Steven L. Smith

Partner

Steve Smith is a partner in O’Melveny’s San Francisco and Washington, D.C. offices and Chair of the Firm’s International Arbitration and Litigation practice.  His practice focuses on the arbitration and litigation of complex international commercial disputes in a broad range of different industries.  In his 27 years of private practice, Steve has handled matters for and against sovereign entities from the Middle East, Europe, Asia, Latin America and Africa, and has served as both counsel and arbitrator in numerous arbitrations throughout the world.

Recognized as one of the world's leading international arbitration lawyers in many notable lawyer directories, Steve has been described by Chambers USA and other publications as “a truly outstanding advocate whose written product and oral advocacy simply astound;” a "masterful advocate who can put together mesmerizing argument;" a "first-class advocate;" and an "outstanding counsel."  Steve is the recipient of the 2008 California Lawyer of the Year (CLAY) Award for his extraordinary achievement in Alternative Dispute Resolution.

Steve is a frequent author and speaker on international arbitration.  He is a member of the ICC Commission on Arbitration in Paris, France, chairs the ICC’s arbitration Committee for the Northwest US and is the vice-chair of the ABA’s International Arbitration Committee.  He is a former chair of the International Law Section of the California State Bar.

Steve is a Lecturer in Law at Stanford Law School where he teaches the course on international commercial arbitration.

Steve holds a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania, graduate degrees in history and law from Cambridge University and a J.D. from the University of California at Berkeley, where he was founding editor-in-chief of the school’s international law journal.

Professional Activities

Lecturer in Law, Stanford Law School (2010-)
Chair, California State Bar, International Law Section (1999 – 2000)
Chair, ICC’s Arbitration Committee for the Northwest US (2002 – present)
Vice-Chair, International Arbitration Committee of the ABA’s Section of International Law and Practice  (2001 – 2004; 2006 – present)
President, Northern California International Arbitration Club (2005 – 2007)
Member, ICC Commission on Arbitration (2006 – present)
Honorary Member, Commercial Bar Association of London (COMBAR) (2004 – present)
Co-Chair, 2003 Annual Meeting of the ABA’s Section of International Law and Practice; 2000 International Law Weekend, on “International Arbitration in Asia: Drafting Effective Provisions, Managing the Process, and Enforcing Awards;” 1999 International Law Weekend, which focused on “Lessons From The Asian Financial Crisis: Managing The Legal Fallout and Anticipating Future Crises” (San Francisco, California, June 1999); 1997 International Law Weekend, which focused on information technology law in the Asia-Pacific Region (San Francisco, California, August 1997)
Founding Editor-in-Chief, International Tax & Business Lawyer (renamed Berkeley Journal of International Law) (1983)
Member, Board of Overseers, Berkeley Journal of International Law (2003 – present)
Author, "Arbitration of International Disputes," 1 Alternative Dispute Resolution Practitioner's Guide, Ch. 19 (2011); "International Commercial Dispute Resolution," 44 Int'l Lawyer 113 (Spring 2010); “International Commercial Dispute Resolution,” 43 Int’l Lawyer 443 (Summer 2009); “International Commercial Dispute Resolution,” 42 Int’l Lawyer 383 (Summer 2008); “Enforcement of International Arbitral Awards,” a chapter in the treatise entitled Practitioner’s Guide to International Arbitration and Mediation; “International Commercial Arbitration in Japan,” a chapter in the Practitioner’s Guide to International Arbitration and Mediation; “Advocacy and Tactics in International Commercial Arbitration,” 5 California International Practitioner 64 (1995); “Badger Revisited: Implications for the Implementation of the Transfer of Technology Code,” 1 Int’l. Tax & Bus. Law. 117 (1983); Numerous papers for various programs and conferences
Lecturer, Lectured in courses on international dispute resolution and international business at numerous law and business schools, including Stanford, Berkeley and U.C.L.A.
Speaker, Speaks frequently on international dispute resolution issues at conferences all over the world, including: ICC Asia - Pacific Conference (Hong Kong, April 2011); ICC Asia - Pacific Conference (San Francisco, March 2010); Keynote Speaker at ABA Section of Dispute Resolution’s 4th Annual Arbitration Training Institute (San Francisco, California, February 2009); ICC Arbitration Workshop (San Francisco, California, June 2007); Arbitrating the Mega Case (Los Angeles, California, March 2007); 2003 Conference on ICC International Dispute Resolution, Insights into Practice and Procedure (Scottsdale, Arizona, February 2003); 17th Annual Joint Symposium of School of International Arbitration and ICC Institute of World Business Law on “Control and Expedition of Procedure by Arbitrators” (London, England, March 2002); 1998 International Law Weekend on “International Arbitration Of Intellectual Property Disputes Under The New ICC Rules” (San Francisco, California, July 1998); South Korean Ministry of Justice and Korea Private International Law Association Conference on “Recent Developments in International Litigation” (Seoul, South Korea, November 1996); Japanese Institute of International Business Law (Kokusai Shoji-Ho Kenkyusho), Conference on “Representing Japanese Companies in Litigation and Arbitration in the United States” (Tokyo, Japan, January 1996)