NERA is a proud sponsor of and will host sessions at Washington Arbitration Week (WAW) 2026. In its fourth edition, WAW brings together the international arbitration community in Washington, DC for dynamic discussions on emerging developments, evolving practices, and key issues shaping the future of international arbitration. NERA will host two sessions at our Washington, DC office.

26 October | 2:00–3:15 pm EDT | 250 Years Since the United States Declaration of Independence: Influence of the US in International Law, Dispute Resolution, and Investment Disputes | NERA

The first session, “250 Years Since the United States Declaration of Independence: Influence of the US in International Law, Dispute Resolution, and Investment Disputes,” will examine the role of the US in public international law and investment arbitration through four lenses: sovereign immunity and commercial activity exceptions; the global impact of the US Model BIT on treaty drafting; due process guarantees from American administrative law traditions; and the enforcement mechanisms that gave arbitral awards practical force.

26 October | 3:30–4:45 pm EDT | Geopolitical Risk in Damages Calculation | NERA

During NERA’s second session, Managing Director Robert Patton will speak in a session titled “Geopolitical Risk in Damages Calculation.” The panel will analyze how geopolitical risk enters quantum analysis in practice and whether there are various and opposing jurisprudential lines. Panelists will consider how experts account for political risk premiums, how tribunals distinguish market risk from treaty or contractual breach, and how damages models should treat volatility without becoming speculative. Mr. Patton will speak alongside a panel of damages experts. The session will be followed by a cocktail reception.

28 October | 9:00–10:15 am EDT | Influence of International Advisory Opinions on Climate Change on States’ Defenses and Investors’ Claims | Xtrategy

In a separate session on 28 October, Managing Director Fabricio Nuñez will participate in a panel discussion titled “Influence of International Advisory Opinions on Climate Change on States’ Defenses and Investors’ Claims,” hosted by Xtrategy in its Washington, DC office. The panel will consider the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ’s) June 2025 Advisory Opinion and its implications for ISDS practice, investment treaty protections, and environmental measures, including how the opinion may be relevant to states and investors in renewable energy and climate-protection projects. Dr. Nuñez will speak alongside Xtrategy Founding Partner José Antonio Rivas, Crowell & Moring LLP Partner Ian Laird, Independent Arbitrator Kiran Nasir Gore, University of Richmond Professor Chiara Giorgetti, and Freshfields Partner Nigel Blackaby KC.