Arbitration analysis: A New York federal judge confirmed on 21 April 2023 an International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) arbitral award against an athletics marketing company and its owner for violating an agreement with a Polish organisation to bring Shaquille O’Neal to Warsaw for celebrations of Poland’s 100th anniversary of independence, finding the award properly issued despite O’Neal’s representatives’ claim that the Polish organisation agreed to forfeit a US$149,000 deposit.

Law360: The latter half of 2024 is shaping up to be a busy one in international arbitration, as practitioners await decisions on the enforceability of intra-EU arbitral awards in the US and on whether Russia must face efforts to enforce US$50bn in arbitral awards against it, along with the culmination of a nearly decadelong dispute to enforce a US$1.2bn arbitral award against Venezuela and ongoing efforts to enforce a massive US$15bn award against Malaysia.

Arbitration analysis: The Ninth Circuit held that the arbitration exception to foreign sovereign immunity gave the federal courts subject matter jurisdiction to confirm a New York Convention award against an Indian state-owned corporation, without any additional requirement for a commercial nexus with the US. Assuming without deciding that Fifth Amendment protections applied, personal jurisdiction was reasonable. The court also held, as a matter of first impression in the circuit, that forum non conveniens is unavailable in New York Convention confirmation proceedings. The decision materially limits jurisdictional and forum-based objections to enforcement, while leaving certain constitutional questions and the effect of the subsequent Indian set-aside proceedings unresolved. Produced in partnership with Akin M. Alcitepe Partner at Rimon Law.

Law360 : Generative artificial intelligence platforms (ranging from ChatGPT to more specialised legal tools) have numerous applications in the legal profession.

Law360: The DC Circuit has affirmed the enforcement of approximately US$440m of arbitral awards against Zimbabwe that were issued to a Swiss-German family and two forestry and sawmill companies, agreeing with a lower court that the country waived its sovereign immunity in the land dispute.

The US Department of the Treasury (USDT) has published an analysis on the impact of the second phase of price cap on Russian Oil. The USDT has observed three key themes, including that the price of the oil Russia sellers has declined since the second phase began; energy market participants and analysts have linked the rising discount on Russian oil to the Coalition’s increased enforcement activities; and that Russian oil export volumes have remained stable in recent months.

Law360: The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on Monday 12 February 2024 issued guidance on how it will determine whether inventions developed with the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) can be patented, explaining that a human must have made a ‘significant contribution.’

Law360: Members of the UK's largest private pension scheme have had their benefits restored in full, a union has said, marking the end of a two-year dispute over a controversial 35% cut for members.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) has announced that Ambassador Jamieson Greer has issued a statement confirming that the US will allow preferential duty access for whiskey produced in the UK as part of the ongoing implementation of the US–UK Economic Prosperity Deal (EPD).

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) has announced a review of foreign trade practices, conducted in accordance with sections 2(c) and 3(c) of the recently signed Presidential Memorandum ‘America First Trade Policy'. The review seeks to identify practices that may be deemed unfair to the US, including those that are potentially unreasonable or discriminatory, and could restrict US commerce.

Law360, London: 60 economies are facing added tariffs of either 10% or 12.5% on their exports to the US following investigations by the US Trade Representative's (USTR) Office into countries' protections against the importing of goods produced with forced labour.

MLex: The Trump administration on 11 March 2026 launched a major section 301 trade investigation into several of the world's largest economies including China, the EU, South Korea, Japan and India.