Gebhard Bücheler is a partner at Seven Summits Arbitration (7SA), a Munich-based disputes specialist firm dedicated to arbitration. Qualified to practice law in New York and Germany, Gebhard serves as counsel and as arbitrator. He has acted in high-stake commercial and investment disputes, including multi-billion euro gas-pricing arbitrations and high-value post-M&A arbitrations. He has advised a broad range of public and private clients across many industries, including energy and natural resources, healthcare and pharmaceutical, media and advertising, manufacturing, private equity, and financial services.
Before co-founding 7SA, Gebhard practiced with the international arbitration and public international groups of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP in Paris (2010-2013) and the German dispute resolution firm Wach+Meckes in Munich (2013-2017).
Holding law degrees from Columbia Law School and LMU Munich, Gebhard is the author of the book "Proportionality in Investor-State Arbitration" (Oxford University Press, 2015), for which he received a PhD supervised by Judge Bruno Simma. Gebhard has also served as tribunal assistant to Judge Simma in high-value investment disputes.
Gebhard has published and spoken on topics involving international investment law, public international law, EU law, constitutional law, and civil procedure. He has guest lectured on international arbitration at the University of St. Gallen and the Humboldt-University Berlin. Gebhard advises in English and German, and he speaks French and Spanish.
Representative matters
- Presiding Arbitrator in a DIS arbitration concerning a shareholder dispute in the manufacturing industry
- Represented a US private equity firm in a DIS post-M&A arbitration against the seller of a clinical research company
- Acted for a B2B marketing and communications agency in an ICC arbitration against a leading machine tools manufacturer arising from the termination of a long-term contractual relationship
- Represented a leading German energy company in electricity-pricing disputes based on long-term supply agreements with electricity distribution companies
- Acted for several investors in a dispute relating to the withdrawal of regulatory support for solar energy projects by a European state under the Energy Charter Treaty and bilateral investment treaties
- Advised the foreign majority shareholder of an aluminum smelter and a hydroelectric power plant on contract and investment treaty claims regarding a mandatory share transfer to a Southeast Asian state
- Advised a European energy company on investment treaty claims against an Eastern European state concerning regulatory measures in the electricity supply and distribution sector
- Advised a European manufacturer on arbitral proceedings involving the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act
- Advised several financial institutions on investment treaty claims against an Eastern European state arising out of regulatory changes in the banking sector
- Represented a major European gas importer in multi-billion euro ad hoc gas-pricing arbitrations
- Tribunal assistant in UNCITRAL investment arbitrations administered by the PCA with amounts in dispute of several hundred million euro
