ArbitralWomen has announced the new Steering Committee (SC) for its young practitioners' arm, Young ArbitralWomen Practitioners (YAWP). The members of the new SC come from diverse professional and geographical backgrounds and include Alina Aguilar (Foreign Associate at Chaffetz Lindsey in New York), Manini Brar (Independent Arbitrator at Arbridge Chambers in New Delhi), Nicole Grohmann (Associate at Hanefeld Rechtsanwälte in Hamburg), Melissa Hollenders-Brown (Senior Associate at Clifford Chance in London, United Kingdom), Cam Tu Vo Nguyen (Senior Associate at A&O Shearman in Singapore), and Özge Yazar (Senior Associate at Roschier in Helsinki).

They will join ArbitralWomen Vice President Katherine Bell (YAWP Chair and Partner at Schellenberg Wittmer in Zurich) in leading YAWP's initiatives. The new SC has been appointed for a 2-year term, from 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2027.

ArbitralWomen also thanks the outgoing YAWP SC members for their great commitment and invaluable contributions for the past two years: Marie Devereux (Construction Law and Dispute Resolution MSc at King's College in London), Magda Kofluk (Of Counsel at Stephenson Harwood in Dubai), Anamaria Marin (Senior Associate at SLCG – Studio Legale Associato in Milan), Jae Hee Suh (Counsel at Allen & Overy in Singapore), and Allison Torline (Partner at Busse Disputes in Frankfurt).

YAWP Chair and ArbitralWomen Vice-President, Katherine Bell, says: "Chairing YAWP continues to be one of the greatest privileges and joys of my role as Vice-President of ArbitralWomen. I extend my heartfelt thanks to the outgoing Steering Committee members Marie, Magda, Anamaria, Jae Hee and Allison. They have worked incredibly hard to bring ambitious projects to life, creating real opportunities for young women practitioners and increasing their visibility, with enthusiasm, creativity, excellence and dedication. I am delighted to welcome the new SC members Alina, Nicole, Melissa, Cam Tu and Özge. I look forward to working with them as we continue to build opportunities for young practitioners to connect, grow, and lead within our global ArbitralWomen and broader arbitration community."

YAWP, the first young networking group established solely for female practitioners, was launched in 2016 by Gabrielle Nater-Bass, former Vice President of ArbitralWomen and partner at Homburger in Zurich. It provides a platform for female practitioners under 40 across the globe to network, develop their careers in arbitration and ADR, and address challenges that typically arise in the early stages of practice.

Recent YAWP initiatives include YAWP Meet the Arbitral Institutions series, which enabled aspiring arbitrators to meet and ask questions to the representatives of 35 different arbitral institutions across the world in a small-group setting; YAWP Speaker Panel, which seeks to expand opportunities for YAWP members to participate as speakers or in other relevant roles in arbitration and ADR events; ArbitralWomen-YAWP Parental Mentorship Programme, which provides a forum for members to share their concerns, experiences and tips on managing professional and parental commitments; YAWP's new webinar series "Midweek Brief", featuring candid conversations with top professionals in international arbitration who excel at business development. YAWP also holds various networking events, trainings, and fireside chats with inspiring female practitioners in various cities around the world. Further information on YAWP and its activities can be found here.

Please join us in congratulating the 2026-2027 YAWP SC Members.

All ArbitralWomen members under the age of 40 automatically become members of YAWP. Those interested in joining are invited to join ArbitralWomen here.

ArbitralWomen is an international non-governmental organisation for the promotion of women and diversity in international dispute resolution. Over the past 30 years, ArbitralWomen has developed many programmes and opportunities to support and promote women in international dispute resolution as well serving as a leader in the efforts to overcome gender bias in the legal profession.