Dr. Nikolaus Pitkowitz is founding partner and head of dispute resolution at Pitkowitz & Partners, and President of the Vienna International Arbitral Centre (VIAC).

Dr. Nikolaus Pitkowitz is considered one of the leading arbitration practitioners and ranked among others, as the number one Austrian dispute resolution lawyer. He has acted as party counsel and arbitrator in over 130 international arbitrations, in a range from smaller to multibillion cases, located in Europe, the United States and Asia. He also acted as party counsel in many complex litigation proceedings, including cases of great public interest and cases before the European Court of Justice. Dr. Pitkowitz is experienced in a variety of industries, including energy, automotive, telecommunications, arts, (post-)M&A, real estate and construction.

Dr. Nikolaus Pitkowitz holds law degrees from Universities of Vienna (JD and PhD) and Sankt Gallen, Switzerland (MBL) and is also qualified and certified as a mediator. He is arbitrator and panel member of all leading arbitration institutions, and Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb).

Dr. Nikolaus Pitkowitz frequently speaks, lectures and is author of over 50 publications, including a monograph on Setting Aside Arbitral Awards. He is editor of the Handbook on Third Party Funding in International Arbitration (second edition 2025) and co-editor of the Austrian Yearbook on International Arbitration (annually since 2007). He is co-chair of the ILA Committee on Conflict-of-laws Issues in International Arbitration.

Pitkowitz & Partners is ranked by GAR 100 among the world’s leading arbitration firms.