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Tony Cole Esq. FCIArb
Commercial Arbitrator

Over 20 Years of Experience in Commercial Disputes

Multi-Jurisdictional Arbitration Knowledge

With over two decades of experience in arbitration, I serve as an arbitrator in both international and domestic commercial arbitrations, based in the United Kingdom but providing my services to parties worldwide. My work combines a thorough technical expertise in arbitration with a truly international perspective, built through extensive professional and academic work across multiple jurisdictions and legal systems. I also maintain an active scholarly engagement with emerging areas of law, particularly artificial intelligence and space law, ensuring that my practice remains connected with the legal and practical developments that increasingly impact commercial relationships.

My career has spanned a wide spectrum of commercial arbitration, from my foundation as an associate in the New York office of White & Case, through my role as external counsel to a Swiss international arbitration boutique, to my current positions as an independent arbitrator since 2016 and as an academic focused on research and teaching related to arbitration. This progression has provided me with an insight into arbitration from multiple perspectives, from parties to counsel to courts, an experience that I draw on when matching an arbitration's procedure with the arbitration agreement, the applicable laws, the parties' backgrounds, and the need for procedural efficiency without compromising the enforceability of the award.

Licensed to practice law in New York, holding dual Australian-British nationality, and with experience applying the substantive law of multiple jurisdictions, I bring a strong cross-jurisdictional expertise to resolving commercial disputes. This practical experience is supplemented by my academic research, which has included work on on arbitration across Europe (including every country eligible to join the Council of Europe), the Americas (North, South, and the Caribbean), as well as Egypt, Japan and India. This wide-ranging understanding of both arbitration law and practice, and the cultural contexts important to commercial transactions, enables me to focus on the specifics of the dispute before me, rather than applying a pre-decided procedure to every case.

I offer my arbitrator services through a dual-pathway approach, applied flexibly to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of each arbitration. For matters involving U.S. parties or law firms, I provide services through JAMS, one of America's premier arbitration institutions, with which I have maintained an affiliation since 2018. For arbitrations not tied to the U.S. market in this way, I offer my services independently, or collaborate with JAMS when parties specifically request such an arrangement. This two-pathway approach gives me the flexibility to tailor my services according to the needs of each arbitration, adjusting my support levels and cost structures to align with the complexity of the case and with local market expectations.