backPARIS, Mar. 22, 2024 – King & Spalding has once again been ranked as the leading international arbitration practice in the world by Global Arbitration Review (GAR).
The ranking was announced at GAR’s awards ceremony in Paris where it unveiled the “GAR 100” – a guide to the world’s top 100 international arbitration practices. GAR ranks firms primarily on the number and value of arbitration cases and hearings, as well as activities that reflect a strong reputation in the market, such as arbitrator appointments and the number of lawyers individually recognized as leading arbitration practitioners.
GAR announced that “King & Spalding remains top. By a lot.” The firm has held the number one position for four of the past five years. Among other data points, King & Spalding’s practice has US$220 billion in its current arbitration portfolio and has handled 33 “bet-the-company” and large hearings (over US$250 million at stake) in just the last 12 months. As GAR put it, King & Spalding is “far out ahead in the big case stakes.”
GAR quoted King & Spalding’s clients describing the firm’s practice as “the best international arbitration team in the market,” “truly impressive” and having the “ability to configure a multidisciplinary team to adjust to the needs and strategy of the case.”
Notably, the publication observed that “King & Spalding built its name on results” and highlighted a series of significant victories for clients over recent years, including:
- A historic victory for Colombia’s Reficar, which was awarded US$1.9 billion in 2023 in an ICC arbitration against a US contractor concerning a refinery upgrade in Cartagena.
- US$16 billion decision rendered against Argentina in 2023 over its nationalization of oil and gas operator YPF.
- US$9.5 billion denial of justice claim for Chevron against Ecuador, establishing that a local court judgment against the company was fraudulently ghost-written.
- US$4 billion victory for Shell and Chevron in an ICC dispute against the Philippines over back taxes.
- US$2 billion ICSID award for Spain’s Naturgy and Italy’s Eni against Egypt over an LNG plant.
- US$1.7 billion claim brought by India against client Reliance Industries over gas migration between adjacent fields dismissed.
- A series of wins for Turkey, including in a US$35 billion ICC arbitration against Iraq and the dismissal of three major ICSID claims in the past three years worth billions of dollars.
- A succession of ECT victories, including a US$500 million award against Kazakhstan and 11 wins in renewable energy claims against Spain, Italy, Bulgaria, and Romania.
King & Spalding’s full GAR 100 commentary can be found here.