Gleason Wells attorney Todd Wells will teach a new four hour course on understanding international dispute resolution at the Denver World Trade Center on May 24.

This is a four hour (half-day) course designed to educate businesses on effective dispute resolution clauses and mechanisms in their international deals.  The course uses a running simulated case involving a sale of wine between a Western Colorado winery and a Macau casino buyer operating out of Hong Kong.  The course first identifies possible dispute resolution forms including negotiation, mediation/conciliation, court-based litigation, and finally arbitration.  The preferred method of dispute resolution in international deals is arbitration and the course primarily focuses on how arbitration can be an effective form of dispute resolution.  Our examination of arbitration will include understanding why arbitration is an effective form of dispute resolution, the broad context of how parties use arbitration to resolve disputes, and issues to consider when designing dispute resolution clauses in contracts.

Visit the Denver WTC to register and for more information.

Gleason Wells attorney Ted Gleason will teach a course in international contracts at the IAE de Grenoble - Université Pierre-Mendès-France this February. The course will cover:

Visit the IAE de Grenoble for more information.

On 13 January 2011, Gleason Wells attorney Todd Wells will join Jim Schmitt from Oxfam and Carl Hammerdorfer from the Global Social & Sustainable Enterprise MBA at Colorado State University to discuss their experiences working with sustainable enterprise in Ethiopia. Jim Schmitt will present his story of spending 6 months in the Limmu region of Ethiopia where he worked with local farmers, co-ops, and unions to build and improve coffee bean farming for the export trade.  Todd Wells will discuss the nuts and bolts legal aspects of importing coffee beans from Ethiopia.

Visit the International Law Section website for contact information.

On 24 May 2011, Gleason Wells attorney Todd Wells will teach a new class at the World Trade Center Denver entitled "Understanding International Dispute Resolution." The class is designed to familiarize businesses with their options for dispute resolution in international deals. The class will primarly cover international dispute resolution within the context of international arbitration. 

Visit the World Trade Center Denver to learn more about the class and to register.

On 4 November 2010, Gleason Wells attorney Todd Wells presented a proposal for Colorado to adopt the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration at the 4th Annual Colorado Statewide ADR Conference. The Model Law is the worldwide standard for the resolution of international commercial disputes in arbitration, and has been adopted by many of Colorado's major trading partners. Adoption of the Model Law by Colorado would serve a two-fold purpose: 1) encourage the development of international trade in Colorado, and 2) promote Colorado as a forum in the Rocky Mountain region for the resolution of international disputes. 

Visit the 4th Annual Colorado Statewide ADR Conference website to learn more.

Six months ago, Ted Gleason was an attorney at a Denver law firm who loved Denver's cultural offerings, Colorado's great outdoors and his French wife, Lisa. Today, Ted is an American attorney living in Grenoble, enjoying its dynamic cultural scene, new professional opportunities and watching his wife thrive in her native country.

"When we first considered moving here all our friends said that we should settle in Paris or Lyon or we might be bored," recalls Gleason. "But even though Grenoble is not a large city, there's a lot going on. As in Denver, there are plenty of microtechnology and software industries, a thriving arts scene and fabulous mountains. We haven't been bored for one moment since we moved here."

Gleason, along with a fellow attorney in Denver, is working to promote business opportunities between companies in the Rhône-Alpes region and Denver. Although he is not licensed to practice law in France, he is able to advise and provide guidance for French companies who want to do business in Colorado and vice versa. He eventually hopes to become a licensed attorney in France and is beefing up his French language skills which he classifies as a "work in progress."

In April, Virginie Ganivet, Executive Director of CORA, contacted Gleason and asked if he would serve as an informal ambassador for the organization. He quickly agreed, citing it as a great opportunity to meet people, go to tech-oriented events and promote Colorado in a low-key way. He has attended a number of conferences and networking events in Grenoble and people have been receptive and open to listening to Gleason talk about Colorado's business climate.

"Representing CORA puts me in a position to meet people here in France and begin building relationships," Gleason says. "My hope is to convince some of the companies here in the Rhône-Alpes region to take advantage of Colorado's relatively low taxes and business costs, strategic location, exceptional science and technology assets and the terrific quality of life there."

*Originally printed in the August 2010 French-American Chamber of Commerce Newsletter, and reprinted with permission from FACC.

Visit the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the French-American Chamber of Commerce, and the Colorado Rhône-Alpes Economic Development Partnership for more information.