20 Essex St hires veteran US arbitrator

A leading US arbitrator and former White & Case partner is joining 20 Essex Street Chambers as an international associate tenant.

Judge Charles Brower, whose career has spanned more than 40 years, has worked mainly in the oil and gas sectors, on infrastructure projects and investment disputes.

Around 95 per cent of his practice involves arbitration, and his public law and international dispute resolution expertise will be an invaluable transatlantic link.

Despite joining as an associate tenant, Brower emphasises that he will not be a token member of the chambers. "I will principally be available to appear as counsel or sit as an arbitrator, but will also accept advisory work. I will have an active working role and will not simply be a door-tenant," he says.

Brower has been sitting as a part-time judge since 1983 on the Iran-US Claims Tribunal in The Hague. For a short period in 1987 he was deputy special counsellor to former US president Ronald Reagan in 1987.