Sovereign & States Disputes and Enforcement Summit 2024

Tim Marshall is a leading authority on foreign affairs with more than thirty years of reporting experience. He was diplomatic editor at Sky News and before that worked for the BBC and LBC/IRN radio. He has reported from forty countries and covered conflicts in Croatia, Bosnia, Macedonia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, and Israel. He is the author of Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps That Explain Everything About the World; The Age of Walls: How Barriers Between Nations Are Changing Our World; and A Flag Worth Dying For: The Power and Politics of National Symbols. He is founder and editor of the current affairs site TheWhatandtheWhy.com.

Thomas Eymond-Laritaz is the Founder & CEO of Highgate, a strategic advisory firm expert in dispute resolution and special situations. Thomas has advised more than a dozen Presidents and Prime Ministers, and numerous CEOs and ultra-high net worth individuals throughout the world.

Thomas started his career as a French civil servant and worked for the French Prime Minister’s office in Paris. He then served as senior political adviser to the Bulgarian Prime Minister in Sofia and to the Georgian President in Tbilisi. He worked for five years in Kyiv as Chief of Staff to Victor Pinchuk, one of Ukraine’s most prominent investors. Before setting up Highgate, Thomas served as Managing Director at Mercury and Executive Director at APCO Worldwide in London.

Thomas is a French and British citizen. He graduated from the Ecole des Mines de Paris and the Corps des Mines.

Dániel Dózsa is a partner of Queritius with more than 15 years of experience in international dispute resolution. He focuses his practice on litigation and international commercial and investor-state arbitrations. He has experience handling such cases before various courts and the world’s leading arbitral fora, including the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA), the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC), the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), as well as under the rules of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL).

In addition to his counsel work, Dániel regularly accepts appointments as an arbitrator and is listed on the panels of arbitration courts in the UK (LCIA), the British Virgin Islands (BVI IAC), Hungary (MKIK), Romania (BIAC) and Georgia (GIAC).

Dániel’s experience includes cases brought under bilateral investment treaties and multilateral investment treaties such as the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT), as well as under various types of commercial and investment contracts. Dániel has represented private companies, state-owned enterprises, and national governments in major international arbitration cases, including in “bet-the-company” disputes, and has advised parties involving oil and gas, electricity, telecommunications, and a wide range of EU law matters.

Dániel is a guest lecturer of International Dispute Resolution at Leiden Law School, the Netherlands, where he also pursues a Ph.D. in Intra-EU dispute resolution.

Before joining Queritius, Dániel was a senior lawyer in international dispute-resolution groups of leading global law firms in Washington, D.C., London and Budapest.

Maria-Clara Van den Bossche is a member of the Litigation & Risk Management practice group in the Brussels office of Loyens & Loeff.

Maria-Clara is an all-round litigator specialized in cross-border commercial litigation, with a particular focus on class actions, asset recovery and enforcement matters. She has broad experience in enforcement of foreign judgments and arbitral awards and has represented a broad range of investors, States and foreign central banks. Through her involvement in most of the class actions initiated in Belgium so far and several publications on this topic, she gained extensive expertise in this field. She is currently recognised as Key Lawyer in Dispute Resolution by the Legal 500. 

Maria-Clara is a key member of the firm wide Region Team US and the Digital Economy team. She was seconded to the New York representative office of Loyens & Loeff from September 2022 until May 2023.

Elena Fedorova specializes in civil fraud/asset recovery, recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards and foreign judgments, complex cross-border civil matters, and criminal proceedings. Elena often intervenes in cases involving former Soviet Union countries. At Bonifassi Avocats, which she joined in 2014, Elena represents BTA Bank of Kazakhstan as a civil party in the criminal investigation against Mukhtar Ablyazov, who is accused of defrauding the bank of $7.5 billion in one of the largest known frauds ever perpetrated. Elena also counsels the English trustees of Boris Berezovsky’s estate to recover assets he beneficially owned in France. She handled the recognition in France of a $200 million US judgment involving a bad bank, and civil fraud litigation for asset recovery involving complex corporate structures in offshore jurisdictions. Elena successfully defended a $50 million arbitral award in setting-aside proceedings with fraud allegations. She often obtains evidence in France for domestic and foreign civil proceedings. She contributed to several complex actions to recognize and enforce foreign judgments, including many against sovereign entities, along with related asset recovery.

Jean Paul is the firm’s global head and has over 20 years’ experience representing private investors, States and State agencies in investment and commercial disputes all over the world. He has also been listed as part of “45 under 45” ranking of Global Arbitration Review 100 and is recognized as a “Global Leader” in international arbitration by Who’s Who Legal. He is ranked in the Chambers Latin America Guide 2023 and has been recognized as a “next generation partner” by The Legal 500. Educated in the civil law and common law systems, Jean Paul has been involved as arbitrator and counsel in over 40 international arbitrations under the rules of the ICC, ICSID, UNCITRAL, LCIA and CEMA, with a particular focus in the mining, electricity and hydrocarbon sectors. He started his career in 2002 in the disputes group of a full-service firm in Buenos Aires. In 2005 and 2006 he worked in the litigation department of Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, in London. Between 2007 and 2017, he worked in the international arbitration group of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, spending time in the Paris, Washington D.C. and London offices. He left Freshfields in 2017 to set up Dechamps International Law. Jean Paul maintains an active academic activity in the field of international arbitration. He currently teaches, together with Constantine Partasides (Three Crowns LLP) the Seminar on International Arbitration to the students of the Master of Law at the London School of Economics. He is also a visiting professor at the Austral University (Buenos Aires) where he teaches a Practical Seminar on International Arbitration. Jean Paul also delivers the Workshop on Examination of Witnesses for the Degree in Law & Bachelor in Global Governance students at ESADE University in Barcelona. He is a member of the Editorial Committee of the Latin American Journal of International Commercial Law, edited by the Faculty of Law of the Autonomous National University of Mexico (UNAM).

