Welcome to the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators
North America Branch

R. Carson Fisk

Austin, Texas

R. Carson Fisk, FCIArb is a construction attorney based in Austin, Texas who devotes a significant portion of his practice to serving as an arbitrator in construction disputes. He is board certified in Construction Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and has two decades of experience in which he has focused on representing construction industry participants in contentious and non-contentious matters. He has served as an arbitrator in cases concerning matters such as payment issues, lien and bond claims, delays and disruption, extra work claims, differing site conditions, termination claims, and design/construction defects involving projects in the building, civil infrastructure, industrial, and governmental/institutional sectors. He is a member of the American Arbitration Association's National Panel of Construction Arbitrators, the CPR Dispute Resolution's Construction ADR Panel, and the British Virgin Islands International Arbitration Centre's Panel of Arbitrators.

Tom Alan Cunningham

Houston, TX

Tom Alan Cunningham FCIArb has practiced commercial litigation and arbitration for almost 50 years. Originally a partner in an international law firm, Tom started his own firm in 1998 to focus on the trial and arbitration of commercial cases. He is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, the American Board of Trial Advocates, and the American Law Institute. He is listed on the CPR Panel of Distinguished Neutrals and various panels of the American Arbitration Association. Tom has been a CIArb Fellow for many years. He has served as a member of the Board of the North American Branch and Chair of the Texas Chapter. In 2017, Tom produced for the North America Branch a global energy arbitration conference in Houston and in 2023, he produced the first annual NAB retreat in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

June Yeum

New York, New York

June Yeum FCIArb is a Partner with Pillsbury Winthrop and serves on the adjunct faculty at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, teaching international arbitration. As arbitrator, she has sat in ICC, AAA, SIAC, WIPO, KCAB, UNCITRAL and ICDR arbitrations on data theft, trademark, licensing, energy, service and infrastructure cases, governed by the laws of Singapore, Canada, Korea, CISG as well as various US states. As counsel, she has practiced cross-border business disputes since 1999, primarily in New York but also in Singapore and Seoul, handling life sciences, construction, joint venture and supply chain disputes. She has been noted for her "fine record in infrastructure and construction disputes" (Legal500 Asia Pacific 2019), "excellent performance and successful results" (Chambers Global 2019), "exceptional advocate" (Chambers Global 2015), and "profound experience and knowledge in international arbitration" (Chambers Global 2021). She is licensed in New York and Singapore International Commercial Court.

Steven G. Shapiro

Washington, D.C.

Steven Shapiro, an arbitrator and mediator, hears matters in complex hospitality disputes and construction disputes. A Fellow of the CIArb, Steven began his career in private legal practice, moved to construction engineering and commercial general contracting, then combined his experience in academics at the American University Washington College of Law. He launched and directs the sole hospitality law program in the U.S., plus teaches, writes, and speaks on topics in construction, engineering, and design. He has been recognized for bringing the realities and economics of commercial practice into the classroom. Steven is the co-editor of two recent treatises and accompanying conferences in international arbitration and comparative law: Current Topics in International Hospitality & Construction Arbitration (Brill, to be published in 2023) and The Impact of COVID on International Arbitration (Brill 2022, Swiss National Science Foundation award-winner).

Colm MacKernan

Washington DC, London, Dublin

Colm MacKernan FCIArb is a U.S. and Irish educated lawyer admitted in New York, England & Wales and on the Irish roll of solicitors. He has lived and worked in the U.S., Japan and Europe as a lawyer in arbitration, intellectual property, technology and antitrust/competition litigation and arbitration, in private practice and as General Counsel to the major technology companies ARM and Psion. He has been lead counsel in high-value technology arbitrations in Europe, North America and Asia, including one appealed to and upheld by the Japanese Supreme Court. He has written several legal books; one, a practical guide to technology legal and commercial jargon, is republished at www.ipglossary.com. He specializes in complex international disputes involving technology. He is a graduate of Georgetown Law, a science graduate of Trinity College Dublin and fluent in French and English.

Peter F. Vaira

Philadelphia, PA

Peter F. Vaira FCIArb, Special Counsel for Weir Greenblatt Pierce LLP, serves as special master in complex civil cases in the state and federal courts of Pennsylvania. He is a certified national and international arbitrator for cases involving discovery disputes, attorney conduct issues, and settlement agreements. He also acts as counsel to firms involved in criminal investigations. He is a former United States Attorney of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. He has served as Independent Hearing Officer of the Laborers' International Union. He was executive director of the Mayor's Commission to Investigate the city's responsibility in the collapse of a building that killed seven persons and injured ten others. He is a member of the American College of Trial Lawyers, and The American Law Institute.