Stephenson Harwood‘s London office routinely represents governments and state-owned companies in their most important PIL matters. The team also comprises financial sanctions expertise, and stands out for its experience in Africa-related issues. PIL leader and head of the Africa and India groups, Kamal Shah, has 'a strong skill set'; Sue Millar leads the sanctions group; Rovine Chandrasekera acts in investor-state arbitrations; Ben Sigler is ’an excellent lawyer‘; and Richard Garcia's broad practice includes jurisdictional challenges and freezing orders. Of counsel Stephen Ashley is an expert in EU and UK sanctions.
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘Richard Garcia, Sue Millar and Stephen Ashley are excellent in this field.’
‘Richard Garcia is excellent- well informed and incisive, and very good at handling different specialities within matters (for example public international law in a banking context).'
'Sue Millar and Stephen Ashley have encyclopaedic knowledge of sanctions.’
‘The team has an outstanding reputation.'
‘Rovine Chandrasekera stands out for his excellent knowledge of international award/judgment enforcement issues, which is based on genuine practical experience of successful enforcement actions across the globe.’
‘Kamal Shah and Richard Garcia - very experienced litigators in this field with great attention to detail. Ben Sigler is also an excellent lawyer.’
'The level of communication and attention to detail is always outstanding.'
‘Kamal Shah is a high-quality professional with a strong skill set, and the team is appropriately staffed and always delivers on time, despite short notice and pressing deadlines.'
Key clients
- Republic of Iraq
- Arab Republic of Egypt
- Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation
- Petroleos de Venezuela
- Libyan Investment Authority
- High Commissioner for Pakistan in the United Kingdom (on behalf of the Government of Pakistan)
Work highlights
- Representing the Republic of Iraq (as co-counsel) in an ICSID arbitration brought by Orange (formerly France Telecom) under the France-Iraq bilateral investment treaty.
- Assisting an Asian oil and gas company with a dispute against another Asian oil and gas company (with European links), which involves cutting-edge sanctions issues.
- Representing the Republic of Iraq (as co-counsel) in an ICSID arbitration, brought by Agility Public Warehousing Company KSCP under the Iraq-Kuwait bilateral investment treaty.
Lawyers
Practice head
The lawyer(s) leading their teams.
Kamal Shah