Kirstin Dodge

Get to know me

Born, raised and educated in the US, I spent the first 14 years of my career working as a commercial litigator in Seattle and Bellevue, Washington, where I was a Partner at the law firm Perkins Coie LLP. My home jurisdiction in the US required mediation as part of the pre-trial process, so I represented clients in many US-style mediations.

I moved to Switzerland in 2006 and joined the Zurich law firm Homburger as Special Counsel for International Arbitration and Litigation. My practice focused on representing clients in international arbitrations, including with respect to intellectual property and investment treaty disputes and the energy, telecommunications and pharmaceutical industries.

While at Homburger, I obtained a Certificate of Advanced Studies (CAS) in Mediation from the University of St. Gallen Law School, became an accredited mediator with the Swiss Chamber for Commercial Mediation, and began serving as a mediator for commercial disputes. I continued to represent clients in mediations and served as a consultant to colleagues regarding mediation clauses. I also regularly spoke and provided trainings on practical topics related to international arbitration and mediation including mediation strategies and issues in cross-cultural mediation.

After 14 years at Homburger, I joined the Swiss litigation funder Nivalion where I am Head of the Americas and Southern Europe, responsible for Nivalion’s legal funding activities in the United States and Canada as well as Latin American and Southern European countries. I also continue to serve part time in my private capacity as an independent mediator and remain actively involved in the Swiss Chamber for Commercial Mediation.

I am a US-qualified lawyer with a J.D. from Harvard Law School and a B.A. in Political Science from Yale University. I am fluent in German as well as English and able to conduct mediations in either language.

Mediation Experience

Here are a few examples of the mediations I have conducted.

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Mediator under the ICC Mediation Rules in a patent and know-how licensing dispute between a Swiss company and an Asian company, which resulted in their agreement to amend the existing contract and expand their scope of cooperation.

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Mediator under the WIPO Mediation Rules in a dispute between a Swiss company and a US company involving alleged breach of a distribution agreement and related US litigation and potential WIPO arbitration, which was conducted online and resulted in full settlement of all disputes.

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Ad hoc Mediator in a dispute between a German family-owned company and a US company regarding a long-term IP license and related German litigation. The mediation was conducted in German and English, and resulted in full settlement of all disputes.

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Kirstin Dodge CV