Sweeting, Russell James

Rachael Kent is a partner in the firm's Litigation/Controversy Department, and a vice chair of the International Arbitration Practice Group. She joined the firm in 1998.

Practice

Ms. Kent represents clients in a wide variety of commercial disputes in arbitration proceedings, under numerous substantive and procedural governing laws. Her experience includes ad hoc and institutional arbitrations, sited in both common law and civil law jurisdictions, including Bermuda, Geneva, Hong Kong, London, New York, Paris, Vienna and Zurich.

Ms. Kent also has experience with the taking of evidence in foreign jurisdictions in connection with international litigation and arbitration proceedings. Ms. Kent is now resident in the firm's Washington, DC office. She previously spent five years based in the firm's London office.

Recent Highlights

Ms. Kent currently represents a large European telecommunications company in arbitrations sited in Vienna involving the ownership of an Eastern European joint venture company; a leading US insurance company in an ad hoc arbitration sited in Bermuda under excess coverage policies; a leading manufacturing company in an ad hoc arbitration sited in London involving disputes under a manufacturing supply agreement; a major global manufacturing company in a HKIAC arbitration of an M&A dispute sited in Hong Kong; and a leading manufacturing company in an ICC arbitration sited in Zurich involving an alleged breach of an intellectual property license. In addition, Ms. Kent has represented clients in proceedings under the Hague Convention on the Taking of Evidence Abroad and in response to letters rogatory requests for judicial assistance.

Honors and Awards

• Recognized as a national leader in the international arbitration field in the 2010 and 2011 editions of Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers in Business
• Recommended in the Euromoney Guide to the World's Leading Experts in International Arbitration and Global Arbitration Review’s Who’s Who in International Arbitration
• Selected by peers for inclusion in the 2012 edition of The Best Lawyers in America in the practice area of International Arbitration
• Recognized as a leading practitioner in Expert Guides' 2010 edition of Guide to the World's Leading Women in Business Law
• Recognized by her peers as one of the world's leading experts in commercial arbitration in Legal Media Group's The Best of the Best

Professional Activities

Ms. Kent teaches International Commercial Arbitration at the Duke University School of Law, and she has taught at the Pepperdine University School of Law, London program. She frequently speaks and writes on topics related to international arbitration.