Nhu-Hoang Tran Thang Speaks on Solo Arbitration Practice during Paris Arbitration Week

On 25 March 2026, Nhu-Hoang Tran Thang, founding partner of Astute Dispute Resolution, took part in the inaugural Lone Rangers event, held on the occasion of the tenth edition of Paris Arbitration Week.

Conceived and organized by Janice Feigher of Feigher Dispute Resolution, with the help of Anne-Sarah Maleville, and kindly hosted by Jus Mundi, the event brought together an international community of solo arbitration practitioners, alongside colleagues from larger firms seeking to expand their network within the solo sphere.

Nhu-Hoang joined a panel composed of solo practitioners: Janice Feigher, Víctor Bonnín Reynes of VBArbitration and Tomas Vail of Vail Dispute Resolution, with Owen Lawrence, CEO of arbitrators' chamber Arbitra.

A Candid Conversation on Independent Practice

Rather than a conventional panel presentation, the session took the form of a frank exchange among practitioners who have each built an independent practice, whether as counsel, as arbitrator, or as both, complemented by the perspective of Owen Lawrence, CEO of Arbitra, on what it takes to build a compelling independent arbitrator profile. Independence, the discussion showed, is rarely a single-moment decision. It is more often the result of a gradual shift, where professional aspirations come to outweigh institutional comfort. The conversation covered four main themes.

From Team to Solo: The Decision to Launch

When do you decide to launch your own practice, and why? Each panelist reflected on that question and on the drivers behind their own decision, ranging from a wish for closer client relationships and greater flexibility to the natural progression of a career built on both counsel and arbitrator experience. For Nhu-Hoang, this dual and complementary experience, gained across both roles, has consistently informed the strategy behind Astute Dispute Resolution since its founding.

Fears, Tested Against Reality

Will clients follow? Is the market ready? Can one compete with established firms? The panelists discussed, with candor, the fears that accompanied the decision to go solo. What emerged from the conversation is that most of these fears do not materialize in the way they are anticipated. Instead, they tend to evolve into different challenges: business development becomes more intentional, uncertainty becomes part of the operating model, and responsibility becomes direct, but also empowering.

The Solo Advantage

The panel identified concrete advantages that solo practitioners can offer, both as counsel and as arbitrator.

As counsel, solo practitioners can offer fees competitive with those of the largest firms, while drawing on experience gained within leading teams in the market. They can assemble ad hoc teams tailored to each matter, work with fewer conflicts of interest, and remain more directly and personally involved in matters.

As arbitrator, the same independence translates into fewer conflicts of interest and greater responsiveness, benefits increasingly valued by parties and institutions alike.

Advice for Those Considering the Leap

The panel closed this part of the discussion with practical advice for practitioners considering a transition to independent practice. There is no perfect timing, only a well-prepared transition. A practitioner's network is often their strongest asset, and clarity of positioning, what one offers, and to whom, is essential from the outset. Independence, the panelists agreed, calls for entrepreneurial discipline as much as legal skills.

What Lies Ahead: Building an Actionable Network of Solo Practitioners

Beyond the substance of the discussion, the Lone Rangers event carries a broader ambition. Conceived by Janice Feigher as a mean of uniting forces among solo practitioners, it is intended as the first of a series of similar events to be held in various jurisdictions, with the aim of building a genuine, actionable network among independent arbitration practitioners worldwide.

The panel also considered what this trend might mean for the profession more broadly: a continued multiplication of solo practices, with the possibility that some of them would regroup into smaller, more agile structures, against a backdrop in which larger firms retain fewer dedicated arbitration practitioners within their ranks. As Janice Feigher put it in describing the community gathered that morning, solo practitioners are less “boutiques” than “foodtrucks”: mobile, agile, and offering tailor-made service at competitive rates, without the business-development budget and ensuing costs that are not directly dedicated to clients of the largest firms.

Independence, as the session made clear, is not isolation. It may instead mark the emergence of a connected ecosystem of independent practitioners.

Solo, but never alone.

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