Emma Schaafsma (Kratochvilova)

Partner, CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP

Emma Schaafsma (Kratochvilova) is a partner at CMS and has over 20 years’ experience helping clients resolve disputes arising on all aspects of large-scale and complex international construction projects in the energy and infrastructure sectors across Asia-Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the Commonwealth of Independent States, the United States and Latin America. She has particular experience of disputes arising on major power and process plants, liquefied natural gas, road and rail projects, vessel construction and, more recently, on wind farm and energy from waste projects. The disputes typically involve critical defects, delay and disruption, cost overruns and early termination, as well as associated inter-consortium liability issues. She has represented clients in international arbitration (LCIA, ICC, JCAA and ad hoc), litigation, adjudication and mediations.

During the course of her career to date, she has spent two years working in the in-house legal department of an international heavy industries contractor and has spent over 13 years in Japan, where she was consistently ranked Band 1 and as a leading individual for construction work by various legal directories. Clients and peers describe her as ‘unbelievably insightful’ and ‘the kind of specialist who only appears once in a generation’.