Experience of
Dr Dorothee Schramm
Solid track record in international arbitration.
Dorothee Schramm has handled more than 60 high-value contract disputes as arbitrator and advocate in many countries around the world under a large variety of arbitration rules and applicable laws (both civil law and common law).
She has experience in many different industries, with a special focus on technology, engineering and life sciences, including pharmaceuticals, medtech and biotech. She has resolved disputes over a large variety of technical, legal, and business issues arising under many different commercial agreements.
In this context, she also developed several innovative arbitration tools, including an interactive tool that helps clients build the best dispute resolution clause for any given contract, an algorithm that determines a net claim value reflecting the client’s overall risk based on the likelihood of different litigation outcomes, and a self-calculating tool that helps companies calculate damages for complex claims.
Dorothee has an impressive understanding of technology, industry and business. She is a true professional, culturally astute and a pleasure to work with.
Main Industries
Dorothee Schramm has particular experience with the technology, engineering, life sciences, energy, metals and sports industries. Some representative cases are listed below; further representative cases and industry sectors are available upon request. The selection of representative cases includes cases handled by Dorothee Schramm at her previous firms.
- Acting as co-arbitrator in an international arbitration between two defence companies concerning technical defects of high-performance ammunition and its compatibility with NATO standards.
- Acting as sole arbitrator in an international arbitration between a global company and its distributor concerning the distribution of complex high-value robots.
- Securing as counsel a victory for a global semiconductor company in an international arbitration concerning ownership and utilization rights for important patents arising from a joint R&D project involving parallel patent infringement suits.
- Other relevant experience as arbitrator and counsel includes arbitrations concerning the transfer of a software business, exclusivity rights for the distribution of electronic products, cross-licensing of chip technology, and the purchase of WLAN devices.
- Acting as presiding arbitrator and co-arbitrator in two international arbitrations relating to shareholder agreements and consortium agreements for the construction of desalination plants in the Middle East.
- Acting as sole arbitrator in an international arbitration concerning payment claims arising out of several contracts for the construction of a combined cycle power plant.
- Acting as presiding arbitrator in an international arbitration concerning technical defects and contract penalties arising from the sale of packaging machines.
- Other relevant experience as arbitrator and counsel includes international arbitrations concerning core nuclear power plant equipment and the construction of a food processing plant, two industrial filtration plants and a refinery.
- Acting as sole arbitrator in an international arbitration concerning the termination of a distribution agreement for an important drug due to the commercial effects of reference pricing.
- Acting as sole arbitrator in an international arbitration concerning technical defects and GMP non-compliance of a filling line for vaccination vials.
- Successfully acting as counsel for a leading diagnostics company in an international arbitration concerning the termination of a distribution agreement and related competition law defences.
- Other relevant experience as arbitrator and counsel includes international arbitrations concerning indemnities for litigation against a generic, the sale of medical glass vials, and the distribution of medical robots. Dorothee Schramm has also helped clients negotiate complex R&D collaboration agreements.
- Acting as co-arbitrator in an international arbitration concerning post-M&A claims between petroleum companies.
- Representing as counsel a gas liquefaction plant in two international arbitrations against the operator of a gas field concerning gas pricing and the re-exportation of LNG.
- Securing as counsel a €620 million arbitral award for a nuclear energy company and successfully defending against counterclaims of €120 million arising out of the cancellation of a nuclear power plant project. This work won the Sidley team The American Lawyer 2017 Award for “Global Dispute of the Year: Commercial Arbitration (Europe)”.
- Other relevant experience as arbitrator and counsel includes international arbitrations concerning the construction of and equipment for combined cycle power plants and a hydro power plant, and the supply of heavy fuel oil.
- Securing as counsel a victory in an international arbitration relating to the breach of a supply agreement for raw materials used in aluminium production. After the client was awarded US$70 million, Dorothee Schramm successfully defended the award in setting aside proceedings before the Swiss Federal Supreme Court.
- Securing as counsel a US$275 million award for an aluminium company and successfully defending against over US$800 million in counterclaims in an international arbitration concerning a barter agreement for raw materials and end products. Amongst other issues, the dispute involved allegations of corruption.
- Other relevant experience as counsel includes international arbitrations concerning the sale of steel and the privatization of and supply to a large state-owned steel producer.
- Representing the organizer of a prestigious car racing series in an international arbitration concerning the termination of a major sponsoring agreement.
- Representing as lead counsel South African athletic World Champion and Olympic gold medalist Caster Semenya in high-profile setting aside proceedings before the Swiss Federal Supreme Court against the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s award upholding controversial regulations requiring certain female athletes to lower their natural testosterone levels through hormonal drug intervention (see the story here).
- Other relevant experience of Dorothee Schramm includes an international arbitration concerning a media rights agreement for a major sporting event and her work as member of the Disciplinary Commission of the Gymnastics Ethics Foundation (GEF).
Brilliant and incisive, Dorothee is that rare lawyer who can parse the most complex economic, legal and technical issues in Life Sciences business disputes, bringing to the table a global mindset, deep industry knowledge and a razor-sharp focus on the key-turning issues.
(Scott Bass, founder of Sidley Austin’s Global Life Sciences practice in the US, Europe and Asia)
Representative Types of Disputes
Dorothee Schramm has resolved a large variety of commercial disputes that raised complex legal, technical, quantification and business issues. Her experience includes the following common types of disputes:
Types of disputes
- Breach of contract disputes
- Construction disputes
- Disputes over alleged competition law violations
- Disputes over contract terminations
- Disputes over corruption and/or money laundering allegations
- Disputes over cost overruns
- Disputes over delays
- Disputes over drug pricing
- Disputes over exclusivity rights
- Disputes over GMP violations
- Disputes over IP
- Disputes over the quantification of damages
- Disputes over supply disruptions
- Disputes over technical defects
- Gas pricing disputes
- Payment disputes
- Post-M&A disputes
- Shareholder disputes
Dorothee is one of the best lawyers that I have worked with in my long career. She combines excellent analytical skills with a strong business sense and professional poise.
(Elke Sauter, Vice President and Legal Counsel, Firmenich SA)
Representative Types of Contracts
Dorothee Schramm has resolved disputes arising under many different commercial agreements. Her experience includes the following common types of contracts:
Types of contracts
- Barter Agreements
- Business Transfer Agreements
- Charter Party Agreements
- Collaboration Agreements
- Consortium Agreements
- Contracts for Works
- Corporate Guarantees
- Cross-licensing Agreements
- Design Agreements
- Distribution Agreements
- EPC Contracts
- Framework Agreements
- Gas Sales Agreements
- Joint-Venture Agreements
- Licensing Agreements
- Loan Agreements
- Manufacturing Agreements
- Media Rights Agreements
- Partnership Agreements
- R&D Agreements
- Sales Contracts
- Services Agreements
- Share Purchase Agreements
- Shareholder Agreements
- Sponsoring Agreements
- Supply Agreements
- Third Party Funding Agreements