Arnold & Porter LLP

Although the firm is present in Europe, Arnold & Porter’s arbitration strength lies in the US, where it has tended to appear, over the years, on the third rung in different guides that cover arbitration expertise. From the GAR 100 perspective, earlier editions have noted that while Arnold & Porter lawyers clearly cover commercial arbitration, it is in “the investment arbitration field that [they are] probably better known”. At the risk of continuing to generalise, researchers who reviewed the material ahead of this year’s 100 felt that observation continued to ring true. Much of the work that they reviewed took place in the investment milieu.

In that arena, the firm tends to represent governments more often than investors. While discussing things that made the firm’s practice unique, Paolo di Rosa noted he and his colleagues had an especially strong win-record on behalf of governments. He said they had “an 80 per cent success rate” for those clients at ICSID. The figure stands out, he explained, because at ICSID “historically the respondent states have won only 30 per cent of the time.”

Another tag often hung on the practice is that it’s focused on Latin America. Again, although some cases suggest the label isn’t entirely accurate, it remains. Three partners are native Spanish speakers and many of its new instructions continue to arise from Latin America.

Recent events

Proving that there’s more to the practice than the above might suggest, one of the firm’s high points for 2009 has been its role in a very “European” international arbitration. Partner Jean Kalicki is defending Hungary in a pair of unfolding Energy Charter Treaty cases. The cases focus on one particularly hot topic in investment law: the relation between investment treaties and European law.

Those cases have continued this year, evolving and passing some legal landmarks including the filing of amicus briefs by the European Commission.

Another matter the firm named as a high point was being asked by Chile to take over the current phase of the long-running Victor Pey Casado case. Arnold & Porter replaced another firm.

The firm also highlighted the pace at which it has been receiving new instructions from Latin American governments as something for which the year will stand out. Jean Kalicki said that, for her, 2009 proved notable because of appointments to ICDR panels. Paolo di Rosa meanwhile said he was honoured to have been appointed as the US arbitrator in a new NAFTA claim (Canacar v United States of America, over the legality of recent trucking legislation).

On the personnel front, the practice grew. It gained two senior laterals and promoted a member of the group to partner. One lateral, John Bellinger, joined as a partner from the US State Department, where he was a legal adviser, while the other, Patricio Grané joined from Sidley Austin. Grané brings close ties with the Costa Rican government. Their arrival helped to bring the number of lawyers working full time on arbitration to 25, up from 10 a few years ago, the firm said. It cited that growth as another highpoint of the year. As we were going to press, Dmitri Evseev, who speaks both Russian and Spanish fluently, was promoted to partner.

At the time of going to press, the names to know are:

• London: Partner Clive Thorne; and counsel Simon Bennett;
• New York City: Partner Fred Fucci; and
• Washington, DC: Partners John Bellinger, Paolo Di Rosa, Dmitri Evseev, Gaela Gehring Flores, Raul Herrera, Jean Kalicki, David Orta and Mara Senn; and Patricio Grané (counsel).