Personal bio
ARBITRATION EXPERIENCE Shahla Ali, recognized as a “well known international arbitration practitioner” is Professor and Associate Dean and Director of the Program in Arbitration and Dispute Resolution at the University of Hong Kong’s Faculty of Law. She serves as a bilingual arbitrator (English/Chinese) with the UN Funds and Programs, HKIAC, KCAB, THAC, CIETAC, SCIA, SHAC and mediation/neutral with the World Bank/IFC, Energy Community and HKMAAL. She has been described by parties as an “excellent” arbitrator having served on more than 40 ad hoc and institutional arbitrations and administrative tribunals as tribunal chair, co-arbitrator and sole arbitrator and panelists under the UNCITRAL, HKIAC, HKAO and CIETAC rules. She has studied and practiced in China, Hong Kong, Israel, the US and speaks English, Chinese and Farsi. In addition to her Asia-Pacific experience, Shahla worked as an attorney with Baker & McKenzie in its San Francisco office where she focused on international trade, corporate transactions and regulatory compliance. She is the author or co-editor of 9 books, and more than 50 articles and chapters in the area of cross border dispute resolution. Internationally, she has consulted with USAID, IFC/World Bank and the UN on access to justice, peace process negotiation, arbitration reform and served as a delegate to UNCITRAL’s WG II, and IBA’s Working Group on Investor State Mediation Rules. Regionally, she has served as a member of the Department of Justice’s Mediation Regulatory Framework Sub-Committee, the Financial Dispute Resolution Appointments Committee, HKIAC’s Women in International Arbitration Committee, and the Executive Committee of the Asia-Pacific Mediation Forum SELECTED ARBITRATION CASE EXPERIENCE • Co-arbitrator in a USD 15 million share agreement dispute between China, US, BVI, HK entities under the UNCITRAL rules, HKIAC • Presiding sole arbitrator in a UNCITRAL CISG trade dispute between China and US parties, HKIAC • Arbitration panel member in a FINRA USD 6.5mil securities dispute. • Co-arbitrator in a USD 200,000 CISG manufacturing dispute between Dutch and Chinese entities, CIETAC, Hong Kong (in Mandarin) • Co-arbitrator in a USD 950,000 million trust dispute involving allegations of breach of duty and unsuitability, FINRA • Presiding arbitrator in a 2013 dispute regarding domain name rights to ican.com, HKIAC, Hong Kong • Presiding arbitrator in several disputes regarding domain name rights to whirlpoolchina.com, tvb22.com, rimowasales.com and paulsmith-france.com, HKIAC, Hong Kong (in Mandarin Chinese) • Co-arbitrator in a dispute involving domain name rights to teenee.com, CIETAC, Beijing (in Mandarin Chinese) • Co-arbitrator in an expungement case, FINRA, San Francisco SPECIALIZATION • Commercial/Sale of Goods • Trade/Finance • Securities • Community/Investor • IP; Domain Name EDUCATION PhD/JD, Jurisprudence & Social Policy, UC Berkeley BA, International Relations/ Chinese, Stanford University