Girard Gibbs LLP Adds International Arbitration Lawyer Eric Z. Chang as Special Counsel

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Girard Gibbs LLP is pleased to announce that Eric Z. Chang has joined the firm as Special Counsel. Mr. Chang will work closely with Girard Gibbs’ managing partner, Daniel Girard, to further expand the firm’s international arbitration practice. In that capacity, he will also play an integral role in Girard Gibbs’ strategic partnership with Paris-based Lazareff Le Bars, a boutique international arbitration law firm, to offer clients an expanded range of international arbitration and dispute resolution services.

“his dual qualification, in US and civil law, is a major asset for the International Arbitration Joint Venture.”

“Bringing Eric on board will further round out our firm’s existing strengths in advocacy and dispute resolution. By leveraging his strong technical and commercial expertise in international arbitration, we aim to continue to project the firm’s complex litigation experience into the international arbitration arena,” said Girard Gibbs’ managing partner, Daniel Girard.

Benoît Le Bars, Managing Partner of Lazareff Le Bars and Co-Founder of the firm, said that he is thrilled to have the opportunity to collaborate with Eric Chang. Benoît specially mentioned that "his dual qualification, in US and civil law, is a major asset for the International Arbitration Joint Venture." Benoît particularly appreciates Eric's ability to practice in both English and French, as well as his in-depth experience of European and American international arbitration rules.

After starting his dispute resolution career in Paris, Mr. Chang moved to New York, where he continued his international arbitration and litigation practice at a major international law firm. He has extensive experience in a broad range of complex, cross-border commercial matters, as well as investment treaty arbitrations. Mr. Chang has appeared before numerous international arbitral tribunals seated in the United States and abroad, US federal and state courts, as well as French courts.

“I’m excited to join Girard Gibbs and to put my skills and experience to build on the firm’s arbitration practice,” stated Mr. Chang. “Basing an arbitration practice out of San Francisco represents unique opportunities, especially as California is a gateway to the Asian market. Looking towards Europe and Africa, Girard Gibbs’ association with Lazareff Le Bars is obviously a fantastic strategic partnership. I look forward to leveraging my French and international experience in order to build on this partnership, in order to provide clients with the highest caliber of dispute resolution services.”

Mr. Chang is a member of the New York State Bar and a former Avocat à la cour and member of the Paris Bar. He is fluent in English, French and conversant in Chinese (Mandarin). Mr. Chang received a U.S. Juris Doctor from Cornell Law School as well as a French Maîtrise en droit law degree from the Université de Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne in 2002, and a B.A. in Political Science and French from the University of California at Berkeley in 1998.

About Girard Gibbs

Girard Gibbs LLP is one of the nation’s leading firms in prosecuting complex litigation cases on behalf of clients throughout the world. Lazareff Le Bars http://www.lazareff-lebars.com/about-the-firm.html is one of the only "boutique" law firms focusing on international arbitration in Paris. The firm specializes in the fields of international arbitration, alternative dispute resolution, international trade and OHADA.