Stampfenbachplatz 4
P.O. Box 212
8042 Zurich
Switzerland
Melissa Magliana is a partner at LALIVE specializing in international commercial arbitration.
With experience in both common and civil law jurisdictions and holding legal degrees in US and Swiss law, she advises and represents clients in ad hoc and institutional arbitration proceedings under all major rules of arbitration. She also acts as sole arbitrator, co-arbitrator and as chair of arbitral tribunals and advises on other forms of dispute resolution and related proceedings, such as mediation and international legal assistance. Her expertise spans different sectors, including the construction, transportation, pharma and mining industries, with a particular focus on works contracts as well as shareholder, partnership and joint venture disputes arising in a post-M&A and construction projects context.
Melissa Magliana is a member of the Executive Committee of the Arbitration Court of the Swiss Arbitration Centre, where she acts as Secretary to the Court, and a member of the board of the Swiss Arbitration Association (ASA), for which she acts as co-chair of the ASA Practice Seminar. She represents Switzerland in the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) working group dedicated to dispute settlement (Working Group II), and is a co-chair of a CPR Task Force on the Arbitration of Life Sciences Disputes. Melissa Magliana previously served as a co-chair of ASA below 40 and as a Steering Committee member of Young ArbitralWomen Practitioners. She is a frequent speaker and publishes regularly on matters relating to international dispute resolution.
Melissa Magliana was the 2016 recipient of the ASA Prize for Advocacy in International Commercial Arbitration, awarded every two years to international arbitration counsel to recognize exceptional advocacy in international arbitration. She has also been recommended by several directories, including as a global leader in Arbitration by Chambers, Legal 500, Who’s Who Legal.
Before joining LALIVE, Melissa Magliana clerked for The Hon. Carol Bagley Amon at the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York and was Counsel in arbitration and litigation at a leading Swiss law firm. She graduated from Princeton University in 1999 (magna cum laude) and received her Juris Doctor from the Columbia University School of Law in 2004, where she was a James Kent Scholar and an editor of the Columbia Law Review. In 2014, she obtained a Swiss law degree (MLaw, magna cum laude) from University of Lucerne School of Law.
"She is an eloquent speaker and presenter who presents persuasive arguments."
Chambers Global, Arbitration Counsel – Switzerland, 2023
Melissa Magliana is "very strong on tactics and strategy."
Legal 500, Switzerland - Dispute Resolution: Arbitration, 2022
Melissa Magliana is “an outstanding advocate” recognised as “a first-choice when it comes to arbitration practitioners in Zurich”.
Who’s Who Legal: Arbitration, 2022
The “very smart and pragmatic” Melissa Magliana is a “brilliant lawyer with an ability to develop an outstanding teamwork environment to best assist clients’ goals in complex international disputes”.
Who’s Who Legal: Arbitration 2021
“Melissa is exceptionally reactive and available. She quickly grasps the controversial point of the case and has an extraordinarily practical approach. Firm but also flexible to accommodate client’s needs”
Legal 500, 2021
Interviewees praise her commercial approach, with one saying “She is very business-oriented, understands how a business thinks and what it needs, and can explain complicated things in a non-legal manner”
Chambers Global, 2021
“Outstanding practitioner” Melissa Magliana is highlighted as an “exceptionally good lawyer with a lot of international experience”. Sources highlight her “excellent legal mind” and add: “There is a lot more to come for Melissa!”
Who’s Who Legal: Arbitration 2020
Melissa Magliana is “superb in advocacy and cross-examination of witnesses”, and “one of the few who manages to be extremely persuasive without being overly aggressive”.
Who’s Who Legal, Switzerland: Arbitration 2020
Melissa Magliana is “an excellent practitioner” who has “mastered the arbitration process very well”. She has significant experience as both counsel and arbitrator across the construction, pharmaceutical and transport sectors.
Who’s Who Legal, Switzerland, 2019
Melissa Magliana is considered "the very best young arbitration practitioner in Switzerland" and impresses peers with "her incredible ability to find the ideal middle ground between utmost legal precision and a sensible practical approach".
Who's Who Legal, Arbitration: Future Leaders, 2018
Melissa Magliana is “one of the leaders of her generation” according to respondents, who consider her “excellent as both counsel and arbitrator” and effuse, “She masters the proceedings very well.”
Who's Who Legal, Arbitration, Switzerland, 2018
Melissa Magliana was described as “amazing”. She is known as “actively involved in the international arbitrational community” and comes highly praised by sources.
Who's Who Legal, Arbitration: Future Leaders, 2017
Rising Star in Commercial Arbitration
LMG, 2015-2018
In: b-Arbitra, Belgian Review of Arbitration, 2/2021
In: Basler Kommentar (Honsell et al. Eds.), 2021
In: International Commercial Arbitration: Practitioner's Guide (Balthasar, 2d Ed.), [forthcoming 2020]
In: Arbitration in Switzerland — The Practitioner's Guide (Manuel Arroyo, 2d Ed.) [forthcoming 2018]
In: Arbitration in Switzerland — The Practitioner's Guide (Manuel Arroyo, 2d Ed.) [forthcoming 2018]
In: Chambers Country Practice Guides, International Arbitration 2016 (Friedland, Ed.)
In: Stories from the Hearing Room: Experience from Arbitral Practice: Essays in Honour of Michael E. Schneider (Bernd Ehle & Domitille Baizeau, Eds.), 2014
In: New Developments in International Commercial Arbitration (Christoph Muller & Antonio Rigozzi, Eds. 2012)
For more information, see the programme
WWL ARBITRATION 2022: LALIVE AGAIN RANKED AS TOP GLOBAL ARBITRATION FIRM
LALIVE tops table on ratio of women partners at leading Swiss law firms
“Dispensing with written consent – or consent altogether – in third-party extensions under the New York Convention”, an article co-authored by Melissa Magliana and Philippe Hovaguimian
Who’s Who Legal recognises 19 LALIVE practitioners in its arbitration guide 2021
MELISSA MAGLIANA ELECTED TO THE ARBITRATION COURT OF SCAI
Who’s Who Legal recognises 23 LALIVE practitioners in its Arbitration and Litigation guides
Noradèle Radjai and Melissa Magliana are elected to the Board of ASA
LALIVE strengthens its arbitration team with Melissa Magliana joining the partnership