Robert H. Smit is a Partner at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP in the Firm’s Litigation Department.  He represents clients in a wide range of complex commercial litigations and arbitrations, concentrating in the areas of international commercial arbitration, bilateral investment treaty, joint venture, agency and distributorship matters, fraud, securities, banking and insurance disputes. 

Mr. Smit’s recent experience has included representation of General Electric and Bechtel in ICC, AAA and UNCITRAL bilateral investment treaty international arbitrations arising out of India’s alleged expropriation of the multi-billion dollar Dabhol Power Project in Maharashtra, India; Moody’s Investor Services in connection with lawsuits by investors against Moody’s in Latin America; Swiss Re in U.S. federal court litigation to determine the amount of property insurance coverage for the September 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center; Andersen Consulting (now Accenture) in one of the largest-ever ICC arbitrations, based in Geneva, Switzerland, in which Andersen Consulting achieved its alimony-free divorce from the global Andersen organization; DHL in various ICC arbitrations, in ICC arbitration in Paris concerning the transfer of a significant share interest in DHL under a shareholder’s agreement and an ICC arbitration in Paris, Miami and Buenos Aires involving DHL’s independent agent in Argentina; Ford Motor Company in an UNCITRAL arbitration in Paris arising out of Ford’s sale of its agricultural equipment and tractor subsidiary, and Blackstone in several arbitrations in which Blackstone served as arbitrator to resolve disputes concerning the valuation of major commercial enterprises.  Mr. Smit has also served as arbitrator in several ICC, AAA and ad hoc international arbitrations in the United States, Europe and Latin America, and is listed as one of the leading international arbitration lawyers in the world by Chambers Global, Who’s Who Legal, Euromoney, Law Business Research, and PLC Global Counsel Handbooks.

Mr. Smit is the U.S. Member of the ICC International Court of Arbitration, the premiere international arbitration institution in the world.  He is also Chair of the Center for Public Resource's Arbitration Committee and a former Vice Chair of the International Bar Association’s Committee on International Arbitration and ADR.

Mr. Smit received his B.A. (magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa) from Cornell University in 1981 and his J.D. (Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar) from Columbia University School of Law in 1986.  Mr. Smit also has a graduate law degree (Diplôme d’Etudes Approfondies, with honors) in private international law and international arbitration from the Sorbonne in Paris, and taught U.S. Commercial Law at the Sorbonne.  He is a frequent speaker at conferences on international arbitration and litigation, has written and published extensively in the field.

Honors/Associations

•	Leading International and United States Bar Associations Member/Officer, Committees on International Arbitration and Litigation
•	Former Vice Chair, International Bar Association, Committee on International Arbitration and ADR

Publications

•	The Supreme Court Considers the Extent of Federal Subject Matter Jurisdiction Under the FAA
•	The Supreme Court Rules Against TV’s “Judge Alex,” Finding That an Agreement to Arbitrate Trumps State Administrative Process
•	Supreme Court Hears Argument in its Second Significant Arbitration Case this Term
•	Supreme Court Hears Arguments on Standard of Judicial Review of Arbitration Awards and the Constitutionality of Tax-exempt Bonds
•	A Comparison of Asian International Arbitration Rules (Juris Publishing 2003)
•	A Comparison of International Commercial Arbitration Rules (Juris Publishing/Sweet & Maxwell 2002)
•	International Arbitration of Infrastructure Project Disputes and the Enforcement Regime Under the New York Convention
•	Separability and Competence-Competence in International Arbitration: Ex Nihilo Nihil Fit? or Can Something Indeed Come From Nothing?
•	International Commercial Arbitration: Drafting the Arbitration Clause and Selecting the Arbitration Rules to Govern the Arbitration

Admissions

•	New York 1986
•	U.S. District Court Eastern District of New York 1989
•	U.S. District Court Southern District of New York 1989

Clerkships

•	Hon. Charles M. Metzner, United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, 1986-1987.

Education

•	Columbia Law School, 1986 J.D. Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar
•	Cornell University, 1981 B.A. Magna Cum Laude; Phi Beta Kappa
•	Universite de Paris I, Pantheon Sorbonne , D.E.A., Degre d'etudes approfondies, with Honors