Helene Gogadze is a special counsel in the Business Trial Practice Group and a member of the firm's International Arbitration Team in the firm's Washington, D.C. office.
Helene's practice focuses on international commercial and investment arbitration and commercial litigation. She advises and represents clients in commercial and investment arbitration disputes, including disputes involving state governments and state-owned entitles, and in actions before national courts in relation to arbitration proceedings.
Helene represents clients in international arbitration matters such as in the oil and gas, energy, construction, real estate and aerospace and defense industries, among others, and in disputes involving sovereign states and state entities. Some of her recent representations include:
- representing a large LNG producer and supplier in an ICDR arbitration in Texas in relation to its long-term U.S. LNG supply agreement;
- representing Thales Alenia Space France in an ICDR arbitration in New York brought by Globalstar lnc., a publicly traded company that operates a constellation of satellites;
- representing Total E&P Uganda B.V in an ICSID arbitration proceedings against the Government of Uganda under the Netherlands-Uganda Bilateral Investment Treaty and the contract;
- representing a large European aluminum company in an ICC arbitration in Zurich arising out of a long-term lease agreement;
- advising a large French company in connection with a potential ICSID claim against the Government of an African country under the Bilateral Investment Treaty over the company's oil exploration activities;
- advising a large energy company on a wide range of issues and disputes in the areas of feed gas supply, LNG quality, force majeure, shipping, engineering and construction, price reviews and other commercial matters;
- representing the Brazilian subsidiary of an Indian company in an ICC arbitration in Sao Paulo against the Brazilian subsidiary of a U.S. company arising out of a supply contract for aluminum products;
- representing a European aircraft systems manufacturer in an ICC arbitration regarding licensing and patent infringement disputes relating to night vision systems;
- representing a Russian-based entity in an ICC arbitration arising out of the dispute regarding the parties' ownership rights in a U.S. LPG company;
- advising a large French company in an ICC arbitration in Geneva against a South American company in a dispute over ownership of an ICSID claim against the government of a country in South America;
- advising a large energy company on force majeure and contract issues in relation to oil exploration and production operations in Yemen; and
- advising a large company in connection with a dispute regarding the provision of technical engineering and construction services and force majeure issues.
Helene has also been appointed and is serving as an arbitrator. She is a member of the roster of arbitrators at the American Arbitration Association, the International Centre for Dispute Resolution and the Georgian International Arbitration Centre.
Helene is a lecturer at the International Law Institute, where she regularly teaches courses and conducts trainings on international investment and commercial arbitration as part of various programs for foreign government officials, investors and lawyers. She also speaks at international arbitration conferences and regularly publishes articles on a variety of international investment and commercial arbitration issues. Helene was an Adjunct Professor of Law at the Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law, where she taught international arbitration.