by Gladwin Issac, Associate, S&R Associates, Mumbai, India

Joanne Lau, Member of the Executive Committee of Rising Arbitrators Initiative (RAI), and Partner at Allen & Overy in Hong Kong meets Lawrence Muiruri Ngugi, Registrar and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Nairobi Centre for International Arbitration (NCIA) in the next instalment of RAI’s “Interview the Institution” Series.

In this brief chat with Joanne, Lawrence shares his thoughts on how initiatives like RAI help in bridging the gap between the ‘insiders’ and ‘outsiders’ in the world of international arbitration and the NCIA’s significant contribution to the development of arbitration in Kenya. He discusses the arbitrator appointment process at the NCIA and the criteria that the NCIA takes into account while making appointments. Lawrence also discusses the recent appointment trends at NCIA which are indicative of the Centre’s initiatives to promote diversity and inclusion in the field of international arbitration. Although he admits that there’s no one formula for securing your first appointment, he recommends that rising arbitrators promote their “visibility” in the market by making use of the available opportunities for advocacy and publishing, among others.

Watch the full recording of the interview on the RAI website, available here.