Partner, London and Los Angeles

Chair, International Arbitration Practice Group

For 30 years, Robert de By has successfully represented clients in international arbitrations, litigations, and mediations concerning complex cross-border contractual, business, investment and other major multi-jurisdictional disputes.  Before joining the Firm, Mr. de By was the Chair of the Global Arbitration Group at one of the world’s largest international (Am-Law 100) law firms.  Prior to that, he practiced for nearly a decade at Sullivan & Cromwell.

Mr. de By represents companies and multinationals that are leaders in their respective fields of business and industry in the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia, as well as many leading commercial and investment banks.  His clients include financial services, communications, oil, electronics, airline, entertainment, media, publishing, accounting, travel, automotive, and manufacturing companies, and industry, trade, sports, and news organizations and journalists, photographers, directors, cinematographers, artists, and top-ranked athletes.  Mr. de By has extensive experience with clients located in, and disputes arising from, a wide range of jurisdictions, including the U.S., Canada, UK, France, Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Austria, Poland, Russia, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ukraine, The Netherlands Antilles, the Bahamas, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Ghana, Iran, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Australia, New Zealand, Mongolia, Hong Kong, and Japan.

His practice centers on complex international disputes.  The large-scale, high-value arbitrations and litigations he has acted in as counsel involved claims ranging from tens of millions of dollars to well in excess of $10 billion.  He has appeared and successfully argued for clients in international arbitrations, including those governed by the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA), International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), American Arbitration Association (AAA), and UNCITRAL, arbitration rules.  He has also successfully represented clients in court in Europe, the Caribbean, and federal and state courts throughout the U.S.

Mr. de By was educated and has practiced law in both common and civil law jurisdictions.  His extensive experience both with disputes covered by substantive common and civil law enables him to effectively communicate with arbitration panels composed of arbitrators from either legal system.  Mr. de By also successfully represented numerous clients during trial and at evidentiary, injunctive and appellate court proceedings.  His extensive experience ranges from his defense of and the subsequent acquittal he obtained early in his career for a businessman-client on trial for attempted murder to the numerous successful representations of clients in complex, high-value business, contractual, financial, investment and other transnational disputes that are the emphasis of his current practice.

Selected Representative Professional Accomplishments

Although most of the work that Mr. de By performs for clients and the specific results achieved must remain confidential, the following selection provides a general description of some of his many successful representations:

• Represented a major European oil company as lead counsel in an UNCITRAL arbitration against a major Russian oil company in a dispute concerning an oil supply contract involving claims in excess of $4.5 billion (ranked by The American Lawyer magazine – Focus Europe Survey as the seventh largest contract arbitration worldwide)
• Represented a satellite operator and subsidiary of a (former and now privatized) national phone company as lead counsel in a LCIA arbitration against a leading aerospace manufacturer in a dispute concerning the manufacture and delivery of a broadcast satellite involving claims in excess of $200 million
• Represented a sovereign nation in an ICC arbitration and mediation with a leading foreign telecom operator concerning the operation and ownership of the nation’s mobile phone network involving claims in excess of $260 million.
• Represented a major European oil refinery operator as lead counsel in an UNCITRAL arbitration against a Swiss selling organization in a dispute concerning an oil supply and delivery contract involving claims in excess of $1.5 billion (ranked by The American Lawyer magazine – Focus Europe Survey as the 23rd largest contract arbitration worldwide)
• Represented a leading European automotive designer and car manufacturer in two ICC arbitrations against a Japanese car manufacturer in disputes concerning a car’s design, development and manufacture involving claims with a combined value in excess on $150 million
• Represented a sovereign nation’s central bank in negotiations with a foreign bank doing business within its territory
• Represented a big four accounting organization in international/US litigation brought against it by the trustee appointed by a foreign government to oversee the bankruptcy of an audited corporation involving claims in excess of $10 billion
• Represented one of the world’s largest electronics manufacturers in simultaneous multi-jurisdictional US and European litigations against an international media company in a dispute concerning the acquisition of a majority interest in the company involving total claims in excess of $10 billion
• Represented one of Europe’s largest commercial banks and its investment banking subsidiary in simultaneous multi-jurisdictional US and European litigations against a U.S.-based multi-national corporation in a dispute concerning financing of the acquisition of the corporation’s European subsidiary and subsequent sale of same involving total claims in excess of $600 million
• Represented a leading Eastern European financial institution in U.S. litigation concerning fraud, conspiracy, money laundering, RICO, and related allegations and claims in excess of $10.5 billion
• Represented an Eastern European bank in U.S. litigation involving breach of contract, fraud, and conspiracy allegations and claims in excess of $50 million
• Represented top-ranked athletes in AAA and Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) arbitrations concerning Olympic competition