Lena Serhan
Biography
Overview
Lena Serhan is a senior associate in the International Arbitration Practice Group in Houston.
complex cross-border disputes, including international commercial and investor-state arbitration brought under the ICSID, ICC, LCIA, AAA/ICDR, JAMS, and DIS rules. She also has experience in complex commercial litigation in both state and federal courts.
Lena's experience spans a wide range of industries, including oil and gas, renewable energy, power, banking, chemicals, and social media technologies, and includes disputes arising from energy contracts, power purchase agreements, take-or-pay agreements, mergers and acquisitions, and investment agreements.
After law school, Lena clerked for the Honourable Judge Sim Lake, United States District Court Judge for the Southern District of Texas. During law school, Lena was an editor on the Texas Law Review and graduated with honors (Order of the Coif).
Experience
Obtained a favorable Final Award for a technology and services company under the JAMS International Arbitration Rules against a Russian oilfield services company. The dispute arose under a sale and distribution agreement and the Tribunal awarded full recovery with interest, attorneys' fees, and costs.*
Represented a natural gas distribution and storage company based in Mexico in a contract dispute against another natural gas distributor under the ICC Arbitration Rules.*
Represented an international oil and gas company in an LCIA arbitration in a dispute over the price of natural gas.*
Represented an international classification society in a cross-border dispute involving a European litigation and simultaneous U.S. arbitration.*
Represented an international oil and gas company in an ad hoc arbitration under the UNCITRAL Rules with respect to an LNG sales contract with a take-or-pay arrangement. The dispute involves a claim that a force majeure event relieves the counterparty from its obligations under the contract.*
Represented an international energy company in a NAFTA arbitration against the Government of Canada under ICSID Arbitration Rules.*
Represented a State in enforcement and annulment actions in federal court following an international arbitration award.*
Represented a European manufacturer of steel chains in federal court for claimed damages of over US$500 million.*
Represented an international energy company in a contract dispute regarding the purchase and supply of crude oil Texas Court.*
*indicates experience prior to joining White & Case
Panelist, 2023 AAA Inaugural Energy Dispute Resolution: The State of Energy in ADR, Houston, September 2023
Presenter, Houston Maritime Arbitrators Association Arbitrator Training Course, Houston, January 2020
Panelist, Careers in International Arbitration, University of Texas at Austin, TILJ, March 2020
Presenter, Understanding the availability and scope of US discovery for foreign disputes: The power and peril of 28 U.S.C. § 1782, November 2020
Author, "Arbitration Unbound: How the Yukos Oil Decision Yields Uncertainty for International Investment," Texas Law Review, Volume 95 Issue 1, November 2016