About
Marco Schönborn is an expert in energy markets, regulation, and infrastructure. He believes that the application of economic first principles is the best guide in identifying solutions to the complex problems of today's energy sector. Mr. Schönborn provides expert testimony and helps clients navigate complex commercial arbitration and litigation involving contractual disputes and antitrust matters. He provides advice to industry players, utilities, and investors pertaining to regulation and how markets work. While his focus is on the energy sector, he works in many other industries as well. Mr. Schönborn is fluent in five languages and supports clients in both Western and Eastern Europe, as well as Latin America.
Mr. Schönborn's approach to helping his clients is to identify and understand the key issues, then develop a firm response based on sound economics. He has helped arbitral tribunals understand changes to gas markets and draw relevant implications for long-term contracts to ultimately render an award in favor of his client. Mr. Schönborn has also supported investors in their due diligence of gas and electricity networks, leading to a successful acquisition by helping them understand the pertinent regulation in detail, and by identifying the key value drivers, risks, and opportunities.
Mr. Schönborn provides expertise to clients, helping them respond to challenges related to competition, market design, liberalization, and deregulation. For example, he has supported international financial institutions and governments, as well as incumbents, in the context of market openings by devising pricing that reflects competitive conditions and meets defined regulatory criteria. He has also looked at the stranding risks of gas assets and the opportunities connected with hydrogen developments.
Who’s Who Legal has recognized Mr. Schönborn as the top of his generation in the arbitration future leader series (2023–2024).
Prior to joining NERA, Mr. Schönborn taught courses in microeconomics at the London School of Economics and worked as a Research Assistant at the Centre for Economic Performance (CEP) in London. Mr. Schönborn's prior teaching and research experience have uniquely situated him to develop a deep understanding of economic principles and deliver clear and concise reports to clients, making complex concepts and terminology easy to understand.
Education
- MSc in economics and philosophy, London School of Economics
- BSc in economics, University of Birmingham
Languages
- French
- German
- Italian
- Spanish
Highlights
In Who’s Who Legal: Arbitration Future Leader 2024, Mr. Schönborn’s clients recognized:
- He “is brilliant, approachable and easy to work with;”
- “He produces great expert reports and very good in oral hearings presenting and defending his expert position;” and
- “He identifies problems quickly and ensures practice-orientated, scientifically based solutions.”