The European ESG Litigation Forum

Iria heads the public law, regulatory and environment practice in the Madrid office and co-heads the regional ESG practice in EMEA, focusing specially on energy transition.

She has in-depth experience in administrative and environmental law, advising a wide array of large corporations, investment banks, sponsors and public institutions on national and cross-border transactions in the regulated sectors (including energy, water, ports, telecoms, among others). She is also an expert on public procurement, project development, public assets and properties, permitting and administrative authorizations, as well as administrative (disciplinary proceedings, administrative appeals, administrative liability) and contentious administrative proceedings.

Frank Peters is a lawyer and Head of Impact & Litigation and co-founder of our firm. He is an experienced litigator. Frank has a strong focus on corporate litigation, class actions and ESG. He acts for shareholders, companies and NGOs. He previously worked at Brandeis, Spigt Litigators and De Brauw.

Julia leads the German Litigation, Arbitration & Investigations practice. She represents clients in complex disputes before courts and arbitral tribunals in the context of a range of contentious matters. Julia has extensive experience in competition litigation as well as handling complex post-M&A, construction and corporate disputes (including D&O liability, joint venture disputes and shareholder claims) both before state courts and arbitral tribunals. She also acts as an arbitrator, particularly in post-M&A disputes.

As head of the German ESG team, Julia coordinates our cross-practice activities in the rapidly changing ESG space and is a core member of our global ESG practice. She focusses on assisting clients in mitigating the liability risks associated with the ESG megatrend (greenwashing, climate change litigation, human rights issues etc.).

Tom Van Dyck heads the FinReg Team with 4 lawyers dedicated to financial services advisory.

The FinReg Team advises banks, insurance companies, payment institutions, e-money institutions, asset managers, financial intermediaries, FinTechs and RegTechs on all legal and regulatory aspects relating to their activities. Team members have contacts with the regulatory authorities (FSMA and NBB) on a daily basis.

Marie-Hélène is a commercial litigation partner with special interest in insolvency law, the energy sector and arbitration.

Marie-Hélène has a broad background in commercial litigation. She handles complex civil disputes, often in an international context. Marie-Hélène has particular expertise in specialist areas such as securities and insolvency law and the associated liabilities, such as directors' and auditors' liability. In 2013 she completed the postgraduate Grotius specialization course Financing, Securities and Insolvency Law cum laude. Marie-Hélène publishes and teaches in these areas of law. She was the principal teacher for the course Financing, Securities and Insolvency Law at the Netherlands Bar Association.

Robert Spano is a partner in the London and Paris offices and the Co-Chair of the firm’s Artificial Intelligence Practice Group, and of the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Practice Group. He practices in the field of EU litigation, international dispute resolution and advises on regulatory matters. He is a member of the Transnational Litigation, International Arbitration, Privacy, Cybersecurity and Data Innovation, Technology Regulatory and Litigation, and Public Policy Practice Groups.

He is a leading expert in public international law, business and human rights, EU law and the law of the European Convention on Human Rights, bringing unparalleled experience from senior roles in the judiciary, private practice and academia.

Robert is listed in the 2025 edition of Best Lawyers in the United Kingdom as a leading lawyer for Human Rights and Public International Law. He is also recognised by The Legal 500 UK 2025 for International Arbitration, Public International Law, TMT, Administrative and public law, Data protection, privacy and cybersecurity, ESG and Artificial Intelligence. He is also named to Lawdragon’s 100 Leading AI & Legal Tech Advisors (2024-2025) and 500 Leading Global Cyber Lawyers lists (2024-2025).

Arne Fuchs is a partner and heads our global practice group for international arbitration

Arne is a trusted advisor to corporate and sovereign clients in commercial law matters and complex disputes across industries and jurisdiction. He has vast experience with disputes revolving around large scale infrastructure and energy projects (conventional, nuclear and renewable), M&A transactions, metals & mining, as well as innovative product and industry transformation issues, including in the automotive, crypto, health, pharma & chemicals, and TMT sectors. He has experience with disputes under most major institutional rules (including ICC, LCIA, HKIAC, SCAI, SCC and DIS Rules), the ICSID Convention and UNCITRAL Rules as well as with pure ad hoc arbitration.

Marit Bosselaar is a senior associate in the litigation department of Loyens & Loeff’s Amsterdam office in the Netherlands. Marit advises and litigates on commercial contracts and liability law matters, including ESG related issues. Marit has vast experience in class action litigation and advising on collective settlements. Marit regularly publishes in scientific journals on the Dutch class action regime.

Paul specialises in corporate, commercial and private international law. His focus lies on complex cross-border disputes, including competition law follow-on litigation, international mass claims, and proceedings concerning shareholder liability. His challenges lie in determining an international strategy in matters where several possible courts may have jurisdiction and foreign parallel proceedings are sometimes already pending. In this context, he advises on motions contesting jurisdiction, cross-border discovery, attachment, and the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments. He also focuses on the question of which law applies to bundles of claims or contracts, particularly where strategic possibilities exist on the boundaries of procedural law and substantive law, and on the boundaries of company law and civil law. 

