B. Ted Howes is a partner in the law firm of McDermott Will & Emery LLP and is based in the Firm’s New York office. Ted is the head of the Firm's International Arbitration practice. He is also the head of the Firm's Chinese Litigation and Dispute Resolution practice.
Ted has successfully defended both U.S. and foreign companies in a wide variety of international commercial arbitrations, including arbitrations governed by the rules of the International Chamber of Commerce, the London Court of International Arbitration, the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre and the International Centre for Dispute Resolution. Ted has also presided and served as an arbitrator in international arbitrations, and is an authority on drafting arbitration provisions for complex international commercial contracts.
In addition to his international arbitration experience, Ted has extensive experience representing foreign and U.S. corporations in U.S. commercial litigations. Ted routinely appears before the federal and state courts of New York in connection with his litigation practice.
Ted has achieved a number of substantial victories for his clients in recent years, including the following:
- An arbitration award directing the minority shareholders of a Chinese company to transfer a majority of the company's stock to a U.S. private equity client, following an arbitration hearing conducted in Hong Kong under the rules of the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre
- An award of over $2.4 million to the U.S. subsidiary of a German company, as well as an award of the legal fees incurred by the client, following a AAA arbitration hearing in New York, in a case involving the breach of an indemnification provision in a stock purchase agreement
- A summary judgment victory for a Korean client in a New York state court action, in which the Supreme Court ordered the defendant to pay the client over $110 million in damages on a loan guaranty, as well as to reimburse the client's legal fees
- The dismissal of claims totaling more than $10 million against one of the Firm’s Korean clients following an ICC arbitration held in London, in a case that involved the termination of a Korean distributorship by a major U.S. apparel company
- An award of $36 million to one of the Firm’s French clients (and the dismissal of $30 million in counterclaims against the same client) following an ICC arbitration held in New York, in a case involving breaches of representation and warranties in an aircraft-component company acquisition agreement
- The dismissal of claims in excess of $4.5 million asserted by a French glassware distributor against a New Jersey glassware manufacturer, as well as the award of all attorneys’ fees and costs to the Firm’s client, following a week-long ICC arbitration in Zurich, Switzerland
- A summary judgment victory in a New York federal court action, in which claims in excess of $50 million, asserted by a consortium of multinational banks, were dismissed against one of the Firm’s Korean clients
Ted has both lectured and written a number of articles on the subject of international arbitration and related international legal issues, including:
- "Questions to Ask Before Starting an International Arbitration,” American Bar Association Commercial and Business Litigation Newsletter, December 22, 2011
- "The New 2012 ICC Arbitration Rules,” International News, Winter 2011
- Co-author, Chinese Arbitration Reference Guide, Global Arbitration Review website
- “AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion: U.S. Supreme Court Upholds the Validity of Class Action Arbitration Waivers,” International Bar Association Arbitration Newsletter, September 2011
- Panelist lecturer, "Evaluating Dispute Resolution Options in the Energy Sector" and "Commercial Arbitration for Energy Disputes," Energy Law Summer School hosted by IBC Legal Conferences, Cambridge, England, September 14, 2011
- "Commercial Arbitration in Energy Disputes: Practical Guidance," publication for IBC Legal Conferences, September, 7, 2011
- "UK Supreme Court Confirms Parties' Right to Choose Nationality of Arbitrators," National Law Review, August 8, 2011
- Panelist, “Words Matter – Drafting Enforceable and Effective Dispute Resolution Clauses,” conference hosted by the Association of Corporate Counsel, Southeast Chapter, September 23, 2010
- Panelist, “Advice to Global In-House Counsel: How to Interrogate Your Outside Counsel When an International Arbitration Arises,” conference hosted by the American Bar Association, San Francisco, California, August 6, 2010
- "Rent-A-Center West, Inc. v. Jackson — Part III: Who is the Proper ‘Gatekeeper’ of Arbitrability? Divided Supreme Court Reverses Ninth Circuit," Mealey's International Arbitration Report, July 2010
- Panelist lecturer, “Arbitraje Nacional e Internacional en el Sector Energetico,” conference hosted by the Spanish Energy Institute, Madrid, Spain, May 24, 2010
- "Rent-A-Center West, Inc. v. Jackson — Part II: Will The U.S. Supreme Court Allow Arbitrators To Be ‘Gatekeepers Of The Unconscionable’?," Mealey's International Arbitration Report, May 2010
- "Rent-A-Center West, Inc. v. Jackson — Part I: Who Is The Proper ‘Gatekeeper’ Of Arbitrability?," Mealey's International Arbitration Report, April 2010
- "The Enforcement of Arbitration Awards in China," Bloomberg Asia Pacific Law Reports, November 11, 2009
- Panelist lecturer, "The Perils of Partnering Abroad: Ways to Avoid International Disputes, or At Least Minimize Their Danger Once They Have Arisen," Conference hosted by the Northeast Chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel America, December 18, 2007
- Integrated series of Celesq CLE lectures on international arbitration, October 2, October 10 and November 7, 2007
- "Defending Against Defections," Corporate Dealmaker, September 24, 2007
- "Defective Chinese Goods: Legal Risks and Protective Measures," Product Liability Law 360, July 2007
- “Inherent Tensions in International Arbitration Discovery,” International Arbitration and Mediation – From The Professional's Perspective, Yorkhill Law Publishing, June 2007
- Lecture, “Thinking Ahead: Six Strategic Questions That Should Be Asked At the Beginning of Any International Arbitration,” corporate CLE presentation, March 2007
- “The State of Dispute Resolution in Today's World,” International Bar Association Litigation Committee Newsletter, March 2007
- Lecture, “Drafting an International Arbitration Clause: Nuts, Bolts and Strategic Considerations,” corporate CLE presentations, December 2006 and January 2007
- Panel moderator and lecturer on “Discovery in International Arbitration,” Center for International Legal Studies symposium on international arbitration, Salzburg, Austria, June 2006
- “Common Errors to Avoid in Drafting an International Arbitration Clause,” MWE International News, April 2006
- “Winning is Everything,” keynote speech, ReedLogic Alternative Dispute Resolution Leadership Conference, December 2005
- “Pre-Hearing Discovery II: Further Divergence in Court Treatment of Pre-Hearing Depositions and Pre-Hearing Document Discovery,” International Bar Association Arbitration Newsletter, September 2005
- “Arbitration Discovery: When Should Discovery Provisions be Included in an Arbitration Agreement?” ABA Dispute Resolution Magazine, Summer 1999
Ted is a member of the Bar of the State of New York and is a member of the Arbitration Committee of the International Bar Association. He is also admitted to practice in the Southern, Eastern and Northern federal districts of the State of New York, and before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Ted is conversational in both French and Spanish.
Education
- Harvard Law School, J.D., 1991
- Harvard University, B.A., 1987
Languages Spoken
- English
- French
- Spanish
