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I'm a solo practioner in Washington DC. I work with other attorneys on almost all of my cases on an ad hoc basis. This is a new website and I'll write more about myself, my colleagues, and my cases later. For more information please contact me at the address below. Please do not send documents in the mail without contacting me first.

Paul Wolf
Attorney at Law
PO Box 11244
Washington, D.C.
20008-1244 U.S.A.
Tel. +01.202.674.9653
Fax. +01.202.364.6188
paulwolf@icdc.com

Arbitration of Investment Disputes.

We are based in Washington, D.C., which is also the home of the World Bank. The World Bank's International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) provides a forum for investors in third world countries to recover losses incurred when those countries' court systems have, for one reason or another, failed to protect the foreign investor.

In many parts of the developing world, the judicial branches of government are corrupt. In other, violent conflicts may prevent the effective enforcement of the law. One purpose of the World Bank is to guarantee investments made in these kinds of places, and the ICSID is the enforcement mechanism. Its decisions are binding on any government that desires to maintain its relationship with the World Bank.

Arbitration is a costly undertaking. As of this writing, the World Bank charges a $25,000 "lodging fee" to open a new case. It is also generally advisable to pursue domestic remedies before taking the dispute to the ICSID. Please feel free to contact us for more information.