Nick Cherryman is an English barrister and trial advocate, with over 30 years’ experience of global disputes and strategic situations. He represents institutions, ultimate beneficial owners (UBOs) and high-net-worth individuals offensively or defensively. Mr. Cherryman’s cases involve complex fact patterns, different legal systems (common law and civil code), competing litigations and arbitrations, political dynamics, governments and prosecution authorities, Interpol, criminal and civil investigations, international treaties and reputational management issues. He has acted as counsel in cases involving all the leading financial and offshore centers. Mr. Cherryman has for many years been recognized in multiple legal directories for commercial litigation as well as international arbitration. He has been described as a disputes “heavyweight” and ranked as a “Leading Disputes Lawyer for Commercial Litigation” in The Legal 500, which described him as “an extraordinary specialist and highly reliable person, whose commitment to excellence and sharp instincts of a court lawyer make his performance unparalleled.”

Paul has 20 years of dispute resolution, litigation support and business intelligence experience and has led cross-border cases in many challenging jurisdictions for governments, law firms and corporate clients. 

Paul, a former disputes lawyer, is regularly instructed to support sovereign and commercial disputes on both the claimant and defendant side and has expert insight into the complexities of state immunity laws and their impact on enforcement of judgments and awards, as well as expertise in enforcement, asset-tracing and settlement negotiations. 

Paul started his career at KPMG before joining the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, where he spent time in Afghanistan. He later ran his own investigations firm before qualifying as a solicitor and working at one of London’s leading disputes law firms. 

Paul has a BA from Durham University and a Master of Laws from the University of Law.

Mikhail is a partner at the dispute resolution boutique Cooke, Young & Keidan LLP. His expertise includes financial sanctions and disputes arising out of financial sanctions. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrations and has conducted arbitrations under the major arbitral institutions and rules, including LCIA, ICC, SCC and UNCITRAL, as well as commodities arbitrations, including under the FOSFA rules. Mikhail regularly acts in disputes concerning assets in or clients from the emerging markets, and disputes arising from legal restrictions. In addition to arbitration, Mikhail’s practice includes financial sanctions. He has extensive experience of disputes arising out of financial sanctions and advising on contracts impacted by financial sanctions. Mikhail’s experience also includes challenging an OFSI fine in a ministerial review and obtaining sanctions authorisations from the relevant authorities. 

Founder and Managing Partner of the London and New York offices of Pallas, Natasha focuses on complex commercial litigation disputes in the English Courts, internationally and through arbitration. She is the go-to counsel for some of the most important global corporates and her experience lies in high profile, high-value cases for hedge funds, private equity funds, investment banks, corporations and governments.

With a portfolio encompassing high-stakes business disputes, including distressed and sovereign debt investments, special situations, emerging markets, complex finance arrangements and restructurings, she has a reputation as being one of the leading litigators of the most important investor disputes of the last decade.

Top-ranked in Chambers and Partners and Legal 500 for Commercial Litigation and Banking Litigation, Natasha was also listed by Financial News as one of the 50 Most Influential Lawyers and one of the 100 Most Influential Women in European Finance in 2022 and 2023.

Robert Kry’s practice focuses on trial and appellate litigation. He represents clients before the United States Supreme Court, the federal courts of appeals, and other federal and state courts. His practice covers a broad array of subject matters, including sovereign immunity, arbitration, enforcement of arbitral awards, constitutional law, business litigation, securities fraud, and intellectual property.

Mr. Kry is a founding partner of MoloLamken, which he joined after several years in the Supreme Court and appeals practice of another prominent firm. Before that, Mr. Kry served as a law clerk to Justice Antonin Scalia of the United States Supreme Court and to Judge Alex Kozinski of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Legal 500 describes Mr. Kry as a “great writer” and an “incredibly quick and deep thinker” with an “impressive command of the law.”  Benchmark Litigation calls him a Litigation Star and notes his “steady ascent in profile.” Chambers says he “has a mind like a supercomputer” and “knows everything there is to know about the recognition of foreign judgments and awards.” Lawdragon named him one of the 500 Leading Lawyers in America.  He has been featured in prestigious publications including the New York Times and the National Law Journal.

