The head of the Atlanta Center for International Arbitration and Mediation is leaving the post to return to practicing international law.
Shelby Grubbs will become a managing member in Miller & Martin PLLC’s Atlanta office, where he will lead its international commercial dispute resolution practice.
Mr. Grubbs was the first leader for the center, which was specially designed for that purpose when built into the new Georgia State University law school that opened in September 2015.
He contributed to the center’s layout and design and helped cast its vision as a physical focal point of Atlanta’s ongoing effort to attract more international arbitration proceedings.
In such hearings, companies settle disputes outside the courtroom before a tribunal of attorneys. While they take place behind closed doors with the outcomes sealed, they can have a strong economic spillover effect on host cities through hotel stays, catering orders, legal fees and more.
The Atlanta International Arbitration Society, or AtlAS, has argued that Atlanta’s air connectivity, low-cost business environment and receptive legal structure make it a prime global destination.
But Mr. Grubbs didn’t take that for granted. He made it a point from early on to form ties with institutions that administer arbitrations around the world, resulting in six memoranda of understanding with premier agencies in the U.S. as well as London, Paris and Bogota, Colombia. [Read more: Atlanta’s New Arbitration Center Looks Abroad for Models]
“Unlike ACIAM, our MOU partners maintain permanent ‘inventories’ of disputes, which if they go to hearing will require hearing space,” Mr. Grubbs told Global Atlanta. “It therefore seemed appropriate to enter into MOUs which offered our space for hearings and, in effect, made ACIAM the ‘Atlanta home’ for the respective institutions.”
Stepping down wasn’t unexpected for Mr. Grubbs, who became a consistent presence in the city’s international community with the combination of this post and his position as chair of the Atlanta Sister Cities Commission.
The idea was always to find a competent successor and return to legal practice after the center was up and running, Mr. Grubbs told Global Atlanta. He will remain as an adjunct professor in the law school and will continue to coach the Georgia State Vis Moot team.
Magaly Cobian, who was the center’s inaugural managing director, will run its operations and the hearing center when Mr. Grubbs steps down Jan. 1.
That leaves the center in good hands, he said.
“With Magaly on point, and given her experience as a lawyer knowledgeable about arbitration and her experience in the hospitality industry, I think we provide five star service to neutrals and parties.”
That service level is enhanced given the amount of help the center gets from GSU law students, he said.
Asked what gave him the most pride during his tenure, Mr. Grubbs with characteristic folksy humor said the question is like “asking me to pick which child I like the most.”
Beyond the high level of customer service and heightened law student engagement, he cited the way the community has “taken ownership in the center,” especially city leaders and economic development groups like the Metro Atlanta Chamber. (At one point, a message by Mayor Kasim Reed on airport TV screens touted the center in the international terminal at the Atlanta airport.)
While satisfied with the past, Mr. Grubbs was positive about the center’s future. He said the facility was booked for about 70 days this year, he expects its annual growth trend to continue into 2018.
In a “coup” for the center, the “Global Arbitration Review” will host its international congress in Atlanta in the fall of 2018, he said, an honor coveted by other U.S. cities.
Doug Yarn, professor of law at GSU, who was integral to getting the center established, said Mr. Grubbs laid the foundation for this success.
“Through his dogged and indefatigable determination and boundless energy, Shelby has taken the center from a germ of an idea to an internationally recognized institution in just a few short years,” Mr. Yarn said in a Georgia State news release.