Ann holds a J.D. and a LL.M in International Economic Law and acts as arbitrator and advocate in international and domestic arbitrations.
She is experienced in cross-border commercial disputes involving a variety of oil and gas issues, franchise law, partnerships, sales contracts (including those governed by the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods), and commercial contracts pertaining to manufacturing, supply, warranties and project development.
Ann is recognised as a leading disputes lawyer having been named to Global Arbitration Review’s “Who’s Who Legal: Arbitration” since 2015, named to The Best Lawyers in America, International Arbitration-Governmental since 2014, and in 2014 and 2017 named Lawyer of the Year, International Arbitration –Governmental (Houston) by The Best Lawyers in America. In 2020, the Association of Women Attorneys Foundation recognized Ann as a “Premier Woman in the Law” and in 2008, she was named one of 30 “Extraordinary Women in Texas Law” by Texas Lawyer. In 2016, she was the recipient of the University of Houston Law Center’s “Private Sector Achievement Award.”
Recently, the United States Department of Trade selected Ann as one of ten arbitrators appointed by the United States to serve as a dispute settlement panelist pursuant to Chapter 31 of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).
Ann is a member of the panel of neutrals of various arbitral institutions and has appeared as counsel and acted as arbitrator (both party appointed, presiding and emergency) in numerous arbitrations (both ad hoc and administered).
She is President of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb), a past member of the Board of Trustees of CIArb and a past Chair of the North America Branch of CIArb.
Ann is a member of the Council for the American Arbitration Association/International Centre for Dispute Resolution, Chair of the International Centre for Dispute Resolution’s Task Force on Rule Revisions, a member of the Executive Committee of the Advisory Board of the Institute for Transnational Arbitration (Co-chair of the Strategic Planning Committee), a member of the American Law Institute, a Founding Member of ArbitralWomen and a former member of the ICC Commission on Arbitration.
She is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Houston Law Center teaching advocacy in international arbitration, an instructor for the A.A. White Dispute Resolution Center, University of Houston Law Center and for 18 years was the coach for the University of Houston Law Center’s Willem C. Vis Moot team.
She is a frequent speaker and author on international arbitration issues, including being a co-author of two chapters, “International Arbitration of Oilfield Services Disputes” and “International Arbitration of LNG Disputes,” published in The Leading Practitioners’ Guide to International Oil & Gas Arbitration.
