James Berger litigates complex commercial disputes before state and federal courts and arbitral tribunals, with a focus on cross-border disputes and matters involving state-owned enterprises and sovereigns. He has significant expertise in matters arising under the Convention on Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, and other statutes having particular application in international disputes.

Recent Representative Matters:

Frontera Resources Azerbaijan Corp. v. SOCAR. Successfully represented U.S. oil company in district court and appellate proceedings to enforce international arbitration award against Azeri state-owned oil company, and prevailed on Second Circuit appeal involving matters of first impression under U.S. Constitution, Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, and New York Convention. (2005-2009)

Silverman v. China National Native Produce & Animal By-Products Corp. Successfully defended judgment enforcement proceedings brought against two Chinese state-owned enterprises, ultimately winning vacatur of judgment and dismissal of underlying complaint on jurisdictional grounds. (2006-2010)

Karaha Bodas Co. v. Pertamina. Successfully represented Cayman Islands-based energy exploration firm in successful campaign to enforce and execute $261 million UNCITRAL arbitration award against Indoneisan state oil company. Principal author of briefs submitted to District Court, Second Circuit, and U.S. Supreme Court. Coordinate and supervise related litigation in Texas, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia, and Cayman Islands. (2003-present)

Textron Inc. v. ArcelorMittal. Represented U.S. company in successful Paris-based I.C.C. arbitration concerning post-acquisition dispute with Brazilian manufacturer, as well as U.S. proceedings to enforce arbitral award. (2007-2010)

Confidential Investigation. Represented Cayman Islands financial services provider in connection with multilateral investigation of various securities and tax issues. Advised client on various issues arising under U.S. and international law. (2006-2009)

Attentus et al. v. UBS Securities. Successfully defended investment bank in $50 million dispute concerning terminated securitization transaction; case dismissed on pleadings. (2007-2008)

El-Hadad v. United Arab Emirates. Successfully represented United Arab Emirates in federal judgment enforcement proceedings. (2007-2008)

Mr. Berger is admitted to practice in New York and the District of Columbia. He is a member of the bars of the United States Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and the United States District Courts for the District of Columbia and the Southern, Eastern, and Western Districts of New York. He is a member of the Litigation and International Law Sections of the American Bar Association, and currently represents the International Litigation and International Arbitration Committees on the Section of International Law’s Steering Committee. He is also a member of the International Law Committee of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, where he serves as Chairman of the International Arbitration Subcommittee, and serves as a Director of the Association for Conflict Resolution of Greater New York.

Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Berger served as counsel and acting deputy director of the New York City Mayor’s Office of City Legislative Affairs. Upon his graduation from law school, Mr. Berger served as law clerk to the Honorable W. Thomas Rosemond, Jr. of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. He is a 1993 graduate of Fordham University School of Law, where he served as Writing and Research Editor of the Fordham Urban Law Journal. He received a B.A. in 1989 from George Washington University.

Mr. Berger writes and speaks regularly on international dispute resolution topics. During 2010 he has served as a guest lecturer on international commercial arbitration at Renmin University of China School of Law in Beijing, as a panelist at a forum on international practice sponsored by the Columbia Journal of Transnational Law, and as a presiding arbitrator in the Willem C. Vis International Moot Arbitration Competition in Hong Kong. Other recent speaking engagements and publications have included:

Recent Speaking Engagements:

Elements of International Commercial Arbitration, Association for Conflict Resolution of Greater New York, Benjamin Cardozo School of Law, New York, New York (June 2010)

Foreign and International Law in U.S. Courts: How to Find the Law and Prove Your Case, Association of the Bar of the City of New York, New York, New York (Jan. 2010)

Ethical Considerations in Contesting International Arbitration Awards, Union Internationale de Advocats/American Bar Association, St. Christoph, Austria (Mar. 2009)

Practical Issues in Cross-Border Litigation, Union Internationale de Advocats/American Bar Association, Vail, Colorado (Feb. 2008)

The Need for Legal Excellence Among Arbitrators, Association for Conflict Resolution of Greater New York, Benjamin Cardozo School of Law, New York, New York (Jun. 2007)

Recent Publications:

International Jurisdictional Standoffs and Foreign Antisuit Injunctions, American Bar Association International Litigation Quarterly, vol. 26, no. 2 (Spring 2010)

The Evolution of Judicial Review Under the Federal Arbitration Act, 5 N.Y.U. Journal of Law & Business 745 (Fall 2009).

Enforcement Against Assets of State-Owned Companies, in Doak R. Bishop, ed., Enforcement of Arbitral Awards Against Sovereigns, Chp. 9 (Juris Publishing, Summer 2009).

Arbitration and Litigation in the U.S. Against State-Owned Oil Companies, in The Institute for Energy Law of The Center for American and International Law's 56th Annual Institute on Oil & Gas Law, Chp. 10 (Matthew Bender & Company, 2007).

Recent Developments in Karaha Bodas v. Pertamina, The Institute for Transnational Arbitration, (Spring 2003).