Daniele Geronzi co-heads the Dispute Resolution department. He has over 20 years’ experience in advising leading national and international financial institutions and corporations on complex commercial, financial, corporate and insolvency litigations. He represents clients in both ordinary courts and in national and international institutional and ad hoc arbitrations. Daniele has gained considerable experience in financial and cross-border litigation, with a focus on derivative transactions, where he has advised clients on several leading cases, as well as on securities litigation before Courts and Agencies (Consob and Banca d’Italia). He is an expert in energy litigation, providing assistance to clients on ordinary, provisional and arbitration proceedings covering a wide range of matters, including disputes on SPA, EPC and O&M contracts and underlying guarantees. He is an expert in aviation law, assisting leading multinational aircraft lessors in their business relationships, litigations and trade with major Italian airlines. Daniele is also particularly active in bankruptcy and restructuring law issues, providing assistance to banks, investment funds and multinational companies in major bankruptcy, composition with creditors and extraordinary administration procedures. He successfully co-assisted a well-known multinational tobacco company in the first class action brought by smokers in Italy.  Before joining Legance, Daniele worked for a leading international law firm, in both their London and Rome offices. He headed the litigation and insolvency department in Rome. He was admitted to the Italian Bar in 2001 and is a Supreme Court barrister since 2014.

For well over 20 years, Baiju has focused exclusively on international arbitration matters. He has served as counsel and arbitrator (sole, wing, and chair) in international arbitrations involving ICSID, ICC, LCIA, ICDR, SIAC, HKIAC, UNCITRAL Rules, bilateral investment treaties (BITs), the Energy Charter Treaty, NAFTA, DR-CAFTA, and public international law. He has also advised states on the negotiation and drafting of investment treaties, and investors on the (re)structuring of their investments for maximum treaty protection consonant with tax and corporate governance strategies.

Samantha J. Rowe is a partner in Debevoise & Pimpton’s International Dispute Resolution Group. Ms. Rowe has represented private clients and States across multiple jurisdictions in arbitrations and litigations governed by various substantive laws and conducted under the rules of the ICC, LCIA, ICSID, UNCITRAL and SIAC. She is a solicitor (England & Wales) and admitted to the New York bar. Ms. Rowe has been named to The Lawyer’s Hot 100 list, and was named a Rising Star for International Arbitration by Law360, and a UK Rising Star, and a Rising Star in the Commercial Arbitration practice category at the Euromoney Legal Media Group Europe Rising Stars Awards. Ms. Rowe is included in The Legal 500’s International Arbitration Powerlist, and she is listed by Who’s Who Legal (2022) as a leading lawyer and thought leader for arbitration. Chambers Global (2023), Chambers UK (2024) The Legal 500 UK (2024), and The Legal 500 Latin America (2023) recommend her for International Arbitration; The Legal 500 UK (2024) further recommends her for Public International Law.

Trevor Withane is one of Australia’s leading disputes and insolvency lawyers, who has been consistently recognised as such in Legal 500 and Doyle’s Guide.

A former UK lawyer, Trevor started his legal career at global elite firm, Allen & Overy, followed by a stint at Mishcon de Reya in fraud defence before being called to the English Bar, where he was involved in several commercial and fraud related cases.

Having relocated to Australia, Trevor founded Ironbridge Legal where his practice focuses on acting for corporates, directors, high-net-worth individuals and liquidators in complex, often bet-the-farm, disputes – in court and in arbitral proceedings. Trevor also advises clients in relation to recognition and enforcement of overseas judgments, arbitral awards and insolvency proceedings in Australia.

Ironbridge Legal is a truly specialist, conflict free and intellectually rigorous disputes and insolvency law firm, with offices in Sydney and Melbourne. The firm represents clients in all courts in Australia, regardless of state.

Maureen Ward is a leading fraud and asset recovery lawyer working extensively in the area of litigation related to fraud and financial crime.

Maureen is co-head of the fraud law group and represents stakeholders from multiple industries in complex domestic and international cross-border litigation, internal investigations and multi-jurisdictional disputes. She frequently provides swift legal and strategic advice after the discovery of a fraud including by attending at court to seek urgent tracing and freezing orders. Maureen is an Officer of the International Bar Association Asset Recovery Committee.

Nikos Asimakopoulos joined Alaco in 2008. He focuses on dispute-related assignments on behalf of law firms and their clients, working internationally. He has developed specific expertise in the extractive industries, particularly in Russia, Central Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Nikos holds a BSc and an MSc in Economics from the universities of York and Bath, respectively.  He speaks Greek and Russian.

Barbara is a partner in the International Arbitration Department of BonelliErede. She has extensive experience in inter-state arbitration and international commercial arbitration. She regularly assists clients in disputes concerning M&A and post-M&A disputes, construction projects, commercial contracts and the gas industry.

Before joining BonelliErede, Barbara worked for several years as a Legal Adviser at the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal in The Hague.

Barbara has been listed by Who’s Who Legal as a Future Leader in International Arbitration and as a National Leader for Italy – Arbitration and is described as “a favourite of peers and clients who report that she delivers ‘competence and specialist knowledge’ and has ‘an impressive reputation in the space’”.

Barbara is fluent in Italian, English and Spanish. She graduated summa cum laude from the “Roma Tre” University and has a PhD in International and European Law from the University of Teramo.

