Signature Litigation LLP

International Commercial Arbitration, Investor-State Arbitration, Public International Law Advisory

Bernhard specialises in commercial and investment treaty arbitration, with a particular focus on the technology, energy and extractive industries. He also represents clients in contentious and non-contentious public international law matters and sits as an arbitrator.

Additionally, Bernhard is a Visiting Professor at King’s College London. He is regularly invited to speak at leading industry conferences.

Bernhard has acted for claimant and respondent parties in a wide range of investment treaty and commercial arbitration matters (including under the Energy Charter Treaty and ICSID, UNCITRAL, ICC, LCIA, VIAC, ASA, DIS and AAA Rules), as well as related cross-border litigation and enforcement issues.

Recent highlights of Bernhard’s practice include acting for the claimants in a US$250 million shareholders’ dispute pertaining to a leading financial technology (fintech) company in Asia, securing a win for a publicly listed Scandinavian life sciences company in a €300m LCIA arbitration and acting for the claimants in an investment treaty arbitration arising out of an expropriation of a mining investment by a West African State.

Associate, Volterra Fietta, 2011; Associate, DLA Piper, 2016; Senior Associate, Squire Patton Boggs, 2017; Counsel, Signature Litigation, 2021.

Member of the UK Attorney General’s C Panel of Public International Law Counsel to the Crown.

University of Southampton; UCL.