Nancy M. Thevenin

Nancy M. Thevenin is an independent international arbitrator and mediator based in New York City. She is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and an adjunct professor of International Commercial Arbitration at St. John's School of Law. She was recently special counsel in and global coordinator of Baker & McKenzie’s International Arbitration Practice Group. Before joining Baker & McKenzie,Thevenin was deputy director of arbitration and ADR for North America for the ICC International Court of Arbitration in New York.

Thevenin also advises on arbitrations, mediation strategy, dispute boards, expertise proceedings, ad hoc cases and use of emergency arbitrator procedures. Her extensive experience includes arbitrations under various institutional rules, including the ICC, ICDR, and ICSID and advising on early resolution of matters that would otherwise become formal disputes. Thevenin’s areas of expertise include international commercial litigation and arbitration, creditor’s rights and business torts. She has handled disputes for multinational companies and governments in the construction and engineering, financial services, commercial real estate and aviation industries, often involving issues concerning mergers and acquisition, sales, distribution, licensing, technology transfer and leasing agreements.

A graduate of Tulane Law School (J.D. 1997) where she obtained certificates in European legal practice and in commercial arbitration, Thevenin also attended the University of Paris at Panthéon-Assas in France, where she studied the French legal system and European Community law.  She is a graduate of Cornell University (B.A. 1993), where she obtained a double major in history and Spanish literature. While at university, she lived in Madrid, Spain and studied international relations, Spanish law and Spanish literature.

Thevenin currently serves on the Executive Committee of the International Section of the New York State Bar Association, Co-Chair of the International Arbitration and ADR Committee and was its Secretary from 2013-2014. She was the Co-Chair of the International Human Rights Award Subcommittee of the International Litigation Section of the American Bar Association; Vice-Chair of the International Arbitration Law Committee for the Inter-American Bar Association; and currently serves on the Executive Committee of the American Branch of the International Law Association.  She was program Co-Chair for the 2010 New York State Bar Association Annual Meeting for the International Section, Co-Chair of ABILA’s 2007 International Law Weekend, a U.S. Member of the ICC Arbitration Commission (2004-2008), and is a Founding Member of Arbitral Women.

Thevenin’s recent publications include the 2008 to 2014 editions of the “Baker & McKenzie International Arbitration Yearbook,” a compilation of arbitration developments from over 26 jurisdictions (Executive Editor, Kluwer 2008-2010 and Juris 2010-2011), “Caucusing and the Cross-Cultural Divide,” in Contemporary Issues in International Arbitration and Mediation: The Fordham Papers (Martinus Nijhoff 2012); “The International Arbitration System: How the Pieces Interrelate: International Arbitral Institutions,” New York State Bar Association's Inside (Spring/Summer 2011); “Dispute Boards: An Effective Tool for Dispute Reduction and Prevention,” New York Dispute Resolution Lawyer, vol. 3, no. 2 (Fall 2010); “Increasing Efficiency in International Arbitration: Use of Common Law Dispositive Motions,” IBA Arbitration Newsletter(March 2010); “The CISG and Its Impact in Latin America,” ABA Section of International Law, 2009 Fall Meeting (October 2009); and “A Little Known Secret: The ICC International Court of Arbitration’s Internship Program For Young Attorneys,” American Bar Association, International Law Quarterly, Issue 4, Volume 23 (Summer 2007). She was a member of the research and writing team for “Sak Vid Pa Kanpe: The Impact of U.S. Food Aid on Human Rights in Haiti,” Center for Human Rights and Global Justice, 2010.