Solomon Ebere is a New York attorney and French avocat whose practice encompasses advising on international dispute resolution, international law and general commercial matters. Solomon advises multinational corporations as well as sovereign States and private clients. He has considerable experience in investor-state arbitration, litigation and mediation with a particular focus on emerging markets. Solomon has practiced in London, New York, Paris and Geneva at leading international arbitration practices, and has represented clients under most major arbitral rules systems. His recent experience includes acting for sovereign States and private clients in multiple ICSID and commercial arbitrations across sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and Eastern Europe. Solomon is also the Director of Communications at the Africa Arbitration Academy, a critically-acclaimed advanced training programme provided to young African practitioners.

Anya George is a partner in Schellenberg Wittmer's dispute resolution group. As a trilingual and dual qualified lawyer (Switzerland and England & Wales), she represents states, state-owned entities and private companies in complex multi-jurisdictional disputes across a wide range of sectors, with particular emphasis on energy infrastructure, commodities and natural resources, insurance and reinsurance contracts, and manufacturing and sales agreements.

Anya has acted in over 60 arbitrations under the ICC, LCIA, CAS, UNCITRAL and Swiss Rules, as well as in ad hoc proceedings. She has special expertise in arbitration-related litigation, including enforcement and setting-aside proceedings before the Swiss Supreme Court, in both French and German. She also advises clients on ESG-related issues.

Anya is a lecturer in International Commercial Arbitration at the University of Zurich. She is also a member of the ICC Swiss Commission of Arbitration and ADR and of the Board of the Swiss Arbitration Association (ASA).

Alia Al-Gazzar is a Senior Associate in the Firm’s International Arbitration Group, a Research Assistant at the American University in Cairo (AUC), and a Lecturer of International Law and Arbitration at the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport (AASTMT) – School of Law. Dr. Al-Gazzar specializes in commercial, investment and interstate arbitration. She holds a Ph.D. Degree in International Law from the Graduate Institute for International and Development Studies (IHEID), and an LL.M. from the Geneva Master in International Dispute Settlement (MIDS) in Switzerland. During Dr. Al-Gazzar’s doctoral studies, she trained in top-tier international arbitration boutiques in Paris and Dubai and acted as legal consultant to a number of international law firms in Geneva, where she handled investor-state, interstate and commercial arbitration disputes under the auspices of various ad hoc and institutional arbitration rules, including the ICSID, DIAC, ICC, UNCITRAL, and SCC.

Laure-Hélène Gaicio-Fievez is a partner at BSP and focuses on complex real estate, commercial, corporate and financial disputes.

Laure-Hélène has been recognized as a “next generation partner” having strong reputation in cross-border litigation. She is considered by her clients as being creative and efficient. Laure-Hélène indeed has extensive experience in all forms of international and domestic dispute resolution with a particular focus on commercial, corporate, financial, fund and real estate matters. She assists her clients through the entire process, from pre-litigation to the enforcement of the decision obtained. She is a member of the IFG (International Fraud Group). In addition, she has experience in real estate and commercial contracts, drafting and negotiating a number of complex agreements.

Alberto Fortún has represented private investors against public authorities, particularly in Africa and Latin America. He is recognized nationally and internationally as a promoter of arbitration in Spain, and is an expert in resolving commercial disputes relating to energy projects, joint ventures, engineering and construction. He has participated in over 100 arbitrations and alternative dispute resolutions (including mediation, adjudication and dispute resolution boards). He is a fellow and an approved trainer of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. He has acted as arbitrator at the LCIA, the Court of Arbitration of Madrid and the European Arbitration Association. He is a listed arbitrator in the ICDR roster of the AAA, in the Hispanic-Moroccan Court and the Dubai International Arbitration Center. He is a member of the LCIA, AIPN, ABA (International Law Section, international litigation and arbitration committees) and an affiliate member of the Inter–American Affairs Committee of the New York City Bar. He was foreign counsel to the US firm Fulbright & Jaworski in Houston (Texas) from 1999 to 2000. He is also a member of Georgetown University's European Law Advisory Board. He is an associate lecturer in the Master in International Law and Sports Law at the Instituto Superior de Derecho y Economía (ISDE), and he lectures on international conflicts management in the Corporate Diplomacy & Public Affairs Program at Schiller International University. He also lectures and organizes courses on international construction disputes. He regularly contributes to publications and collective works on arbitration.

Recognised by The Legal 500 as a “rising star” “headed for the very top”, and by Who’s Who Legal as a Global Elite Thought Leader for both Asset Recovery and Commercial Litigation, Jon specialises in high-value, complex international commercial disputes with particular expertise in civil fraud, enforcement and asset recovery (including both commercial and sovereign debt), and he has obtained a number of ground-breaking orders in this regard. Chambers & Partners describes Jon as “incredibly impressive” and “an incredible tactician”, recognising him for his civil fraud work. The Legal 500 has called Jon a “bright young gun with a shrewd mind and a calm approach” and states there is “complete trust and faith in Jon’s advice and his expertise”, recognising him as a leading individual for civil fraud, a next generation partner for banking litigation, and recommending him for premium commercial litigation, international arbitration and commodities disputes. Jon has an international practice with clients including states, financial institutions, corporate clients, high-net-worth individuals and insolvency practitioners, and has acted on a number of complex and high value Russian/CIS cases.

