Volterra Fietta

Public International Law

Partner at Volterra Fietta

Gunjan Sharma is a New York lawyer who specialises in complex international dispute resolution and public international law.  In 2023, Legal 500 designated him as a “Next Generation Partner” – in the very first year that Gunjan was eligible for that title.  EuroMoney has also designated him as a “Rising Star” in commercial arbitration for several years.

Clients and peers have publicly lauded Gunjan as a “future star . . . for sure”, “very able”, “a highly experienced arbitration law”, “very professional”, a “consummate professional”, “excelling in the depth of his knowledge” and as a lawyer who provides “senior-level expertise” and “invaluable value to clients” and has “fantastic drafting skills” and “quick and very easy communication”.

Gunjan routinely guides his clients to winning strategies in multibillion-dollar disputes.  He has represented States before the International Court of Justice; represented investors and States in investor-State arbitrations; and acted as counsel before a wide range of US courts.  This includes the US Court of Appeals of the Second Circuit, several federal district courts and the courts of the State of New York.

Gunjan’s recent engagements include:

Defending Malaysia as claimants attempt to US$15 billion arbitration award obtained by fraud and corruption; Representing a nuclear energy company in a multibillion Euro claim against a sovereign State; Advising minority shareholders on their rights and remedies in respect of a dispute with a New York-listed private equity company based on claims of mismanagement and omissions; Acting as counsel retained for pay by Barbados in the climate change advisory opinions before the International Court of Justice; Advising the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on various diplomatic and political initiatives, including as the legal advisor to a diplomatic delegation to a UN Specialized Agency; Representing the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya and the United Arab Emirates before the International Court of Justice; Defending Egypt and protect its right to enforce its legitimate laws in a proportional manner, with notice, in an ICSID arbitration brought by Al Jazeera Media Network; and Representing a contractor in claims against the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

Gunjan’s extensive disputes resolution experience is strengthened by a significant level of non-contentious and transactional experience.  Gunjan routinely advises States and private parties on front-page-news issues of international law.  He has advised States as legal counsel during treaty negotiations and on boundary delimitation matters, in both the Caribbean Basin and Africa.  He represented the Government of Barbados in its treaty negotiations with the Government of Trinidad and Tobago in relation to a transboundary unitisation agreement.  Gunjan also represented the interests of a major company before the US Trade Representative during the TPP and USMCA negotiations.  He has also advised clients on numerous issues in over 300 large commercial deals, including in the oil and gas, alternative energy, construction and insurance industries.

Gunjan publishes academic writings and speaks on a wide variety of international legal topics.  His work has been cited by a number of influential publications and entities, including the United States Congressional Research Service.

Gunjan obtained a Juris Doctor from the New York University School of Law in 2009.  In 2006, he obtained a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service (International Law, Politics and Ethics), with a Certificate in Asian Studies, from the Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, where he was distinguished as a Krogh Honors Medallion Scholar.

Gunjan also has a strong commitment to equality and justice in the criminal justice system.  He was a Litigation Fellow at the Innocence Project, a charitable organisation dedicated to exonerating wrongfully convicted individuals by using DNA evidence.  As a law student, he worked in Alabama to oppose systemic inequality in the US criminal justice system with the Equal Justice Initiative, an influential charity based in Montgomery, Alabama.

English

New York City Bar Association; London Court of International Arbitration; Association of International Petroleum Negotiators

Member of the New York Bar, First Appellate Division (2010)

New York University School of Law, Juris Doctor (2009)

Georgetown University Walsh School of Foreign Service:  Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service (International Law, Institutions and Ethics) (2006); Certificate in Asian Studies (2006); Krogh Honors Medallion Scholar (2006)