About
Erica Stein is an independent arbitrator acting in international commercial and investment arbitrations.
Erica’s broad work experience in all aspects of arbitral practice (as arbitrator, counsel, and at leading arbitral institutions) makes her a versatile arbitrator. She can find the right approach to manage each case and situation in a balanced yet decisive manner. Having studied and worked in both common and civil law jurisdictions, Erica is comfortable running procedures incorporating either or both legal traditions. What matters to Erica is resolving disputes efficiently by adapting the procedure to what the parties want, the nature of the case, and the applicable legal and procedural framework.
A national of the United States and Belgium, Erica is fluent in English, French, Spanish, and German, and can run proceedings in each of those languages. She is also conversant in Dutch and Italian.
Erica is a member of the New York and Brussels bars.
Professional Activities
Erica currently serves as Vice President of the DIS Arbitration Council (German Arbitration Institute) and Co-Chair of the IBA Investment Arbitration Subcommittee. Erica is also the previous Co-Chair of the IBA Arbitration Guidelines and Rules Subcommittee, during which tenure she led the IBA Task Force on the Revision of the 2014 Guidelines on Conflicts of Interest and the IBA Task Force on Privilege in International Arbitration.
Erica represents Belgium at the ICC Commission on Arbitration and ADR and serves on the Academic Committee of the CEPANI (the Belgian Centre for Arbitration and Mediation) and the Editorial Board of b-Arbitra, the Belgian Review of Arbitration (Wolters Kluwer).
In addition, Erica served for six years on the Standing Committee of the ICC International Centre for ADR, four of which as Vice President.
Erica has been a Visiting Senior Fellow at the law faculty of the National University of Singapore, where she has lectured on the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Arbitral Awards. She has also given lectures on the subject at the MIDS (Geneva LL.M. in International Dispute Settlement).
Erica has been selected to numerous panels of arbitrators. She is a member of the ICSID Panel of Arbitrators, appointed by the President of the World Bank. She is also included, among others, in the global list of arbitrators of the Office of the Ombudsman for United Nations Funds and Programmes, and in the list of individuals suitable for appointment as arbitrator in bilateral disputes under the European Union’s trade agreements with third countries.
Accolades
Recognized by peers as an expert for her broad work experience in all aspects of arbitral practice, Erica has been selected among the Who's Who Legal : Arbitration since 2012, denoted as a Global Leader and Thought Leader. Erica is also selected in Best Lawyers : France and Best Lawyers : International Arbitration & Mediation and recommended by The Legal 500 EMEA.
Erica has garnered praise for her “incisive and insightful comments ” and “strategic acumen ”, and because “she is very good at what she does ”. She has also been described as a lawyer with “an amazing mind for investor-state disputes ” and an arbitrator highly valued for her “sharp eye and keen judgement” on a wide range of international arbitration cases.
Education
Erica studied political science in the United States (Brown University, B.A., 1997) and France (Sciences-Po, Paris, C.E.P., 1996), before studying law in the United States (University of Texas at Austin, J.D., 2002), Argentina (Universidad de Torcuato di Tella) and Germany (Humboldt Universität, Certificate in fundamentals of German law).