On 13 February 2025, the DIS Industry Group Technology, co-chaired by Kathrin Asschenfeldt and David Tebel, held its inaugural event themed “Defining Technology Disputes”.
The event took place at the offices of Baker McKenzie in Frankfurt am Main and was well-attended by interested arbitration practitioners and in-house counsel from tech companies. After a warm welcome from DIS General Secretary Ramona Schardt, the panel discussion covered a wide range of aspects, in particular the characteristics of technology disputes and what is required to resolve them effectively and efficiently.
Aija Lejniece, independent legal counsel and arbitrator based in Paris, focused on her views and experiences in handling crypto disputes; Christoph Gramlich-Altenburg, head of Legal Telecom Infrastructure at VINCI Energies / Axians based in Frankfurt, spoke about IT and software-related disputes and Eric Leikin, partner at Freshfields based in Vienna, reported on M&A disputes in the technology sector.
The most prominent common denominator was that it is crucial for the efficient and effective resolution of tech disputes that adjudicators and counsel have a firm grasp of the technical underpinnings of the dispute. Whereas factors like expedience and confidentiality are of varying importance for different types of tech disputes, technical expertise is always key.
The discussion was followed by a brunch hosted by Baker McKenzie and further networking opportunities.
David Tebel