Emmanuel Kaspereit is a partner of Archipel specialising in international litigation, including cross-border proceedings, enforcement, interim measures, and international asset tracing. He has considerable experience in enforcement of foreign judgments and arbitral awards against sovereign states and in fraud matters. He advises French and international clients on defining and carrying out strategies for recovery of assets.

Axel Benjamin Herzberg, LL.M. (London, Queen Mary/UCL) is an international business lawyer based in Berlin, Germany. Mr Herzberg's firm, BODENHEIMER, provides legal advice to and represents corporate, institutional, and individual clients in complex matters pertaining to German, European and international law. Mr Herzberg is an expert in litigating, arbitrating, and collecting claims of all kinds, both, nationally and internationally. He primarily handles domestic and international arbitration as well as cross-border litigation matters. In addition to his work as party's counsel, Mr Herzberg also frequently acts as arbitrator in international and domestic proceedings (especially ICC and DIS) and, upon nomination of the German National Committee of ICC, has been appointed member of the ICC Commission on Arbitration and ADR and of its Task Force on Emergency Arbitrator Proceedings. Following his second state exam in law in 2010, Mr Herzberg was appointed Deputy Counsel at the Secretariat of the ICC International Court of Arbitration in Paris, handling some 80+ international commercial as well as investor-state arbitrations. In 2011, Mr Herzberg assumed a position as associate with the litigation and arbitration group of Baker & McMenzie in Berlin where he handled international dispute matters until 2013. In 2014, Axel Benjamin Herzberg completed the University of London (Queen Mary/UCL) Postgraduate LL.M. programme in International Business Law with "merit", and launched HERZBERG LEGAL. In 2017, Mr Herzberg co-founded the law firm of BODENHEIMER HERZBERG, jointly with Dr Rouven F Bodenheimer. Following further growth on the partner level, the firm was renamed BODENHEIMER. Axel Benjamin Herzberg heads the Berlin office. Mr Herzberg is a bar-certified specialist in international business law (FA IWR) and admitted to the roll of solicitors of the Senior Courts of England and Wales. Mr Herzberg is frequently invited as speaker, lecturer or panelist to conferences and seminars across the world.

Fabio Trevisan is a partner and head of BSP’s Dispute Resolution practice. His practice focuses on a wide spectrum of complex commercial, corporate and financial litigation and arbitration.

He has played a role in a number of high-profile cases, with over two decades of experience in managing and conducting litigation for his clients in almost all sectors.

Fabio has experience in all forms of dispute resolution including litigation, mediation and arbitration as well as general banking, corporate and commercial dispute resolution. He has extensive experience of applications for enforcing and obtaining freezing injunctions in international arbitration, enforcements of ICSID awards, and more generally in the recovery of assets.

Fabio has further developed a reputation in real estate matters and commercial contracts.

Thanks to his native origins and having an extensive experience in representing Italian clients, Fabio is also the founder and Head of BSP’s Italian desk.

Tomas is the Founder of Vail Dispute Resolution, an independent disputes practice advising on investor-state arbitration and international commercial arbitration under the ICSID, LCIA, ICC, SCC, NAI and UNCITRAL rules. With over a decade of experience in the world’s top arbitration practices, Tomas is recognised by Chambers and Legal 500, and by Who’s Who Legal as among the “most highly regarded” arbitration practitioners in EMEA. He is currently acting as lead counsel in an ICSID arbitration against Belarus and in other investment treaty disputes under bilateral and multilateral investment treaties, including under the Energy Charter Treaty. Tomas is also acting as lead counsel in several commercial arbitrations, and has experience representing clients in commercial arbitrations involving sovereigns and state-owned entities. Tomas regularly sits as arbitrator and is listed in the arbitration panels of the LCIA, ICC, SCC and SIAC, among others. He is fluent in English, Russian and French.

James Ramsden KC is a Partner and co-founder of Astraea Group, a special situations legal and professional services firm, providing partner-led strategic counsel to help its clients navigate high-stakes threats and exploit opportunities, in an increasingly complex and unpredictable world. 

James has an expansive international practice in commercial dispute resolution and cross-border enforcement, serving a diverse clientele of UHNW, corporate, governmental and regulatory clients.

As Partner in Astraea Group, James has forged an exceptional practice in complex cross-border asset tracing claims.  In recognition of that expertise, in 2022 Astraea Group was appointed global counsel in the longstanding $500m ECT Arbitration enforcement proceedings brought against the Republic of Kazakhstan. 

James has been recognised by Chambers UK and Chambers Global as a leading Silk in commercial dispute resolution and civil fraud, described as “an absolute star” and “a totally dedicated and stellar leader.” He is a committed and versatile advocate who is known for leading cohesive and effective teams in complex and often time-constrained assignments. 

Apoorva Patel is a counsel at Alston & Bird and is based in New York.  He has a decade of experience in international arbitration, including high-stakes commercial and investment treaty disputes, worldwide court proceedings concerning the enforcement or challenge of arbitration agreements and arbitral awards, and varied disputes involving foreign sovereigns and their instrumentalities.  He also represents clients in international litigation in U.S. courts and advises on public international law matters and U.S. law issues in relation to foreign court proceedings.  Apoorva is a graduate of Harvard Law School and is a frequent author and speaker on topics of international arbitration law and practice.  He also has served in leadership roles in several global and national organizations focused on cross-border dispute resolution.

