NERA Economic Consulting is delighted to support Paris Arbitration Week 2021 (PAW), which will take place virtually 20–24 September. In its fifth edition, PAW will bring together the international arbitration community during a week of professional and academic debates with over 35 official events and 1,000 participants from all over the world
As part of PAW, Augusta Ventures Investment Manager Clara Segurola will moderate a virtual round-table discussion on hot topics in the quantification of damages, along with NERA former Associate Director Erin B. McHugh and Associate Director Robert Patton, Volterra Fietta Partner Graham Coop, and Morrison & Foerster LLP Partner Chiraag Shah.
The complimentary webinar will take place on Tuesday, 21 September, at 16.30 CEST. The panel’s leading practitioners will explore key issues relevant to quantifying damages, focusing on the challenge of gaining tribunals’ acceptance of potentially novel-seeming methodologies. Topics will include:
- Trends in the valuation methods that tend to prevail in arbitrations;
- The use of “event studies” to assess quantum;
- Quantifying country risk and incorporating it into quantum estimates; and
- Pros and cons of sharing interactive models with tribunals for calculating “customized” quantum estimates.
Moderator
Clara Segurola is an Investment Manager at Augusta Ventures, a litigation funder, where she is responsible for assessing the economic and quantum aspects of cases considered for funding. She is a financial economist with more than 15 years of professional experience and, prior to joining Augusta, worked as Associate Director for NERA Economic Consulting, where she specialized in assessing and quantifying damages in international disputes. Ms. Segurola’s work in commercial and investment disputes has covered a broad range of industries, including utilities, energy, transport, infrastructure, financial services, consumer goods, IT services, manufacturing, and distribution across different geographies.
Speakers
Erin B. McHugh is a former Associate Director in NERA’s Securities and Finance Practice and International Arbitration Practice. She has over 10 years of experience managing projects globally in the areas of economics, finance, and valuation. Ms. McHugh has consulted on litigation and arbitration matters in various venues, including US federal and state courts, US domestic and international arbitration forums, and UK High Court, as well as on internal and regulatory investigations. She has also provided testimony as an expert witness. Ms. McHugh has extensive experience estimating alleged damages in matters involving alleged breach of contract or investment treaty and in the valuation of financial products.
Robert Patton is an Associate Director in NERA’s Securities and Finance Practice. He provides advice and testimony in the areas of economics, finance, and valuation in the context of litigation, international arbitration, and regulatory enforcement. Mr. Patton has submitted expert evidence in English High Court and Ontario Superior Court. He has directed analyses of damages and has assisted in preparing expert reports for submission to English High Court, Canadian provincial courts, Irish Commercial Court, US federal and state courts, the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands, and international arbitration venues.
Chiraag Shah is a Partner in the London disputes team at Morrison & Foerster LLP. Mr. Shah has over 15 years of experience representing clients in institutional, ad hoc, and treaty arbitrations around the world, including in arbitrations involving state entities. Mr. Shah also conducts commercial litigation matters before the English courts and advises clients on white-collar, fraud, and corruption issues. He is dual-qualified (Kenya and England and Wales) and has represented clients in numerous disputes in Africa across a range of sectors.
Graham Coop is a Partner at Volterra Fietta. He is qualified as a barrister and solicitor in New Zealand and as a solicitor with higher rights of audience (Civil) in England and Wales. He advises and represents companies, governments, and international organizations on international dispute resolution and public international law, with a focus on the energy, natural resources, and infrastructure sectors, together with environmental, banking, and defense issues. He advises sovereign clients and energy companies on jurisdictional immunities issues under public international law, including in the context of judicial proceedings before European courts.
