Twenty Essex

Arbitration; Civil fraud and asset tracing; Energy and infrastructure; Jurisdiction, conflicts and enforcement; Public international law; Technology, media and telecoms

Baiju is a renowned leader in ISDS, international commercial arbitration, and public international law as both counsel and arbitrator. Before he joined the Bar in November 2022, Baiju spent 20 years in international law firm practice, including 12 as partner, leading large teams of lawyers in dozens of international arbitration disputes worth several tens of billions of dollars in aggregate.

His treaty practice has encompassed representation of States and investors under both ICSID and UNCITRAL Rules. Until February 2022, he split his time between Moscow and London leading the Russian Federation’s defence in six major investment treaty arbitrations. He has also advised States on the negotiation and drafting of investment treaties. Prior to that he led the international arbitration practices of major American law firms in London and Washington DC. In those roles, he won several high-profile treaty awards, with particular experience in creating and managing winning global strategies for investors in high-stakes, sensitive disputes involving geopolitical issues or major criminal allegations. His international investment law experience has also been at the forefront of the intersection of international arbitration and public international law, having acted as lead counsel on seminal cases on treaty succession, disputed territories, and the effect of alleged illegality on arbitral jurisdiction.