Biography
Michele Potestà is a partner at Lévy Kaufmann-Kohler, where he practices international commercial and investment arbitration, as well as public international law.
Michele acts as counsel, arbitrator, and expert in complex investment and commercial matters. Over the past 10 years, he has participated in over 50 international arbitrations, under all major arbitral rules (ICC, ICSID, UNCITRAL, Swiss Arbitration Centre, SIAC, CAM, DIAC, Danish Institute of Arbitration, CAS, and others), in disputes governed by various procedural and substantive laws (Swiss, Italian, French, Spanish, U.S., Danish, Panamanian, Venezuelan, U.A.E., Kazakhstani, Egyptian, Iranian, Belgian, CISG, and others).
Michele has specific experience in disputes relating to energy and natural resources (oil, gas, mining and solar energy), real estate and construction, pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, international sales, banking and finance, shareholders disputes, aviation, IT and agency contracts, among others. He frequently acts in arbitrations involving states and state entities.
Michele is a member of the ICSID Panel of Arbitrators and Conciliators. He has sat as president of the tribunal, sole arbitrator and co-arbitrator in multi-million disputes under the ICSID, UNCITRAL, ICC, DIAC, SIAC, Danish Institute of Arbitration and Swiss Rules. He is widely recognized for his expertise in investment treaty arbitration and regularly advises sovereign states on their foreign investment policies.
He is also part of the faculty at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies and the Geneva LLM in International Dispute Settlement (MIDS), for which he teaches investment law and arbitration.
An Italian national, Michele is qualified to practise law in Italy and registered with the Geneva bar (EU/EFTA lawyers’ list). He holds a PhD, as well as bachelor’s and master’s degrees, from the University of Milan.
Michele speaks English, Italian, French, German and Spanish.