Bart-Adriaan de Ruijter is Partner Corporate Litigation at CMS. Bart-Adriaan specialises in corporate and commercial litigation. 

Bart-Adriaan focuses on the representation and advice of companies and/or its management board, supervisory board or shareholder(s) in complex litigation and crisis situations (often involving multiple jurisdictions). His expertise entails (M&A)transaction-related disputes, Enterprise Chamber proceedings, shareholder & joint-venture disputes/activism, (director’s)liability claims, international attachment/execution disputes and conflicts in relation to insolvency/restructuring. Bart-Adriaan is also passionate about and experienced in ESG and climate change & energy related disputes. He is member of the global ESG Task Force of CMS.

NICOLAS J.S. LOCKHART’s practice covers public international law, with a focus on trade and environment, and EU law relating to Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues.

With a broad understanding of sustainability policy, at both national and international level, Nic advises companies on the full breadth of ESG issues. Nic leads Sidley’s work assisting companies in addressing the wave of EU ESG legislation, including the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), the proposed Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CS3D), the Deforestation Regulation, and the proposed Green Claims Directive. Nic counsels clients on ESG marketing communications in the face of growing regulatory and litigation risks. He also advises on the EU “Fit for 55” package, including the revised Emissions Trading System, Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, and ReFuel; and the EU circular economy package, which includes measures addressing batteries, eco-design, reuse, repair, packaging, and waste. Nic has contributed to two papers on the circular economy published by the World Economic Forum, linked here and here. Nic also advises and publishes on carbon pricing, including the use of carbon offsets (e.g., corporate strategy on the use of offsets; and issues arising under the Paris Agreement and CORSIA, an international aviation agreement on carbon pricing).

Liesbeth Truyens is a Partner at Schoups.

She is a member of the Dutch Brussels Bar.

Liesbeth obtained a Master’s degree in Criminology in 2003 and obtained her law degree in 2007, after which she started her internship at the bar. She joined Schoups in 2020. Previously, she worked for two international law firms in Brussels and worked for four years as an in-house legal counsel for an international banking and insurance group in Brussels.

She focuses on commercial and financial dispute resolution. Liesbeth also specializes in corporate criminal law and compliance-related matters such as trade and financial embargoes and anti-money laundering regulations.

Liesbeth has extensive experience in international cases.

José María specialises in both public and private M&A and leads the ESG practice at Pérez-Llorca. He has extensive experience in acquisitions, joint ventures and development of infrastructure projects in Spain and abroad (UK, USA, China, Chile, Colombia, etc.). José María also specialises in Foundation Law and has been the secretary of several boards of trustees Fundación AGBAR, Fundación CASSA) and on the board of directors of several companies in the water sector (Aigües de Barcelona, Compañía de Aguas de Sabadell, Hidralia, among others).

Íñigo has spent most of his career as director of legal counsel for large multinationals in the energy and communication sector.

He holds a Degree in Law from the University of Deusto (Bilbao), a Master's Degree in Business Law from the Pompeu Fabra University, a Master's Degree in Company Law from ESADE, and pursued the Management Program for Lawyers at Instituto de Empresa, having obtained the Certified Compliance & Ethics Professional-International degree in 2017.

He is a specialist in contracting and regulatory matters in the energy industry, in project financing, as well as in energy asset transactions; he leads comprehensive advice on the energy practice area.

Besides, he also has extensive experience in implementing compliance systems. He is a member of the World Compliance Association and is an accredited Compliance expert by the WCA and the Instituto Oficiales de Cumplimiento (IOC).

Íñigo speaks English, French and Spanish.

Prof. Sharon Oded leads the Regulatory, Compliance, and Investigations practice at Norton Rose Fulbright in Amsterdam, where he is renowned as a trusted advisor and strategic partner to multinational corporations and financial institutions. His global practice spans multiple jurisdictions, offering high-level guidance to organizations during their most critical moments—whether navigating dawn raids, government inspections, product recalls, environmental and safety incidents, or conducting sensitive internal investigations.

Sharon's experience spans complex issues such as anti-bribery and corruption, insider trading, tax evasion, fraud, antitrust, export control, economic sanctions, and anti-money laundering. His ability to steer cross-border investigations and manage regulatory scrutiny makes him an indispensable resource for board members, General Counsel, and in-house legal and compliance teams. Sharon excels in helping organizations respond strategically to corporate crises while providing leadership on global compliance risk assessments, enhancing corporate compliance programs, responding to whistleblower reports, and conducting due diligence for mergers, acquisitions, and joint ventures.

Jakob is counsel at Morrison Foerster’s German office in Berlin and a member of our Corporate, Compliance, and Investigations team with a focus on corporate compliance and internal investigations. He advises both foreign and domestic clients on all areas of corporate law.

Jakob advises clients in compliance with legal matters, internal investigations, and corporate governance and assists clients in pursuing and defending damages claims arising out of compliance failures. He also advises clients on day-to-day business as well as on business transactions.

Besides, Jakob advises on Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG) related topics. For example, this includes advisory work on Germany’s Supply Chain Due Diligence Act. He also advises on ESG requirements deriving from the law of the European Union (SFDR, CSRD, NFRD, and draft CSDDD).