Matthew J. Christensen and Don Jeon, members of Kim & Chang’s International Arbitration & Cross-Border Litigation Practice, participated as speakers during the inaugural Riyadh International Disputes Week (“RIDW”), which was held from March 3 to March 7, 2024, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The RIDW is a new international platform that seeks to bring together key players in the dispute resolution market to explore opportunities in Saudi Arabia and throughout the Gulf region and to share knowledge and expertise.
 

• Mr. Christensen participated in a seminar panel titled “The Impact of Culture in Resolving International Construction Disputes,” organized by the Inter-Pacific Bar Association in cooperation with Al Tamimi & Company. The seminar was held on March 3, 2024 in Al Tamimi & Company’s Riyadh office. Addressing the topic of how cultural factors can impact an arbitration hearing, Mr. Christensen emphasized the role of language and interpretation, contrasting the taking of evidence from Korean witnesses in English versus Korean, among other issues.

• Mr. Jeon and Mr. Christensen also participated in a seminar panel titled “Playing in the Big Leagues: Identifying and Managing Risk on Saudi Arabia’s Giga-Projects” organized by Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. The seminar was held on March 7, 2024 at the Le Meridien Riyadh. Mr. Jeon discussed design risk and how insufficient design service agreements between owners and architects can create on-going risk for the remainder of the project. Mr. Christensen then discussed strategies and tips for working effectively with experts from the initial stages of a construction dispute through the arbitral hearing from the perspective of arbitration counsel.