Professional notice
A new Austrian firm founded by a well-regarded counsel and arbitrator
People in Who’s Who Legal | 1 |
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Pending cases as counsel | 7 |
Value of pending counsel work | US$1 billion |
Third-party funded cases | 1 |
Current arbitrator appointments | 5 (2 as chair or sole) |
Lawyers sitting as arbitrator | 1 |
NEW IN 2021. Pitkowitz & Partners was created in July 2021 when the disputes and real estate teams of Vienna-based firm Graf & Pitkowitz spun off as part of a three-way demerger. The 10-strong international arbitration team remains intact and is now located in new premises in the Austrian capital.
The legacy firm was co-founded in Vienna in 1995 by Nikolaus Pitkowitz, who continues to lead the arbitration practice at the new firm. He is vice president of the Vienna International Arbitration Centre and is a renowned arbitrator, particularly in Central and Eastern Europe, alongside his practice as counsel.
The Pitkowitz & Partners team developed a reputation advising international investors on disputes in Austria, including partnering with stellar international firms based in the UK as well as the US.
It advises on cases in the telecoms, media, renewable energy, financial services, real estate and construction sectors, as well as disputes over restitution of looted art, and corporate shareholdings. Its lawyers have also acted in Permanent Court of Arbitration, LCIA, SIAC, Swiss rules and ad hoc proceedings, as well as in proceedings before the Austrian Supreme Court.
Other partners to know are Anna Katharina Radschek and Roxanne de Jesus.
Who uses it?
Besides the predictable roster of Austrian multinationals and high net worth individuals, members of the team have also advised various Austrian government entities and public bodies, including the province of Salzburg. International clients at their old firm included Facebook, Yahoo, and defence contractor General Dynamics.
Track record
Nikolaus Pitkowitz has acted as counsel in one of Austria’s largest-ever arbitrations, a multibillion-dollar telecoms dispute.
The team’s other highlights include helping a high net worth private client prevail in an arbitration over restitution of land in Slovenia.
Members of the firm represented Lithuanian financial institution BAB Bankas Snoras as co-counsel as it defeated an €11 million claim over a “back-to-back” transaction by Austria’s Meinl Bank.
Recent events
Pitkowitz & Partners is co-counselling with two US firms in a New York-seated ICC arbitration worth hundreds of millions of dollars over two offshore drillships. The firm has already won an interim award blocking a share transfer while a final award is pending.
It is also defending Austrian pipeline and plant construction company Integral in a London-seated ICC proceeding brought by Italian and Slovak claimants. The dispute concerns exclusion of liability under English contract law.
At VIAC, it is advising a major technology company in a dispute over an engineering project in Western Europe.
Pitkowitz & Partners 2021 Professional Notice Based in Vienna, Pitkowitz & Partners is a leading independent law firm with a strong international orientation and a distinct focus on Dispute Resolution and Real Estate Law. The Dispute Resolution Team, which is led by three partners, combines decades of experience in a wide range of matters. The team is internationally known for handling high profile cases (among others the biggest ever pending arbitration in Vienna) and has extensive practical experience conducting arbitration proceedings in Europe, USA and Asia under all leading institutional rules. Dr. Nikolaus Pitkowitz, head of the Dispute Resolution practice group, is considered a preeminent practitioner. He acted as party counsel and arbitrator in well over 100 international disputes, in a range from smaller to multibillion cases. Among others, he serves as Vice President of VIAC (Vienna International Arbitral Centre) and as Court Member of CIMAC (Casablanca International Mediation and Arbitration Centre). Industries covered include construction, TMT (technology, media and telecom), automotive, manufacturing, energy, hospitality, real estate, food, services and retail. A track record of matters handled can be found at
Website: www.pitkowitz.com