexities of mediation and shared advice on how to win lawsuits.

Anthony Walker, a Partner at the Rybalkin, Gortsunyan, Dyakin and Partners law firm (RGD) and Head of the English Law Practice, spoke on the panel "Uncharted Lands and ‘Overseas’ Colleagues" related to agreements to arbitrate and current issues affecting Russian parties.

Anthony spoke in recent English case law and other legal developments affecting arbitration agreements, including on (1) the governing law of the agreement to arbitrate, (2) practical issues when electing to exercise an option to arbitrate and (3) the recent decision in Unicredit v RusChemAliianz. The panel also actively debated how pre-arbitral mediation should be approached and the consequences of a party refusing to participate.

"Each jurisdiction has its own pitfalls; we discussed the different approaches of the East and the West in the context of Russian reality," comments Anthony Walker. "To come to victory in court, perseverance and experience alone are sometimes not enough. Therefore, we must expand our skills and boundaries, and such events help us to keep a finger on the pulse."