Week of events encouraged the participants’ solidarity contribution to various initiatives

By Sérgio Siscaro

Organized by the CAM-CCBC, the São Paulo Arbitration Week (SPAW) is already an important milestone in the Brazilian calendar of events aimed at the dissemination of alternative methods for dispute resolution (ADRs) in general, and arbitration in particular. And in this third edition, comprising 23 events held between October 19 and 25, the Week had a strong orientation towards social responsibility.

Aware of the need to act in a way that encourages solidarity especially in such a challenging year like this, the CAM-CCBC used the SPAW as an instrument to stimulate social responsibility.

All participants – law firms, universities, associations and institutions, from Brazil and abroad – had the opportunity to sponsor a social entity in the registration process for the event, among a universe of 11 organizations previously selected by the organizers of the Week. Therefore, the SPAW obtained, in its seven days of event, more than R$ 8 thousand in donations to these entities.

Another novelty of the SPAW 2020 was its format: due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the need to maintain social distancing, the events were fully virtual. This model, however, caused no loss to the high-level discussions on various topics related to arbitration, which had the participation of experts and professionals from other countries.

Arbitration under discussion

The range of issues discussed during the SPAW has been quite enriching for the arbitration-related community. The program included topics related to the opportunities of using this dispute resolution method in different segments of the economy to aspects directly related to the practice of ADRs and trends for the future.

Two of the events of the third SPAW were directly conducted by the CAM-CCBC itself. On the 22^nd, the seventh edition of the Luso-Brazilian Arbitration Journey was held in collaboration with the Commercial Arbitration Center (CAC) of the Portuguese Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The event was an opportunity to strengthen the existing ties between the arbitration communities of Brazil and Portugal, allowing the exchange of experiences and discussion of common challenges.

In addition, on the 23^rd, it was the time of the third edition of M&A Arbitration: Price and Interim Period, which had as participants Mariana Conti Craveiro (ContiCraveiro Advogados), Catarina Monteiro Pires (Morais Leitão, Galvão Teles, Soares da Silva & Associados), Paulo Cezar Aragão (Barbosa, Müssnich & Aragão Advogados) and, as moderator, Debora Visconte (Visconte Advogados). The event discussed the opportunities and challenges of using arbitration in merger and acquisition operations.