Where the counterparty is sometimes a state, not a company.
Energy and natural resources disputes routinely cross borders and, occasionally, cross into investment treaty territory — a different discipline from ordinary commercial arbitration.
Treaty protection is a different discipline from contract enforcement.
When a concession is expropriated or a regulatory change guts the economics of a long-term energy investment, the client's remedy often lies not in the underlying contract but in the protections of an investment treaty — a body of law most commercial litigators never have reason to practise.
We built our arbitration practice around exactly this kind of dispute, and it shows in how early we get involved: treaty protection strategy works best when it's considered at the investment stage, not after the state has already acted.
— Eleanor Whitfield, Managing Partner
The disputes clients bring us.
Investment Treaty Claims
Advising energy investors on treaty protections and pursuing claims following expropriation or unfair treatment by a host state.
Commercial Arbitration
Contractual disputes between energy sector counterparties under ICC, LCIA and UNCITRAL rules.
Enforcement Against States
Award enforcement strategy, including asset tracing, where a sovereign counterparty resists a tribunal's decision.
The Mandate Journey™
Energy treaty arbitration against a sovereign state
A substantial award secured on behalf of an energy sector client following expropriation of a long-term concession.
Read the full Mandate Journey →