Ambassador (Ret.) David Huebner, FCIArb, C.Arb, FCollArb joins JAMS following more than 25 years of practice experience in arbitration, cross-border disputes, and intellectual property practice, as well as government service. He has handled more than 300 arbitrations in the United States and three dozen jurisdictions around the world as neutral or advocate, and has particular expertise in the technology (including semiconductors, hardware, software, haptics, materials, AI, internet, and gaming), life sciences (including pharma, biotech, clinical trials, medical devices, and healthcare), telecom, and entertainment sectors, as well as in energy, infrastructure, construction, and investment disputes.

Most recently, Ambassador Huebner served as a partner in an AmLaw 100 law firm’s international arbitration and public international law practices. Previously, he has held senior positions in the Asia Pacific region, including as the American Ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa, chairman & CEO of a large international law firm, founding chief representative of an AmLaw 100 law firm in Shanghai, and special IPR policy assistant to a member of the National Diet of Japan in Tokyo.  In 2016, President Obama appointed him as one of the four American designees to the panel of arbitrators of the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes. He is a graduate of Princeton University (summa cum laude) and Yale Law School.

Ambassador Huebner is a Chartered Arbitrator and Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, Fellow of the College of Commercial Arbitrators, Distinguished Fellow of the Auckland University of Technology’s Faculty of Business and Law, member of the ICC Commission on Arbitration and ADR, life member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and is on the panels of arbitrators of the principal international and regional arbitral institutions.  He is consistenly included on the Silicon Valley Arbitration and Mediation Center's Tech List of the "world's most accomplished technology neutrals." He chaired the California Law Revision Commission as an appointee of both Governors Davis and Schwarzenegger, and was recently appointed to a current term by Governor Newsom. He has taught intellectual property law and policy, international business transactions, and dispute resolution at universities in China, Germany, New Zealand, and the U.S.

ADR Experience and Qualifications

• Handled more than 300 arbitrations in three dozen jurisdictions around the world
• Particular expertise in investment, finance, intellectual property, life sciences, media, telecom/internet, energy, construction, and infrastructure disputes
• Member of the Bars of CA, NY and DC and a licensed solicitor in England & Wales
• Arbitrated under the rules of numerous institutions including International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), International Center for Dispute Resolution (ICDR), The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), Zurich Chamber of Commerce, London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA), International Institute for Conflict Prevention & Resolution (CPR), China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC), American Arbitration Association (AAA), Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC), and Hamburg Chamber of Commerce

Representative Matters

• Business Commercial
• Arbitrated multi-million-dollar distribution agreement dispute in the consumer products sector in Africa.
• Handled multiple cases arising under the Convention on the International Sale of Goods (CISG).
• Handled large leasing dispute in commercial real estate sector in North America and Asia.
• Handled several leasing disputes in aviation sector in Europe.
• Handled multiple cross-border joint venture and project development disputes in East Asia and the Middle East.
• Handled numerous RICO cases involving Fortune 500 companies.
• Energy/Construction
• Party-appointed arbitrator in large oil sector dispute in East Asia.
• Handled multi-billion-dollar dispute over natural resource extraction and power generation project in Southeast Asia.
• Handled large dispute arising from a long-term oil concession agreement with a state entity in the Middle East.
• Handled multi-million-dollar energy generation dispute involving a North American state entity.
• Handled large dispute over construction defects in a cogeneration facility in North America.
• Handled disputes arising from production and sale of metallurgical coke in Asia.
• Handled large dispute involving construction defects and accounting in hospitality sector in Asia.
• Entertainment
• Presiding arbitrator and mediator in multiple multi-million-dollar music licensing disputes.
• Sole arbitrator in multi-million-dollar film production company acquisition dispute.
• Sole arbitrator in a large media project development dispute between two entertainment companies.
• Sole arbitrator in a multi-million-dollar cross-border film licensing dispute in Asia.
• Handled multiple film development, distribution, and joint venture disputes in Asia, Europe and North America.
• Handled two large disputes over media library ownership and sale by European entities.
• Handled several film and television-related copyright disputes in Asia, Europe and North America.
• Health Care
• Arbitrated payor-payee reimbursement disputes involving hospitals, insurance plans, healthcare networks pursuant to contract rates for healthcare services provided to patients who are members of Respondents' health plans, giving rise to claims including for breach of contract and the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing
• Sole arbitrator in large multiparty dispute in health care finance sector.
• Sole arbitrator in complex dispute over individual and corporate provider reimbursement, accounting, and coverage.
• Handled several multi-million-dollar coverage disputes involving numerous individual claims.
• Handled disputes involving issues of reinsurance, policy limits, and denial of coverage.
• Life Sciences
• Patent disputes and corporate work involving early generation genetically modified foodstuffs, including hybrids engineered for hardiness, shelf life, and/or taste enhancement
• Party-appointed arbitrator in large pharmaceutical dispute involving clinical trials overseas.
• Sole arbitrator in multiple cases involving healthcare finance and accounting.
• Handled two multi-million-dollar disputes between a large pharmaceutical company and European state entities over patent validity, compound ownership, and government expropriation issues.
• Handled several multi-million-dollar disputes between European and North American pharmaceutical companies over patent licensing and ownership issues, clinical trials, biotech therapeutics and diagnostics, and health tech.
• Handled several cross-border disputes over patent validity and licensing in the medical devices sector.
• Handled cross-border disputes over non-compete and nondisclosure clauses in executive employment contracts.
• Technology/Telcommunications
• Sole arbitrator, co-arbitrator, and mediator in several large arbitrations involving patent infringement claims, inventorship, development agreement terms and performance, and/or joint venture terms in the optics, materials, and handheld device sectors.
• Sole arbitrator in large e-commerce dispute over ownership of certain electronic equipment.
• Sole arbitrator in large dispute between a leading multinational media company and joint venture partners over digital exhibition.
• Handled multi-billion-dollar dispute over validity and licensing of patents in telecommunications devices.
• Handled more than a dozen multi-million-dollar disputes arising from licensing or validity of software, hardware, semiconductor, switching, internet tool, and interface patents involving East Asian, European, North American, and Latin American parties.
• Handled multi-million-dollar dispute between a telecommunications company and a state entity over patent use and validity.

