In this episode, recorded from our Paris office in the elegant 8th arrondissement, you'll hear from lawyers in our dispute resolution team discussing their career journeys and the choices they have encountered within this dynamic discipline. Regarded as a centre of excellence in dispute resolution within Curtis, our Paris team comprises lawyers with diverse backgrounds within disputes and beyond.

Host Kate and her guests in Paris take a deep dive here into the practice of dispute resolution and explore their experience working with a global team on international matters:

• International Arbitration partner Marie-Claire Argac shares insights on the benefits of working with an international community of clients and colleagues, and offers guidance on leveraging these connections early in one's career, and staying engaged in conversations with the active investor-State community. Marie-Claire, who frequently acts as defense counsel to States, discusses the satisfaction she finds in developing winning strategies for her clients from the outset of each case. She discusses her path to partnership at a leading arbitration firm and the myriad options available to young lawyers today entering international arbitration.

• Associate Charlotte Fromont discusses her work with the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) and the Paris-headquartered International Court of Arbitration (ICC). Charlotte shares how she draws energy from both her work and team, emphasizes the importance of passion for the discipline, and explains the necessity of mastering both legal facts and industry-specific technical details when handling complex arbitration cases. She also provides candid advice on achieving work-life balance.

• Disputes Counsel Loujaine Kahaleh reflects on her experience representing sovereign states and state-owned entities in arbitral matters, and how her pivot to litigation has involved significant time in the formal setting of French courts. She offers valuable perspectives on specializing in both arbitration and litigation, including anecdotes from a set-aside proceeding before the French Supreme Court (Cour de Cassation) in a high-profile case.