Jacques Buhart

Jacques Buhart has over 40 years' experience in international arbitration, international M&A and EU competition law. A Swiss and French national, he is fluent in French  and English, and has a working knowledge of German.

Jacques has acted in numerous ICC, JCAA and ad hoc arbitrations in the nuclear, extractive, automotive, telecoms, chemical and agribusiness sectors. Jacques has extensive experience advising Japanese, Korean and Chinese clients.

Jacques worked as a managing partner at Coudert Frères in Paris and Brussels from 1976 to 2003, then at Herbert Smith Paris from 2003 to 2011, before founding and running the Paris office of McDermott Will & Emery from 2011 to 2025.

He was Chairman of the International Bar Association-SBL from 2001 to 2003 and a member of the first, second and third working groups for the drafting of the IBA Rules on the Taking of Evidence in International Arbitration. He is also active in the French Arbitration Association (AFA) and the Swiss Arbitration Association (ASA).

Jacques was a visiting professor at Tokyo University School of Law, Summer Program, from 1998 to 2024. For 20 years, he was also a visiting professor at the Faculty of Law in Aix-en-Provence, where he lectured on international commercial law. He has been a member of the board of the Sorbonne Law School since 2010 and has been an expert for the Club des Juristes, Paris.

ICC Arbitrations

Acted for a French state-owned uranium enrichment company in an ICC arbitration in Paris concerning the termination of a USD 1 billion financing agreement and a long-term uranium enrichment agreement with an Iranian entity

Acted for a US company in an ICC arbitration in Lausanne against an Algerian oil and gas company relating to the construction of an LNG plant in Arzew, Algeria

Acted for a Canadian dairy company in an ICC arbitration in Paris concerning the termination of a franchise agreement by its French dairy franchisor

Acted for a Korean company in an ICC arbitration in Paris on the termination of an agency/distribution agreement with a Syrian company

Acted for a French oil major in an ICC arbitration in Paris concerning the termination of an oil production sharing agreement in Guatemala

JCAA Arbitrations

Acted for an international sports equipment manufacturer in a JCAA arbitration concerning the termination of a distribution agreement with a Japanese sportswear company

Acted for a Korean multinational in the enforcement of an ICC arbitral award in Madagascar against a Canadian mining company

Acted for a Finnish telecommunications equipment manufacturer and its US lawyers on the French law aspects concerning ETSI telecommunications licences; litigation proceedings over a 3-year period in the US, Germany and 10 other jurisdictions against a US semiconductor manufacturer

Acted for a Finnish telecommunications equipment manufacturer on the French law aspects of a dispute against a US electronics manufacturer filed in Delaware and before the ITC