Michelangelo Cicogna | Partner, De Berti Jacchia Franchini Forlani

Michelangelo’s practice over the last 30 years has mainly focused on Arbitration, Litigation, Compliance and Employment law.
As far as Arbitration and ADR is concerned, Michelangelo has acted as counsel in both ad hoc and institutional arbitrations mainly under the rules of the ICC, ICSID, UNCITRAL, the Milan Chamber of Arbitration, the Madrid Arbitration Court, the Chamber of Arbitration of Bucharest, Vienna International Arbitration Center (VIAC), Lebanon Chamber of Arbitration and MKAS in Moscow, handling numerous complex arbitrations including multi-party disputes and parallel proceedings.
As arbitrator, he has served as chairman, sole arbitrator or co-arbitrator in a number of arbitrations under the rules of the ICC, Milan Chamber of Arbitration, LCIA, DIS, Swiss Chambers of Commerce, DIAC, PCA and the UNCITRAL rules as well as in ad hoc arbitrations.
He has been involved, in different capacities, in over 160 arbitrations. He is a member of the ICC Court of International Arbitration.

Yasmine Lahlou | Partner, Chaffetz Lindsey

Yasmine Lahlou is a partner with New York-based boutique Chaffetz Lindsey and has over 20 years of experience in international arbitration and litigation. She is fluent in English, French and Italian. Trained in Paris and admitted in New York, Yasmine is experienced in civil and common law systems. She has overtime gained extensive experience in the energy, construction, pharma, space, food and retail sectors. Yasmine has been named one of 23 “Global Elite Thought Leaders” in North America & the Caribbean – a title reserved for the top 2.5% of ranked practitioners considered the “very best by peers and clients, achieving the highest number of recommendations in the research” – by Who’s Who Legal 2024 Arbitration report. Yasmine is among others a Co-editor of the ICCA project “Does a Right to a Physical Hearing Exist in International Arbitration?” and a co-editor-in-chief of the ICC’s Dispute Resolution Bulletin Editorial Board. She has been elected as a member of the ICC Court for the mandate 2024-2027.

Cristina Martinetti | Partner, Elexi

Cristina Martinetti is specialised in transnational trade law (University of Turin). Member of the ICC Institute Council (ICC Paris) and past President of the Task Force on International Contracts. Member of the ICC Arbitration Commission and Coordinator of the ICC Italia Commission of Arbitration and ADR. Member of the Piedmont Chamber of Arbitration Council. Former Chair of the IBA International Sales Committee.
She deals with domestic and international commercial contracts (corporate M&A, joint ventures, international construction, sales, distribution, franchising) and corporate consulting (extraordinary transactions, directors’ liability).
She represents companies in domestic and international litigation in the same areas, in particular as counsel in arbitration proceedings.
She has in-depth experience as arbitrator, appointed by institutions or colleagues, in national and international disputes.

Laura Opilio | Partner, CMS

Laura Opilio is head of the Dispute Resolution Department and Insurance practice at CMS. She first joined the Rome office in 1989 and became a Partner in 1994.
During her career, Laura has acquired vast experience and significant knowledge of national and international civil and arbitral litigation, with a specific focus on disputes relating to commercial law, distribution agreements, manufacturer liability, energy, insurance law and life sciences.
Laura is an expert in arbitration, both domestic and international, acting both as defence counsel and arbitrator.
Laura assists numerous insurance companies in Italy on regulatory issues, distribution, localization of policy and disputes (in particular, proceedings covering professional liability as relating to P.I. and P.O. claims, directors and auditors, public officers, bond guarantees, industrial incidents and product liability) and reinsurance.
Laura is also currently member of the Legal Practice Division Council Co-Chair of the International Bar Association (IBA) and member of the Italian Arbitration Committee of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).

Giacomo Rojas Elgueta | Head of International Arbitration, Chiomenti

Giacomo Rojas Elgueta is an Associate Professor of Private Law at Roma Tre University Law School, and Of Counsel and Head of International Arbitration at Chiomenti. He is actively involved in commercial and investment arbitration as counsel, expert witness and arbitrator. He has acted as sole arbitrator and co-arbitrator in various arbitration proceedings, both ad hoc and under the rules of the ICC, Swiss Arbitration Centre and CAM, with seat in different countries. He is Co-editor of the ICCA project “Does a Right to a Physical Hearing Exist in International Arbitration?” and Co-Chair of the Focus Group “Construction Arbitration” of the Italian Association for Arbitration. A dual qualified lawyer (Rome and New York), he earned an LL.M. with distinction and an S.J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania, and he was a Visiting Scholar at Yale Law School. He is a member of the ICSID Panel of Conciliators since 2023 (appointed by the Italian Government), President of the ICC Italia Commission on Arbitration and ADR and a Delegate to the ICC Commission on Arbitration and ADR (2024-2027).

Kate Siebke | Global Litigation Counsel, Baker Hughes

Kate Siebke is a Global Litigation Counsel for Baker Hughes, where she oversees complex, high-stakes disputes across multiple jurisdictions. With a career rooted in strategic advocacy, risk mitigation, and cross-border litigation management, Kate partners closely with executive leadership and operational teams to proactively identify legal risks, design effective dispute-resolution strategies, and guide the organization through critical legal challenges. She is known for her clear communication style, collaborative approach, and ability to translate complex legal issues into practical, business-focused guidance.

Prior to joining the Baker Hughes Litigation team in 2023, her career developed with 15+ years in international law firms. As an American lawyer based in Italy since 2007, she has both a common law and civil law background, and acted as counsel and arbitrator in over 40 international arbitrations. Her approach to litigation includes the application of other forms of ADR, including mediation and settlement negotiation.

Kate is a delegate of the USCIB to the ICC Commission on Arbitration and ADR and member of the
Corporate Task Force of the Campaign for Greener Arbitrations. She is qualified as a mediator in Italy.