Mr James M Gaitis
Mr James M Gaitis is no longer affiliated with CEPMLP. Information below has not been updated since they left.
Honorary Lecturer
James M. Gaitis, Esq., BA (University of Notre Dame), Juris Dr (University of Iowa),and an Honorary Lecturer at the Centre. He has been an oil & gas/energy lawyer for more than 32 years. For the las20 years he has limited his practice to serving as an arbitrator, consultant, and dispute resolution neutral in complex commercial disputes and in energy/oil & gas disputes relating to a broad variety of upstream, midstream and downstream issues. He is a past Fellow and Chartered Arbitrator of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, a Charter Member of the National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals, a Fellow of the Board of the College of Commercial Arbitrators, and serves on diverse arbitration panels and committees relating to the oil & gas/energy industries.
Prior to becoming a full time arbitrator, Mr. Gaitis served as trial counsel and advisor to domestic and international oil companies involved in the exploration and production of oil & gas, gas processing and transportation, and gas sales and marketing. He also managed the litigation portfolio of a large natural gas pipeline company in connection with the restructuring of the natural gas industry in the United States in the late 1980s. As an arbitrator, he has served on tripartite tribunals adjudicating disputes involving such matters as joint operating agreements, unitization agreements, measurement of oil, gas, and natural gas liquids, intellectual property, completions, multilateral and underbalanced drilling, reservoir engineering and geology, joint interest accounting, gas sales agreements, gas marketing, gas processing, and the sale and acquisition of energy businesses.
Mr. Gaitis, an expert commentator on the U.S. Federal Arbitration Act and domestic and international arbitration procedure, has authored a variety of law review articles on the subject of arbitration that are frequently cited to the United States Supreme Court and lower federal and state courts. He is the Editor-in-Chief of the leading guide for arbitrators on commercial arbitration practice in the United States—The College of Commercial Arbitrators Guide to Best Practices in Commercial Arbitration (eds. J. Gaitis, C. von Kann, R. Wachsmuth Juris Pub. 2010 2d edition). He currently resides in Montana, USA.