Michael Polkinghorne is a Franco-Australian dual-qualified lawyer, resident in Paris where he heads White & Case’s Paris arbitration group and is co-leader of the Firm’s pro bono practice. He has served as counsel and arbitrator in arbitrations conducted under most major institutional rules and is the former Australian member of the International Court of Arbitration of the ICC. He is a council member of the ICC Institute and was a member of the ICC Task Force on arbitrations involving state entities. He has covered disputes involving over thirty countries, and has in recent years been involved in a number of mediations, notably in the industrial gas sector. Michael has also served in over two dozen cases as arbitrator (sole, party-appointed or chair), predominantly in the energy sector, under the ICC, LCIA, SCC, Bahrain CDR, FAI, Thai MoJ and UNCITRAL rules. He has also testified as expert witness on international best energy practices.
Michael is a member of numerous panels of arbitrators and has recently been included on the Global Arbitrators and Counsel Lists of the Office of the Ombudsman for United Nations Funds and Programmes.