Honors, Memberships, and Professional Activities

• Admitted to the Bars of California, New York, and the District of Columbia
• Admitted as a solicitor in England & Wales
• Chartered Arbitrator and Fellow, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators
• Fellow, College of Commercial Arbitrators
• Fellow, Auckland University of Technology Faculty of Business and Law
• Annually named since 2018 to the Silicon Valley Arbitration and Mediation Center’s “Tech List” of the world’s leading technology neutrals
• Member, CPR Distinguished Neutrals, International, and Technology Panels
• Appointed by President Obama to the World Bank’s ICSID Panel of Arbitrators
• Admitted to the panels of arbitrators of more than 20 other international and regional arbitral institutions
• Chair & Commissioner, California Law Revision Commission (appointed by Governors Davis, Schwarzenegger, and now Newsom, and served as chair under each).
• Adjunct professor of law, University of Southern California Gould School of Law (1999 – 2007), teaching full-semester courses in international arbitration, international commercial transactions, and international intellectual property law & policy
• Guest lecturer, University of California Los Angeles (2016 ), teaching seminar sessions in intellectual property law & policy
• Occasional guest lecturer, University of Southern California, Marshall School of Business (1999-2005), leading seminar discussions on intellectual property protection and disputes risk in cross-border investment and commerce
• Frequent lecturer at conferences, educational institutions, and professional organizations on topics of international arbitration, international law, intellectual property, current and potential use of technology and AI in dispute resolution, mediation & negotiation, and foreign policy
• Trustee, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (2020-present), representing the Western Hemisphere on the global board of trustees
• Former member, ICC Commission on Arbitration and ADR
• Member of board of directors, Street Law Inc. (2018-present)
• Prior member of the boards of numerous other educational, public service, civic, and professional organizations, including Pacific Council on International Policy, Swiss International Law School, Antarctic Heritage Trust, Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Center, Princeton Alumni Corps, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt Center for Global Engagement
• Life member, Council on Foreign Relations
• Certain ambassadorial artifacts and papers taken into the Smithsonian Institution’s permanent collection of American history

ADR Profiles

• "The Ambassador," Daily Journal, ADR Profile, January 19, 2019
• "Former Ambassador David Huebner Joins JAMS in LA," Daily Journal, ADR Profile, March 9, 2017

Background and Education

• Partner, Arnold & Porter LLP, Los Angeles, 2014-2016
• US Ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa, 2009-2014
• Partner, Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP, Shanghai & Los Angeles,  2005–2009
• Founding managing partner of Shanghai office
• Head of China Practice; Head of International Disputes Practice
• Partner, Coudert Brothers LLP, Los Angeles and other locations, 1992–2005 (Partner from 1995)
• Chairman & CEO of the Firm;  member of the global Executive Board
• Associate, Irell & Manella, Los Angeles, 1987–1992
• Office of the Hon. Koji Kakizawa, Tokyo, 1984–1985
• Special assistant to member of Japan’s National Diet (and later Foreign Minister of Japan)
• JD, Yale Law School, 1986
• Editor-in-chief, Yale Journal on Regulation
• Henry Luce Scholar
• AB, summa cum laude, Princeton University, 1982
• Majored at the School of Public and International Affairs
• Phi Beta Kappa; David Lawrence Scholar