Lim Wei Lee is the Deputy Head of the firm's Banking & Financial Disputes Practice and a Partner in the International Arbitration Practice. Her main areas of practice involve litigation and arbitration across a wide range of matters including commercial, corporate, and banking disputes, fraud, cross-border trade and investment disputes, insolvency, and judicial review. In addition to an active court practice as counsel in the High Court and Court of Appeal, Wei Lee has acted as counsel in arbitrations conducted under various leading arbitral rules (e.g. SIAC, ICC, UNCITRAL, AIAC, LCIA). Wei Lee also sits as arbitrator, both as party-appointed co-arbitrator and through appointments by arbitral institutions (as designated appointing authority).

Dmytro Marchukov has represented international and local clients in close to every kind of dispute resolution matters including domestic and cross-border litigation, transnational insolvency and receivership, asset tracing and recovery, fraud investigation, enforcement of mortgages and pledges (including against shareholdings in Ukrainian companies), commercial and investment arbitration under the major institutional and ad hoc rules, as well as recognition and enforcement of foreign judicial and arbitral awards. He also occasionally receives appointments as an arbitrator and is regularly instructed as the Ukrainian law expert having acted in this role in civil and criminal proceedings in the US, UK, BVI, Monaco, Switzerland and Cyprus, as well as in investment arbitrations under the ICSID rules.

Kian Meshkat is the Principal Attorney of Meshkat Law, P.C., with more than a decade of experience representing clients all over the world and across numerous industries, in matters involving economic sanctions administered by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) and export controls administered by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”). This includes providing routine compliance advice, regulatory licensing, internal investigations, self-disclosures, enforcement actions, and delisting matters. He regularly advises clients on U.S. economic sanctions implications for transactions and legal disputes involving sanctioned targets. Kian previously served as a subject matter expert to the court-appointed monitor for the largest monitorship in U.S. history related to sanctions and export controls violations. As an advocate, he has a track record of success representing clients before OFAC and BIS. Kian has been featured in various media outlets and prestigious publications.

Marija Šobat is a senior associate at Gaillard Banifatemi Shelbaya Disputes.  She represents and advises companies, State-owned entities and States in commercial and investment arbitrations.  Her experience includes arbitrations conducted under the Rules of ICSID, SCC, ICC, CRCICA and UNCITRAL, with a focus on disputes related to oil & gas, pharmaceuticals, infrastructure, and finance. Marija also advises States on public international law issues (including on negotiation and drafting of international treaties) and has experience in arbitration-related proceedings before national courts. Marija was previously a member of Shearman & Sterling’s international arbitration team, where she practiced for six years.  She is admitted in New York and Serbia. Marija graduated from University of Belgrade Faculty of Law (LL.B.), Harvard Law School (LL.M.), University of Geneva & Graduate Institute (MIDS, Master), and Università di Roma La Sapienza (Master).  She is fluent in English, Italian, Serbian, and French.

Daniel is a partner with the U.S. law firm Zeichner Ellman & Krause LLP (“ZEK”) and a senior member of ZEK’s dispute resolution practice. Daniel is based in Israel and runs ZEK’s foreign attorney’s office in Tel Aviv. He regularly represents large international companies, financial institutions and high net worth individuals in complex and high stakes U.S. and cross-border litigation, arbitration, mediation, enforcement proceedings, and matters relating to asset recovery.

 Daniel has significant experience in representing international clients in U.S. discovery proceedings including 28 USC § 1782 (“1782”). Daniel has successfully represented numerous clients in high profile and sensitive 1782 matters including court appointed receivers, large multinational corporations, and high net worth individuals.  He has worked with petitioners seeking discovery as well as respondents from whom discovery is sought.  Daniel has authored numerous articles on 1782 and international discovery and lectured about this subject.

An international lawyer who denounced the corruption of Russian courts in 2005 and was deported from Russia.

Raphael Kaminsky specialises in commercial litigation, international arbitration and alternative dispute resolution (ADR).

Raphael has acted as counsel in a large number of domestic and international commercial arbitrations, both institutional and ad hoc.  He also regularly sits as arbitrator.  His experience encompasses disputes in the telecommunications, defence, energy, aerospace and distribution sectors, relating to project in Europe, Africa and the Middle East.  Raphael also has a broad experience in pre- and post-arbitration litigation before the French courts and has been involved in dozens of set-aside proceedings, appeals against exequatur orders and in the enforcement of arbitral awards, including against sovereigns.

Raphael is also a recognised expert in domestic and international commercial litigation.  He has acted in a large number of proceedings before French courts and his experience includes post-M&A disputes, and disputes in the telecommunication, distribution and heavy industry sectors.

Nicolae’s work includes complex litigation support projects, asset recovery assignments as well as strategic investigations focused on understanding decision-making at different levels of state administration.  He assists commercial and sovereign clients at various stages of disputes, from initial strategy to enforcement.  Nicolae’s primary focus is the FSU (mainly Russia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Moldova).  He has also managed projects in Africa and Central & Eastern Europe.

