Camilla Gambarini elected as Young ICCA Co-chair
We are pleased to announce that London-based Italian national Camilla Gambarini has been elected as the next Young ICCA Co-chair.
Camilla greeted the news of her election with great enthusiasm, saying “I am truly honoured to have received the support of many Young ICCA members to be the new Co-chair. I look forward to working with my fellow Co-chairs and the wonderful Young ICCA team to foster the organization's mission and continue having an impact on young arbitration practitioners around the world."
She will serve as Co-chair alongside Nhu-Hoang Tran Thang and Tolu Obamuroh, whose terms end in January 2019 and June 2019 respectively.
The two candidates up for election were Camilla and New York-based Canadian national Hinda Rabkin. We’d like to take this opportunity to congratulate both Camilla and Hinda for being the top two candidates and to thank them for participating in this year’s elections.
Camilla will take office immediately, succeeding current co-chair Gardar Gunnarsson. We’d like to thank Gardar for his contribution to Young ICCA over the past two years and we wish him well in all his future endeavours.
The next half of 2018 promises to be a busy and productive time for Young ICCA. We encourage all our members to keep a lookout for Skills Training Workshops in your regions and, if any of you are interested in the Young ICCA Mentoring Programme, to keep an eye on the website for details about the next cycle of the Programme.
Interested in getting to know the new Co-chair? Please view her profile below.
Camilla Gambarini
Age: 33
Hometown: Brescia, Italy
Current City: London, United Kingdom
Current Employer: Withers LLP
Education: LL.M., Columbia Law School, New York City (2014); Master in International Law, The Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva (2011); Laurea Magistrale in Giurisprudenza, Catholic University of Milan, Milan (2009)
How did you get involved in international arbitration? I took my first international arbitration course with Professor Luca Radicati di Brozolo at the Catholic University of Milan in 2008. I soon understood that this was the kind of law that I wanted to practise because it combines many of my interests: foreign languages, international relations, politics, economics, public international law, comparative law, and the opportunity to meet people from different regions and backgrounds. You never get bored of international arbitration.
What is your favourite virtue? Humility
What are your favourite qualities in another person? Humility, honesty, open mindedness and sense of humour
What is your chief characteristic? Determination
What is your main fault? Impatience, but I am learning to take a deep breath.
What is your favourite occupation? Arbitration aside, having done ballet for twelve years, I love watching musicals and ballets. I appreciate the qualities needed to take a successful show to stage: creativity, dedication, commitment, passion, and teamwork.
What is your idea of happiness? A summer day spent with my loved ones at the seaside: blue sky and shining sun, breeze through olive trees and palms, perfume of gardenias, good food…
What is your idea of misery? Life in isolation. I could not be happy without my family and friends.
If not yourself, who would you be? I would probably be an investigative journalist, bringing the truth to the public.
Where would you like to live? London with Mediterranean climate.
Who is your favourite prose author? Francis Scott Fitzgerald.
Who is your favourite hero/heroine in fiction? The real star of Harry Potter: Hermione Granger.
Who is your hero in real life? Nelson Mandela, for having committed himself to obtain equality for everyone in his country.
What historical person do you most dislike? Benito Mussolini is probably at the top of my list.
What is your favourite name? Alexander for boys and Caroline for girls.
What do you hate the most? It may be a cliché, but I hate bad-tasting espresso.
What is your natural talent? I think I am good at listening to people and bringing out the best in them.
What is your favourite arbitration-related decision? Saipem v Bangladesh (ICSID Case No ARB/05/07), still an important case on domestic courts’ abuse of rights.
Who is your favourite arbitrator? One of the fathers of international arbitration, Pierre Lalive.
Who is your mentor? I am lucky to have studied and worked with brilliant arbitration lawyers who have had a strong impact on me. Over the last years, Viren Mascarenhas – one of my professors of international commercial arbitration at Columbia Law School – has been, and still is, a great source of inspiration and guidance.
What is your motto? A simple, yet powerful one: “to lead people, walk behind them” (Lao Tzu).
What do you hope to contribute to Young ICCA? I have a long story with Young ICCA, from having attended several Skills Training Workshops, participated in the mentoring programme as a mentee, to become an events coordinator and Global Events Director.
Young ICCA has given a lot to me, and it is the sense of being part of Young ICCA’s community that motivates me to "give back". I would like to engage with my colleagues at Young ICCA to bring the association to the next level, increasing our impact on young practitioners around the world. For example, I hope to develop the following projects with the team:
1) Bearing in mind the importance of oral advocacy, we introduced the “mock case” format last year. I would like to introduce a new mock case on cross examination of quantum experts and a specific workshop on damages.
2) I would like to organise a Young ICCA online competition on drafting witness statements. Participants will send questions to the factual witness in advance of the interview which will be available online.
3) It is difficult for young practitioners coming from emerging markets to travel to major arbitration hubs to attend arbitration courses. I hope to be able to organise cost-free Young ICCA training weekends / longer courses across Africa, Asia and the Americas.
4) Finally, I hope to increase the number of scholarships to attend a master’s degree in international arbitration in top schools.