Katherine Smith Dedrick

Katherine Smith Dedrick, JD MBA Fellow, CIArb
Managing Member
Law office of KSD Law LLC, Denver, Colorado, US (United States)
ADR Certified Designation : CIArb (Chrtrd Inst of Arbtrs USA)
VanIAC Panel(s) : International Arbitration
Practice Areas : Commercial Lease, Construction, Consumer, Corporate Commercial, Financial Services, Insurance and Reinsurance, Intellectual Property and Licensing, Mergers, Acquisitions, and Joint Ventures, Partnership and Shareholder, Personal Injury
Katherine’s broad experience in the domestic and international legal and business sectors, as well as a faculty member of CIArb’s Accelerated Route to Fellowship Program (teaching international arbitration), provides a solid background to serve as a neutral. Katherine is an experienced commercial litigator, arbitrator, and the co-founder of an international disaster and insurance consulting company based in the US and Asia Pacific (since sold to an Australian group). She has handled hundreds of complex commercial matters throughout the US and in other countries including New Zealand, Australia, and Chile. She has been lead counsel appearing before numerous US federal district and state courts, appellate courts and arbitration panels, as well as lead legal consultant on international disputes in New Zealand, Australia and other countries regarding complex commercial contract, construction, finance, insurance coverage (all lines including property, liability, directors and officers (D&O), duty to defend, primary/excess, errors and omissions (E&O), professional liability, cyber, claim handling), reinsurance, disaster remediation, environmental remediation, contamination, bad faith, and other matters. She has handled domestic and international arbitration, mediation, trials and appeals in both the civil and common law arenas. Katherine also worked with a foreign government to create arbitral procedures to resolve commercial disputes more quickly, after natural disasters devastated the country and court system.
Katherine has significant arbitration experience both as a party representative and neutral. As a party representative, she was lead counsel on complex insurance, reinsurance, environmental contamination, bad faith, and other commercial contract matters. As a neutral she has been a panel member in complex commercial financial disputes, and a sole arbitrator in property insurance, commercial business, and consumer matters. Katherine is a neutral with the American Arbitration Association, an arbitrator with FINRA, and a Fellow and recent past Chair of the North American Branch (NAB) of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. In addition to her law degree, Katherine received an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business studying in the US, Singapore, and Barcelona. As Chair of NAB, Katherine has been involved in numerous presentations on international arbitration including presenting in Samoa, Brazil, and with CIArb members of other countries. She is also a member of CIArb’s Faculty, teaching international arbitration for its Accelerated Route to Fellowship Program.
Dispute Resolution Experience and TrainingIn 2022, Katherine participated in the following international arbitration presentations/conferences: CIArb’s Congress in London, panel presenter at California’s International Arbitration Week, panel presenter at the University of Pittsburg, School of Law on international arbitration, presented at the International Americas’ Conference in Miami (with Brazil, Bahama, Aruba, Peru, and other countries), and at the Capacity Sharing Program in Brazil. As Chair of NAB, she oversaw the training of members in international arbitration. Katherine has been a party representative and neutral involving commercial contracts and other matters, and US domestic contracts and disputes, having handled matters in civil and common law arenas. See above.
Professional and Other Activities- Immediate Past Chair, Executive Committee Member, Board Member, and past Vice-Chair of Programs of the North American Branch (NAB) – Chartered Institute of Arbitrators
- Faculty member for NAB’s Accelerated Route to Fellowship, teaching International Arbitration to practitioners, corporate counsel, and others.
- Speaker on International Arbitration to numerous participants around the world, the Americas Conference, and various Universities.
- Panelist for two years at California International Arbitration Week
- Past, Vice-Chair of Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee of American Bar Association
- Arbitrator with the American Arbitration Association and FINRA
- Business Insurance Women to Watch Award
- Mercedes Mentor Award
- Women With Vision award from the Women’s Bar Association
- Juris Doctorate with High Honors from IIT Chicago Kent College of Law
- MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business (studying in Chicago, Barcelona, and Singapore)
- Fellow, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators
- Member of various US state and federal bars
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