After many years as a practising lawyer, first as a solicitor and then as a member of the Bar, Alan Redfern has announced his retirement.
Following a very exciting and enjoyable career as a partner at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, where he established the litigation department, Alan Redfern was invited to join One Essex Court in 1995 to head up a small, but high-quality group of commercial lawyers who were developing practices as arbitrators. During his time in Chambers, Alan conducted over 200 international commercial arbitrations, covering a wide variety of disputes in a broad range of business areas.
Most of these arbitrations were held in London, as the seat of arbitration, but Alan also travelled to meetings and hearings in New York, Washington, Boston, Houston and Dallas in the United States, Sydney in Australia and Paris, Geneva, Zurich and Brussels across Europe. He was also invited to provide expert testimony in foreign court proceedings in relation to arbitration matters.
In the year 2000, as a member of an arbitral tribunal presided over by Lord Griffiths, Alan devised a Schedule to deal with disputed requests for the disclosure of documents. Lord Griffiths suggested, with a smile, that this should be known as a Redfern Schedule. No-one then thought that the Redfern Schedule would become a standard feature of arbitral proceedings worldwide.
As part of his pro bono work, Alan was for several years a non-executive director of the LCIA in London. Alan also spent twelve years, from 2002 onwards, as a member of the Court of Arbitration of the ICC in Paris, first as the UK representative and then, in succession to his friend Lord Mustill, as a Vice-President.
Head of Chambers Lord Grabiner QC said, “When Alan joined us his plan was to have 5 years of fun after retiring from Freshfields. In the event we had the pleasure and great good fortune of 25 years of Alan. He’s always been full of common sense and wisdom and a marvellous colleague, especially for younger members of chambers who looked to him for his sensitive and wise advice. We all wish you well Alan and hope you continue to enjoy good health for many years to come.”
Alan Redfern said, “It has been a great pleasure and a privilege to work as a lawyer, first as an assistant and then as a partner in a leading firm of solicitors and then as an international arbitrator in one of the country’s leading commercial Chambers, where I was immediately made to feel welcome”.
Alan Redfern will continue co-authoring Redfern and Hunter on International Arbitration, the seventh edition of which is due to be published next year by Oxford University Press. Alan leaves behind an established and successful arbitration department at One Essex Court, where the roster of highly respected and specialist arbitrators has been complemented more recently with the arrival of Lord Neuberger and Dame Elizabeth Gloster.
For more information about the arbitrators at One Essex Court, please contact Angela Hodgson and Kirsty Goodwill at teamd@oeclaw.co.uk or visit https://www.oeclaw.co.uk/arbitrators.