Arbitration & ADR Committee (International)

Co-Chairs

Italo Martins

Executive Director CM&A

As Founder and President of CM&A, I oversee an international team of over 40 people. Under my supervision, CM&A has provided several first-of-their-kind courses on mergers and acquisitions which have over 230 thousand views on YouTube. It is the first think tank dedicated to mergers and acquisitions in Brazil and the largest in Latin America, promoting studies and production of content in partnership with several law firms and investment banks. CM&A Insights, the think tank’s blog, has circa 6 thousand monthly readers.

By appointment of the Executive Committee of the New York State Bar Association’s International Section, I am the Co-Chair and Member of the Steering Committee of its Brazil Chapter. I also serve as Co-General Editor of Thomson Reuters’ Corporate Law and M&A Review.

I have a Bachelor’s degree in Law from the University of São Paulo and I am an Associate at Mannheimer, Perez e Lyra Advogados, a renowned Arbitration and Litigation practice in Brazil. I have experience with proceedings under the ICC, CAM-CCBC, CAM B3, CIESP-FIESP, CAMARB, and CAESP arbitration rules, particularly in disputes concerning M&A transactions, corporate law, complex contracts, and insurance policies/adjustments. I also have experience with securities litigation and receivable investment funds in Brazil, as well as multi-jurisdictional cases, specially those involving discovery under 28 U.S. Code § 1782

Mohamed F. Sweify

Counsel, Whiteford, Taylor & Preston LLP

Mr. Sweify is an international arbitration practitioner and New York litigator, with more than a decade and a half of experience representing clients in international arbitration, complex litigation and alternative dispute resolution involving complex domestic, cross-border and international transactions. A bilingual, dual-qualified attorney in both common and civil law jurisdictions, his international arbitration practice is global in scope, with particular emphasis on disputes connected to the Middle East and Africa.

Mr. Sweify has represented and advised several corporations and individuals in commercial arbitrations before tribunals seated in different jurisdictions in arbitration proceedings administered under the auspices of the AAA/ICDR (USA), the ICC (France), JAMS (USA), the LCIA (UK), the SCCA (Saudi), DIAC (Dubai/UAE), CRCICA (Egypt), the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules, and subject to different governing laws in the U.S., Europe, and the Arab Middle East. He has also advised and represented clients in investor-state disputes before the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), including advising on third-party funding arrangements for ICSID claims. His arbitration-related court work encompasses parallel proceedings, anti-suit injunctions, international discovery, attachment of assets, and the annulment and enforcement of arbitral awards.

Beyond his role as counsel, Mr. Sweify serves as a sole, party-appointed, and presiding arbitrator in complex commercial disputes under major arbitral rules, applying a diverse array of governing laws, including the laws of Delaware, New York, California, England and Wales, Egypt, Saudi, UAE, Kuwait, U.S. federal laws and others.

Mr. Sweify’ s practice spans a wide range of sectors and practices, including commercial, financial and investment disputes; construction, engineering and infrastructure; banking and finance; creditor-debtor relationships; oil and gas; energy and mining; environment; private equity and private funds; telecommunications and technology, including interconnection and access agreements, and fair competition; hospitality and hotel management; exclusivity, non-compete and confidentiality covenants; intellectual property; securities; shareholder and partnership; joint ventures; lenders-related disputes; mortgage-servicing relations; Islamic financial laws; data privacy and AI; foreign direct investments; state instrumentalities; cybersecurity; fintech and e-commerce platforms; cryptocurrency and digital assets; mergers & acquisitions; real estate and property development projects; and insurance and reinsurance. He regularly appears before U.S. federal and state courts, including New York appellate courts. Early in his career, Mr. Sweify served as a judicial extern at the New York Court of Appeals, the highest court in the State of New York.

Mr. Sweify lectures on law at Fordham Law School and other U.S. universities. He has an extensive list of publication in international arbitration, including an internationally acclaimed book on “Third Party Funding in International Arbitration,” which has become a seminal reference in the international arbitration field. He previously served as a public prosecutor in Egypt, where he handled high-profile governmental corruption and white-collar crime investigations.

Mr. Sweify is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb). He has been appointed as a Delegate of the ICC Commission on Arbitration and is considered one of the youngest arbitrators in the history of the AAA/ICDR to be listed on the AAA/ICDR National Roster of Arbitrators. Currently, Mr. Sweify serves as the Secretary General of the International Section of the New York State Bar Association.