Antreas’ practice focuses on complex commercial disputes, restructurings and insolvencies, usually involving civil fraud,  shareholder disputes, asset recovery and injunctions. Antreas has been called to the Bar of England and Wales, is a member of the Cyprus Bar Association and holds an MSc in Management from Imperial College, London. His in-depth understanding, analytical mind and ability to perceive and deal with issues from both a local and global perspective, enable Antreas to offer tailored and sustainable advice to the firm’s clients, who benefit from his broad knowledge, experience and acute understanding of legal issues. Antreas is regularly recommended as a leading lawyer from the various directories.

Marco Eliëns is a partner at Lemstra Van der Korst in Amsterdam. Marco specialises in international arbitration and litigation. He has acted for numerous listed companies and large multinational corporations in proceedings under the ICC, ICSID, UNCITRAL, LCIA and NAI rules, and has acted in many enforcement proceedings involving arbitral awards as well as court judgments. Marco also acts as an arbitrator and works as a deputy judge at the Court of Appeal of Arnhem-Leeuwarden. He has published on arbitration, litigation funding, corporate law and financial reporting. Before joining Lemstra Van der Korst, Marco formed part of the dispute resolution team at De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek, where he started his career in 2012. In 2019, Marco was seconded to Tenor Capital, a litigation funder in New York.

Steven Friel is a lawyer, and the CEO of Woodsford, a collective redress and litigation finance business. Repeatedly recognised as a leader in law and finance by Chambers & Partners and Legal 500, Steven has extensive experience, from his time in litigation finance, and from before that as a partner at two major international law firms, of handling high value disputes for and against sovereign states. He is experienced in investor-state arbitrations, and in sovereign debt restructuring. Steven is a graduate of Cambridge University and graduated first in his class with a Master’s degree in International Dispute Resolution from the University of London. He authors the leading treatise on the Law and Business of Litigation Finance. He is a Member of the Global Stewardship Committee of the International Corporate Governance Network, and an Advisory Board Member on Sustainable Governance and Law at University College London.

Jennifer Younan is a partner in the International Arbitration and Public International Law practices at Shearman & Sterling, and Head of the Paris Office. Jennifer has over 20 years’ experience advising and representing companies, State-owned entities and States in investment treaty and commercial arbitrations. Jennifer has notably participated in several of the largest international disputes submitted to arbitration, securing historic victories for the Firm’s clients, including a $ 50 billion award for the majority shareholders in the former Yukos Oil Company. She has particular expertise in investment and energy-related disputes in emerging markets, as well as disputes with a Russian nexus, and is well known for advising on topical issues in the field of public international law. Jennifer is recognised as a Global Market Leader by Chambers & Partners, a Leading Lawyer in The Legal 500 and a Global Leader and Thought Leader (France) in Who’s Who Legal: Arbitration.

Prosha Dehghani is a partner of Archipel specialising in international litigation and recovery procedures, with a wealth of experience in enforcement against sovereign states, including alter ego issues. She has a thorough understanding of international sanctions (including the UN, the EU and OFAC). She also advises clients on international commercial contracts and corporate law.

Ankita Ritwik is Of Counsel in the Washington, D.C. office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP. She is a member of the International Arbitration, Transnational Litigation and Judgement and Arbitral Award Enforcement Practice Groups. Ankita has extensive experience in investment treaty and international commercial arbitration, including award enforcement in multiple jurisdictions. She has represented a variety of clients with investments in Europe, Latin America, Asia and Africa, in the mining, energy, telecommunications, real estate, maritime and manufacturing industries in international arbitration and enforcement proceedings.

Tim Rauschning is a partner in Luther’s Hamburg-based Complex Disputes team and member of the energy industry group. He has 10 years of experience in investment arbitrations, disputes in the energy and infrastructure sector as well as general commercial and corporate arbitrations. Tim has first-hand experience of the German intra-EU anti-arbitration proceedings and a deep understanding of quantum issues. His regional focus is on Latin America. He also sits as arbitrator and is recognised by Legal500, Who’s Who Legal,  “Best Lawyers in Germany” and Expert Guides’ “Rising Stars”.

Dirk Schütz is editor-in-chief of the business magazine BILANZ. He studied economics and journalism in Geneva, Friborg and Eichstätt and graduated from the Hamburg School of Journalism. He was editor-in-chief of the business newspaper CASH and deputy editor-in-chief of the German business magazine Wirtschaftswoche and is the author of several non-fiction books such as “The Fall of UBS” and “Greedy Bosses”.

Olivier has substantial experience advising and representing creditors, shareholders, investment funds, financial institutions and management companies in a broad range of complex, high value cross-border disputes related to the loss of investments, and commercial and state entities in recognition and enforcement proceedings (foreign judgments and awards, attachments of assets).

Ranked in Chambers & Partners since 2021 “following impressive market recognition” with clients saying: “She is a very brave advocate and a good strategist”, “She is good, really smart and to the point” and “Ahrel is an effective manager and lawyer who has the tools to make good decisions in a variety of situations.” Clients comment “Ginta Ahrel is a very sharp and experienced lawyer, providing practical advice that gives value for the client” and “Ginta Ahrel has always been ready – witted, proficient in multiple languages, open-minded and thoughtful.” (Legal 500 2023)”

Robert Heuchling is the Director of Investigations at Alaco and based in the United States. He joined Alaco is 2023 and works with both Alaco’s disputes and transactions practices.  He has nearly 20 years of service in the US government, most recently with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  He spent 13 years in the FBI, finishing as the supervisory special agent overseeing investigations into violations of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), sanctions, foreign bribery and corruption, international money laundering and anti-trust cases. 

