Commercial Litigation

• We act for a substantial number of US institutional investors in both the RBS and Tesco securities litigation in the English Courts.
• We act for two US investment funds (Fortress and Cyrus) against BNP Paribas in a claim for approximately $60m arising out of a defective Islamic bond (sukuk).
• We acted for a Chinese automotive manufacturer in London-seated arbitration proceedings against a Brazilian corporation in a distribution / joint venture dispute valued in excess of $700m.
• We act for a financial institution in a dispute concerning the validity of corporate actions under the Cayman Islands sanctions regime.
• We acted for a Canadian company in High Court proceedings, contesting the English Court’s jurisdiction and opposing an anti-suit injunction relating to claims over extraction rights to South American mines.
• We acted in an ICC arbitration under New York law concerning breaches by a European IT supplier of its agreement with a European flag-carrier airline.
• We acted for a subsidiary of a major US corporation in UNCITRAL arbitration proceedings relating to the disputed termination of a significant pharmaceutical distribution agreement valued in excess of $500m.
• We act for two US investment funds (Fortress and Cyrus) against BNP Paribas in a claim for approximately $60m arising out of a defective Islamic bond.

Read more about our Commercial Litigation team here.

International Arbitration

Stewarts is in a strong position to handle arbitrations connected with the Americas, including disputes involving parties from the Americas or linked to events in these jurisdictions. Our team has wide-ranging expertise advising clients from all around the Americas, as shown in our representative experience below.

Our team can operate in both Spanish and English and combines international legal expertise with local knowledge. This enables us to advise and successfully represent states, companies and individuals on major disputes in the region. Our team’s experience covers many sectors, including oil and gas, shipping, banking, energy, mining, construction, retail and leisure. Our work covers international commercial arbitration, investment treaty arbitration and arbitration-related litigation.

We are the UK’s leading disputes-only law firm. This means we are conflict-free and can act when other law firms cannot. Because of our independent positioning, we can collaborate with our clients’ current advisors and co-counsel, and with any local law firm most suited to help. Together with our capacity to enter into creative fee and risk-sharing arrangements, this enables our clients to arbitrate from a position of strength.

Our team’s experience includes advising:

• two Central American shipping investors against one of Latin America’s largest countries in an UNCITRAL investment treaty claim worth $400m+.
• a UK national in a $200m+ ICSID investment treaty claim against a Latin American state, arising from the destruction of a significant concern.
• a Caribbean state in an ICSID investment treaty arbitration involving a claim brought under a bilateral investment treaty by a developer of a five-star hotel resort.
• two Eastern European companies in an UNCITRAL investment treaty arbitration brought under a bilateral investment treaty concerning a South American mine against a state.
• two Swiss companies in an annulment proceeding brought by a Latin American state in a $300m+ ICSID treaty claim involving issues of expropriation related to the energy and petrochemical industries.
• a US claimant in a $250m ICSID investment treaty claim arising from a dispute in the extractive sector against a Latin American state brought under a bilateral investment treaty.
• US individual and corporate investors in a $100m+ ICSID investment treaty arbitration against the Arab Republic of Egypt concerning investments and activities within the agricultural and commodities sectors.
• a US subsurface wellbore construction and drilling company in respect of threatened indemnity claims subject to LCIA arbitration, in connection with liabilities flowing from the death of a worker at an onshore drilling rig site in the Middle East.
• A Scottish heavy industrial manufacturer in a US$ millions ICC arbitration, governed by English law and seated in Geneva, brought by a US-based agent in connection with commission said to be due from sales of wastewater machinery and componentry into the People’s Republic of China.
• a US-headquartered global food conglomerate in various post-completion merger and acquisition (M&A) claims subject to an English law arbitration seated in London, connected with the €1b+ sale of a well-known division of one of the world’s largest food and consumer brands multinational business headquartered in London.
• a Latin American salmon farming company in a breach of contract claim, brought in an English law-governed ICC arbitration against a Scandinavian company.
• a US company specialising in the design and production of aircraft parts, in an English law-governed ad hoc arbitration with a UK customer about the proposed purchase of componentry for use in the maintenance and modification of military aircraft.
• the claimants, acting in subrogation, in relation to a Peruvian law governed $50m ICC arbitration against one of Europe’s largest industrial companies.
• the respondent on a number of ICC arbitrations governed by Panamanian law in connection with the design and construction of a major maritime project in Central America.
• a Latin American claimant company in an ICC arbitration governed by Swiss law, brought against a European company following the faulty repair of generators in a hydro power plant in Latin America.
• an international energy company, in an English law-governed ICC arbitration, in respect of its breach of contract claim against an Indian company over a wind power plant in Central America.
• investors in Latin America, including mining companies, on restructuring their businesses under relevant investment treaties.
• a US OTC-listed company on structuring future investments in an Asian state.

Members of our team also have the following experience as arbitrators:

• Sole arbitrator in a WIPO arbitration governed by Mexican law between European and Latin American parties in relation to a film.
• Sole arbitrator in a media-related WIPO arbitration governed by Mexican law, which included copyright aspects.

Read more about our International Arbitration team here.

Aviation

• We are representing British families involved in an EC130 helicopter crash in the Grand Canyon, Arizona, in February 2018. The helicopter was being operated for sightseeing purposes by Papillon Airways. The claims involve liability of multiple parties and the application of US law to the levels of compensation.
• We represented French and Finnish ground victims who suffered extensive burns when a Learjet 45 crashed into downtown Mexico City in 2008. The claim involved disproving the local investigators’ accident analysis, avoidance of local limits of liability and a claim in the US which resulted in judgment against the Mexican operator for in excess of $100m.

Read more about our Aviation team here.

Divorce and Family

• We have particular expertise in cases with an international element since many of our clients have connections to multiple jurisdictions, including in the US and South America. In international cases, family situations often develop that require immediate and urgent action; knowledge, experience and the ability to act swiftly can often be critical to the outcome of a case. Our large and vastly experienced team, of whom six partners are fellows of the International Academy of Family Lawyers, is ideally placed to deal with the most complex of cases, whether these involve the resolution of financial claims on divorce, the international relocation of children, applications to the English Court for financial settlement following divorce proceedings overseas, or jurisdiction disputes. We offer a fast turnaround and a supportive approach to our clients, irrespective of where they are based. We have an extensive global network, and work closely with our affiliates across the globe with speed and efficiency, with the aim of achieving the best possible outcome for our clients.  
• We regularly act for American citizens and are well versed in US tax and pension considerations, with a strong network of trusted US lawyers with whom we work on such cases. 
• On the non-contentious side, we regularly act for parties entering into marital agreements to protect their assets in the event of relationship breakdown. For global families either based in or with connections to the UK, it will often be sensible to put in place pre-nuptial and post-nuptial agreements in different countries. We have the requisite expertise to advise on how to implement these agreements, taking into consideration the impact of any country-specific laws and where necessary co-ordinating with lawyers in other jurisdictions with whom we have long-standing and strategic partnerships. Our aim is to protect our clients’ property and interests wherever they are located and ensure that future litigation can be avoided.

Read more about our Divorce and Family team here.