Robert H. Smit is a Partner at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP in the Firm’s Litigation Department, where he Co-Chairs the Firm’s International Arbitration and Dispute Resolution Practice.  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 includes representation of Agua y Saneamientos Argentinos S.A. in U.S. federal court litigation relating to a public concession for water and sewer services in Buenos Aires, Argentina; Hanwha Group and ORIX Corporation in a billion dollar ICC arbitration arising out of the sale of Korea Life Insurance Company; General Electric and Bechtel in ICC, AAA and bilateral investment treaty international arbitrations arising out of India’s 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; and 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.  Mr. Smit has also regularly served as arbitrator in significant international arbitrations, and is listed as one of the leading international arbitration lawyers in the world by Chambers Global, Chambers USA, International Who’s Who of Business Lawyers, Euromoney, Law Business Research, Legal Media Group Expert Guides, and PLC Global Counsel Handbooks.  Recently Euromoney’s Benchmark Litigation (2012) ranked Mr. Smit nationally as a “Litigation Star” for International Arbitration and a “Local Litigation Star” for Commercial Litigation in New York. 

Mr. Smit is Adjunct Professor of International Arbitration at Columbia Law School; Co-Editor-in-Chief of the American Review of International Arbitration; Member of the ICC Commission on Arbitration; and Adviser to the American Law Institute’s Restatement (Third) of the U.S. Law of International Arbitration.  He is also former U.S. Member of the ICC International Court of Arbitration; Chair of the New York City Bar Association’s International Commercial Disputes Committee; Chair of the CPR Arbitration Committee; and Vice-Chair of the IBA’s International Arbitration and ADR Committee.

He received his B.A. from Cornell University in 1981 and his J.D. from Columbia University School of Law in 1986.  Mr. Smit also has a graduate law degree (Diplôme d’Etudes Approfondies), 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

•	Adjunct Professor of Law, International Arbitration, Columbia Law School (2010-present)
•	Co-Editor-in-Chief, American Review of International Arbitration (2010-present)
•	Member, ICC Commission on Arbitration (2003-present)
•	Adviser, ALI Restatement (Third) of U.S. International Arbitration Law (2010-present)
•	Chair, New York City Bar Association Committee on International Commercial Disputes (2007-2010)
•	Co-Chair, ICC Task Force on Production of Electronic Documents in Arbitration (2009-present)
•	U.S. Member, ICC International Court of Arbitration (2003-2009)
•	Chair, CPR Arbitration Committee (2004-2007)
•	Vice Chair, IBA Committee on International Arbitration and ADR (2000-2002)

Publications

•	Report of ICC Task Force on Electronic Discovery in International Arbitration, Co-Chaired by Robert H. Smit, Issued By ICC
•	Supreme Court Finds the Discover Bank Rule Preempted by FAA
•	Simpson Thacher Partners Robert Smit and Tyler Robinson Co-author Article on Cost Awards in International Commercial Arbitration
•	The Supreme Court Considers Whether the FAA Preempts State Court Decision Holding Class Arbitration Waiver Unenforceable
•	Delaware Court of Chancery Arbitration Provides Option for Delaware Parties to Resolve Disputes with Foreign Counterparties
•	“Cross Examining Witnesses Before Civil Law Arbitrators,” in Take the Witness: Cross-Examination in International Arbitration, 243 (Juris 2010)
•	The Supreme Court Holds That Arbitrators, Not Courts, May Decide Challenges To The Enforceability Of Stand-Alone Arbitration Agreements
•	The Supreme Court Vacates Arbitrators' Decision Allowing Class Arbitration Based Solely On Arbitrators' Own Policy Views
•	The Supreme Court Examines Whether Courts Must Decide the Enforceability of Arbitration Clauses Challenged as Unconscionable
•	The Supreme Court Considers Whether Class Arbitration is Permitted When the Arbitration Clause is Silent on the Issue
•	The Supreme Court Allows Non-Signatories to Arbitration Agreements to Seek to Stay Claims under the Federal Arbitration Act
•	The Supreme Court Adopts Broader View of Federal Jurisdiction to Hear Motions to Compel Arbitration under the Federal Arbitration Act
•	The Supreme Court Hears Argument Concerning the Ability of Non-Signatories to Arbitration Agreements to Stay Claims under the Federal Arbitration Act
•	The Supreme Court Considers the Extent of Federal Subject Matter Jurisdiction Under the FAA
•	“E-Disclosure in International Arbitration,” 24(1) Arbitrational International 105 (2008)
•	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
•	“Towards Greater Efficiency in Document Production Before Arbitral Tribunals-A North American Viewpoint,” in Document Production in International Arbitration, Special Supplement ICC International Court of Arbitration Bulletin (2006)
•	“Mandatory ICC Arbitration Rules,” in International Law, Commerce and Dispute Resolution, 845 (2005)
•	A Comparison of Asian International Arbitration Rules (Juris Publishing 2003)
•	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
•	A Comparison of International Commercial Arbitration Rules (Juris Publishing 2002)
•	“Enforcement by U.S. Courts of International Arbitration Interim Orders and Awards Under the New York Convention,” 1 Stockholm Arbitration Report 47 (2001)
•	“The Newly Revised CPR Rules for Non Administered Arbitration of International Disputes,” 18(1) Journal of International Arbitration 59 (2001)
•	“Andersen v. Andersen:  The Claimants’ Perspective,” 10(4) American Review of International Arbitration 443 (1999)
•	“Commentary on the WIPO Arbitration Rules, Recommended Clauses, General Provisions and the WIPO Expedited Arbitration Rules,” 9 American Review of International Arbitration 3 (1998)
•	“An Inside View of the ICC Court,” 10 Arbitration International 53 (1994)

Speaking Engagements

•	Rob Smit Speaks on “International Arbitration: Myths and Mystique” November 8, 2011
•	Robert H. Smit to Present at the USCIB’s Arbitration Committee Luncheon October 12, 2011
•	Robert H. Smit to Speak at NYU School of Law’s Center for Transnational Litigation and Commercial Law Arbitration Forum March 23, 2011
•	Robert H. Smit to Speak at Columbia Arbitration Day 2011 "Cutting Edge Issues in Complex Arbitrations" February 17, 2011
•	Robert H. Smit to Moderate Panel at ILA’s International Law Weekend 2010 October 15, 2010
•	Robert H. Smit to Speak at the New York City Bar Association's "Obtaining Testimony and Documents from Non-Parties in Arbitration: A Practice Minefield" Program April 26, 2010

Admissions

•	New York 1986
•	U.S. District Court Eastern District of New York 1989
•	U.S. District Court Southern District of New York 1989
•	U.S. Circuit Court for the Second Circuit Court of Appeals 2005

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