Interview with Dr. Darya Shirokova (former Assistant Director for the Institute for Transnational Arbitration, currently Founder of Houston Place of Arbitration)

In this episode of "The Advocate Next Door", hosts Kelby Ballena and Margarita Arango interview Dr. Darya Shirokova, discussing her journey in international arbitration. Dr. Shirokova shares her educational background, having studied in Russia, France, and the UK, and her professional experiences at the ICC in Paris and arbitration cases involving large energy firms. She talks about her PhD research, her upcoming book on state contracting in the energy industry, and the challenges of writing it. Dr. Shirokova also opens up about the difficulty of passing the California bar exam and her future plans to develop Houston as a hub for arbitration. The conversation touches on her hobbies, including learning to play the piano and her love for champagne.

Her book "The Fiction of 'State Contract' in the Energy Industry: The Empirical Gap between the Intentions of the Parties and the Interpretation of Contracts by Arbitral Tribunals" is available through Wolters Kluwer at https://law-store.wolterskluwer.com/s/product/the-fiction-of-state-contract-in-the-energy-industry-the-empirical/01tPg00000D8Lz9IAF