11月28日，国际知名权威法律评级机构《法律500强》（The Legal 500）公布了2023年度中国仲裁影响力（The Arbitration Powerlist: China）榜单，此次排名为The Legal 500对中国地区仲裁领域个人影响力的首次关注。天达共和律师事务所管委会主任周琦、北京办管理合伙人、争议解决部负责人纪超一、争议解决部负责人叶文律师荣誉上榜。

纪超一律师接受了Legal 500 的采访，原文请见以下：

What are the most impressive cases you have worked on as counsel?

I have worked on several impressive cases as counsel, one of which includes an ICC arbitration in Hong Kong, where I represented a PRC state-owned company. We claimed about$110m against a Ukrainian bank over a dispute on letters of guarantee. Apart from the arbitral procedure, the Ukrainian bank brought a series of lawsuits before the Ukrainian court to try to invalidate not only letters of guarantee and relevant agreement but also the arbitration clause. The lawsuits went straight to the Ukrainian Supreme Court. We finally won both the ICC arbitration and the Ukrainian litigation, and the arbitral tribunal ordered the Ukrainian bank to compensate all our legal costs.

The second case was a CIETAC-managed but ICC rules-applied arbitration case. This combination made the procedural matters very challenging. In this case, I represented an American multinational enterprise against four Chinese leading insurance companies. The dispute involved the quality and design of large generator sets.

The third case was a CIETAC arbitration, of which was the counsel for an American enterprise, a world-leading commercial real estate developer and operator. We were the respondent and were asked for huge compensation. However, we decided to make a counterclaim against the claimant, a Singaporean fund. After many rounds of negotiation in the arbitral procedure, we finally helped our client settle all the disputes and reached the best deal imaginable.

How would you describe your firm's arbitration practice in the wider region? What strengths does it have as a wider group of attorneys?

Our arbitration practitioners always establish a trusting relationship with our clients because we always try our best to understand our clients ’commercial purposes and put ourselves in their shoes to understand their pressure and position. We have a stronger sense of responsibility than all others and are always approachable. We never give doctrinal or empty legal advice; our advice is always insightful and applicable.

As someone with extensive experience in representing large companies, how do you determine the appropriate remedy or resolution in a dispute?

First, I try my best to understand clients' commercial purposes and why they are under pressure. I see my team and I not as external counsel to our clients, but as an extension of the legal department. Hence, our target is always in line with those of our clients.

Secondly, we are skilled at helping clients balance legal risks, costs and commercial benefits to make an accurate decision that maximizes business benefits at minimal cost.

How do you ensure your neutrality and impartiality when arbitrating a dispute?

I carefully carry out conflict checks before accepting any appointment and strictly follow the rules of disclosure -IBA rules and any specific rules of arbitration institutions -throughout the entire arbitral procedure.

When I perform my duty as an arbitrator, l am very careful to avoid any communication, meeting or activities that raise the doubts of any party about my unbreakable adherence to the principles of independence, neutrality and impartiality as an arbitrator.

In your opinion, what unique skills are needed for arbitrators acting as counsel for Fortune 500 companies?

The ability to truly understand the commercial purposes and pressure points of clients is important. Good counsel must think further than external counsel and not just provide safe solutions; these solutions must also be workable.

天达共和的争议解决业务处于业界领先地位。长期为跨国企业、国有资本、民营资本、金融机构等境内外客户提供专业、高效、可预期的纠纷解决方案与服务，帮助客户应对国内诉讼、国内仲裁、国际仲裁、跨境纠纷下的不同挑战并取得令客户满意的结果。天达共和争议解决团队擅长处理重大、疑难、复杂的诉讼与仲裁案件，所承办的诸多代表性案件被最高人民法院及中国国际经济贸易仲裁委员会作为案例收录。天达共和争议解决团队不仅精于诉讼与仲裁，同时深刻理解各个行业的商业实践，能够准确把握客户的商业诉求，帮助客户平衡商业风险，备受境内外客户与法律媒体的赞誉。

The Legal 500已有三十多年历史，是世界公认的著名法律评级机构之一，其每年对全球超过150个法域的律所及律师进行排名与推荐，在业内具有广泛的市场影响力。其严格的评级标准反映出获推律所和律师都是界内的佼佼者。