Arbitration: Practice and Challenges

Title: Arbitration: Practice and Challenges

Speaker: Gillian Carmichael Lemaire, Chair of the Board of the Scottish Arbitration Centre.

Date and time: Thu, 9th April 2026 14:00 - 15:00

Location: Teaching Room 01, Old College, University of Edinburgh, and Online; The online (Teams) meeting link will be sent to those who would like to join online.

About the event:

Arbitration is a well-established mechanism for dispute resolution, particularly in the context of international commercial and investment disputes. It has also developed into a specialised professional field and offers a range of career opportunities, particularly for legal practitioners. Numerous domestic and international arbitral institutions operate worldwide, and the United Kingdom is widely regarded as one of the most attractive seats for international commercial arbitration.

Our speaker, Gillian Carmichael Lemaire, who has extensive experience and expertise in this field, will discuss international commercial arbitration and some of the challenges currently facing the practice. She will also reflect on arbitration practice in Scotland and the work of the Scottish Arbitration Centre, as well as career opportunities in arbitration. The presentation will be followed by an open discussion, questions, and networking.

This event is hosted by the Edinburgh Commercial Law PGR Reading Group and aims to promote research engagement and impact while fostering dialogue between academic research and professional practice.

About the speaker

Gillian Carmichael Lemaire (FCIArb) is an arbitrator and mediator at Carmichael Lemaire Ltd, working in the UK and internationally. She is a Fellow of the Law Society of Scotland, an Honorary avocate at the Paris Bar, and Chair of the Board of the Scottish Arbitration Centre.

Gillian started out as a litigator in Glasgow. She then spent most of her career in Paris and London in commercial and investor-State arbitration (and, in the last decade, mediation), including partner roles in international law firms. Her experience is mainly in the construction and infrastructure, environmental and energy, and commercial and corporate sectors, with a particular focus on complex projects and disputes involving public/private partnerships. She has worked on disputes worldwide, especially in Scotland, France, England, the Middle East and Africa. She is committed to raising awareness of the benefits of mediation as a key process for addressing many environmental and climate-related disputes. She is a signatory of the Campaign for Greener Arbitrations Pledge and the Mediators Green Pledge and is a member of the UK Environmental Law Association.

Gillian serves on the Advisory Council to the Board of ArbitralWomen and teaches international arbitration to graduate students at the University of Aberdeen. She is a volunteer mediator for Smile Mediation (Resolve UK). Whenever there is an opportunity, she enjoys helping disputants manage and resolve conflict through walking. Find out more about the speaker.

Note: refreshments will be provided.

Feel free to contact the convenor, Amanullah Ahmadzai, at ([email protected]) or ([email protected]) if you have any questions.

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