Andrew is a Partner in the Commercial Litigation team. A pragmatic lawyer with strong judgement, remaining calm under pressure to provide clients with the most practical, commercially focused advice. He is an experienced litigator having advised clients in a number of high profile and complex matters. He advises clients across a number of sectors such as financial services, healthcare, construction, technology and insurance. He also has experience acting for governments and state organisations. He has a particular focus on English court proceedings, but also has significant experience of public inquiries, investigations (both regulatory and internal), mediations and crisis management. Andrew holds a particular interest in environmental / climate change strategic litigation and has recently advised a number of environmental organisations in bringing a landmark complaint with the OECD against a large UK power plant operator. Andrew was recognised as a key lawyer in the Legal 500 2021 described as "extremely clever and sensible. Definitely one to watch for the future."

Conway Blake is a partner and member of the firm’s International Dispute Resolution Group, based in London.

Dr. Blake represents corporate clients, sovereigns and international organisations on a range of contentious matters, particularly in investor-state arbitration, public international law disputes and commercial arbitrations governed by various substantive laws and conducted under the major arbitral rules. He is actively involved in the public international law and arbitration communities (including the YIAG, YPILG and YICCA), and has been recognised as a Future Leader in international arbitration by Who’s Who Legal (2022). Dr. Blake is recommended by Chambers UK (2024), where he has been described as “a star in the making” and “a brilliant mind.” He is also recommended by The Legal 500 UK (2024), where clients describe him as “a fantastic legal strategist” and “a great communicator.” He also receives praise for his “exceptional legal knowledge, attention to detail, and ability to think outside the box.” Sources have highlighted his “outstanding judgement and extraordinary dedication whether on high profile commercial work or on pro bono human rights work.”

Peter is the founder and a Director of Slaney Advisors. He is a lawyer qualified in New York and Paris (retired), and is a former partner in the law firms of Shearman & Sterling LLP and Baker Botts LLP. Throughout his career as a lawyer, Peter focused exclusively on foreign investment and particularly foreign investment disputes. His experience brought him close to many industries, particularly the extractive industries, financial and property sectors. In 2007, Peter left the day-to-day practice of law to focus on offering more cross-disciplinary advice to a select number of existing clients. Slaney Advisors is the result of that initiative.

Stephanie Collins is an English law qualified solicitor advocate and associate in the London office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. She is a member of the firm’s International Arbitration Group.

Stephanie represents clients in both commercial and investment treaty arbitrations, as well as all aspects of public international law. Her practice has a particular focus on disputes arising in the energy (renewables, oil and gas), extractive industries, infrastructure and financial services sectors.

In the investment treaty space, she has acted as counsel in numerous arbitrations administered by ICSID and conducted under the UNCITRAL Rules. Stephanie has acted in over ten Energy Charter Treaty arbitrations, and a number of bilateral investment treaty arbitrations. She is also experienced in acting as counsel in ICSID annulment cases. In the commercial arbitration space, Stephanie has served as counsel in arbitrations administered under various institutional rules, including those of the CIArb, LCIA, ICC and SIAC.

Stephanie serves as member of CPR’s Young Leaders in ADR Steering Committee (2021-2023), as well as the Global Steering Committee for the Campaign for Greener Arbitrations. She is also a member of ArbitralWomen and the International Law Association (British Branch).

Stephanie has a secondary practice area, as a member of the firm’s Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Practice, where she advises on business and human rights issues.

She maintains an active pro bono practice and is a member of the firm’s Pro Bono Committee.

Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Stephanie trained and practised in the London office of a magic circle law firm. During this time, she spent time in the firm’s Madrid and Singapore offices and was seconded to the litigation team of a multinational energy company for nine months in 2017/2018.

Stephanie holds a degree in Law from University College London (2011), where she graduated with First-Class Honours. She spent one year studying at the National University of Singapore. She is currently a Guest Lecturer at Queen Mary University London, as part of the Energy and Resources LLM.

Anastasia is Senior Vice President at Fortress Investment Group.

Specialised in international arbitration and public and private international law, Anastasia is admitted to the Paris, New York and Quebec bars.

Anastasia regularly speaks at industry conferences and contributes to articles on a wide range of topics in connection with dispute resolution funding and international arbitration.

Anastasia has been recognised as a thought leader in Who’s Who Legal: Thought Leaders – Third Party Funding for 2020 and 2021 which features “the world’s foremost practitioners in the area, those worthy of special mention owing to their high-profile expertise and due to their ability to innovate and inspire”.

In private practice, as an associate at Three Crowns LLP and as a trainee with the international arbitration groups of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Dentons in Paris, Anastasia advised and represented private and sovereign clients in the context of complex and high-value commercial, investment, and state-to-state disputes. Anastasia has acted as counsel in disputes across numerous jurisdictions, under various international arbitration rules (including ICC, LCIA, UNCITRAL, ICSID, and SCC) and involving multiple governing laws.

Anastasia is a co-chair of CFA40, the French Arbitration Committee’s under-40 group.