Welcome to the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators
North America Branch

Christopher J. Cox

Silicon Valley, California

Christopher Cox, the founder of Cox ADR LLC, joins CIArb-NAB as a Fellow after a 34-year career as a Silicon Valley-based litigator. Admitted to the California State Bar in 1990, his practice focused on patent, trade secret, and complex commercial litigation. Representing both domestic and international clients across diverse industries and regions, his experience spans a broad spectrum of technologies and includes jury trials and appeals in state and federal courts nationwide, and in various arbitral seats. He spent over 22 years with Weil, Gotshal & Manges in Silicon Valley as a partner in its patent litigation practice before starting its California complex commercial litigation group. Chris spent the last 5+ years as a litigation partner in Hogan Lovells’ Silicon Valley office. He also serves on the Board of Directors for AMC Networks.

Diana Kruze

San Francisco, CA

Diana Kruze is an international arbitrator, specializing in complex technology, business, health care and life sciences disputes. She has served as an arbitrator in more than 250 cases, and is a panelist with several arbitral institutions, including the AAA (International, Large Complex, Technology, Commercial and Health Care panels), CPR, AHLA, ACICA, LCIA, and SIAC. Prior to becoming a neutral, Diana was a litigation partner at an international firm, where she worked on everything from patent cases to contract disputes. She was then appointed as a full-time judicial officer with the California Superior Court, where she presided over high volume calendars. Diana currently serves as the Chair of the California Lawyers Association ADR Committee, and is a founding board member of the AAA Women’s Resource Group.

Samuel Kuo FCIArb

Athens, Georgia

Samuel became a Fellow in October 2024. His elevation to Fellowship was funded by Gray's Inn and the International Dispute Resolution Centre in London through the Michael Mustill Scholarship. Samuel participates in the Vis Moot, both as an arbitrator and a coach. He holds an LLB from the University of York, UK. Samuel is now reading an LLM at the University of Georgia School of Law, as a recipient of the Georgia Law International Scholar Award, the John A Sibley Scholarship and the Louis B Sohn Fellowship. His thesis will compare claims based in equity in US corporate law and wrongful trading in UK insolvency law. Prior to his LLM, he worked in the business development department of an international firm in Manchester, UK. Samuel is fluent in English and Chinese Mandarin, having lived across four continents.

Sean Ekhlas

Atlanta, GA

Sean Ekhlas is an active member of both the State Bar of Georgia and the Washington, D.C. Bar. As an arbitrator and counsel, Sean has participated in numerous national and international commercial disputes. He was elected to a two-year term as an honored member of the Arbitration Award Scrutiny Tribunal of the Arbitration Center of Iran Chamber (ACIC), where he served with distinction. As a seasoned litigator and arbitrator, Sean has handled many complex international commercial disputes. With expertise in both Common Law and Civil Law, he has participated in numerous arbitrations across a wide range of industries, including Transfer of Technology, Merger and Acquisition, Build-Operate-Transfer, Sales of Goods, Auto and Auto Part Manufacturing, Buyback, Construction, Telecommunications, Jewelry, Gaming, Transportation, Cross Border Finances, and more.

Tafadzwa Pasipanodya

Washington, DC

Tafadzwa is a Fellow with the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and Partner in the international litigation and arbitration department of Foley Hoag LLP. She draws on almost two decades of experience serving as counsel to sovereign states and state entities in disputes before the International Court of Justice, the International Tribunal of the Law of the Sea, and tribunals constituted pursuant to various arbitral rules, including ICSID, UNCITRAL, the ICC, and the SCC. These disputes have addressed a broad array of matters, including mining, energy, the environment, human rights, taxation, infrastructure, the law of the sea, and territorial boundaries. She has also been engaged in Foley Hoag’s Global Business and Human Rights practice, which advises businesses, states, and intergovernmental organizations on business operations relating to human rights, sustainability, the environment, and public private partnerships. As a member of the ICC’s Court of Arbitration, Tafadzwa is regularly involved in the scrutiny of arbitral awards and decisions. She understands English, Shona, Spanish, French, German, and Portuguese.

Tamara Lange, FCIArb

San Francisco, California

Tamara Lange, FCIArb, is an arbitrator and mediator at JAMS and previously was the ADR Director, Counsel & Mediator for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. Ms. Lange has served as arbitrator, mediator or evaluator in hundreds of cases across a wide range of subject matter areas. She is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and an Associate of the College of Commercial Arbitrators. As an advocate, Ms. Lange litigated commercial, IP, insurance, environmental, entertainment, and class-action employment cases at a global law firm in San Francisco and a litigation boutique in Los Angeles. She went on to lead and collaborate in constitutional, civil rights, employment, disability, detention conditions, and education-related litigation for nonprofits and then worked in local government, where she focused on public health, constitutional, and consumer laws. Ms. Lange graduated with honors from Cornell University and Berkeley Law and clerked for judges in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.