International Disputes

Our team has undertaken—and won—cases that have generated global headlines, established precedent and advanced business strategies across industries. Trained in common law, civil law and international law, our international disputes team, where appropriate working with trusted local counsel, advises clients across a range of international disputes, including those related to the following areas.

Civil Fraud and Asset Recovery

With disputes lawyers in London, Geneva, Hong Kong and the Middle East, and with a keen understanding of the individual nuances of local court systems and arbitration organizations in key jurisdictions, we help our clients navigate domestic and cross-border disputes of extraordinary complexity and scope. In particular, we have significant experience in anticipating and overcoming the challenges presented by fraud-based claims against sophisticated defendants, with their worldwide assets often hidden within complex holding structures, who may have taken significant steps to seek to protect themselves from the prospect of judgment enforcement.

Learn more about Akin’s civil fraud & asset recovery and complex commercial litigation services.

Construction Disputes

Our construction disputes practice advises on some of the world’s largest construction and infrastructure projects, providing pragmatic solutions and strategic advice. Our work includes acting in adjudications, arbitrations, mediations, dispute adjudication boards and technical expert determinations and litigations—particularly in delay and disruption claims—involving projects related to major infrastructure, energy and natural resources, offshore construction and transportation.

Take a closer look at Akin’s construction litigation practice.

Cybersecurity, Privacy and Data Protection

We have a thriving global cybersecurity, privacy and data protection practice. Our European team handles breach response, providing immediate counsel following personal data breaches in the context of investigations and regulatory enforcements. We also regularly engage in crisis management and cybersecurity incident response planning and preparation. Our team handles data strategies and compliance for companies at the cutting edge of the digitalization of all industries. We advise a wide range of clients in cross-border investigations on their privacy obligations, including under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Our privacy specialists in Europe, Asia and the Middle East are part of Akin’s global cybersecurity, privacy and data protection practice, which has been named on The Global Data Review 100, a ranking of the world’s best data law firms that consistently deliver cutting-edge advice to household name clients around the world. We work closely with our colleagues across the firm to handle privacy and data breach class action litigation in federal district courts throughout the U.S. This is inextricably interlinked with the experience of our first-class European dispute resolution and regulatory experts, who are recognized by all leading international legal directories.

Further, our disputes lawyers and other experts on the ground in Hong Kong help international and regional clients manage investment and business risks across Asia associated with collecting, possessing, processing and cross-border transfers of data. They have particular knowledge advising on the evolving and highly significant data protection, personal privacy and national security legal frameworks in the People’s Republic of China, and the associated cross-border liability risk issues.

In providing clients with strategic advice on contentious matters, we leverage our capability in identifying and mitigating legal risks for our clients in light of current and upcoming privacy, data protection, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence (AI) laws and regulations. That know-how also enables us to guide clients in their development of new products within this fast-evolving regulatory framework.

Discover the breadth and depth of Akin’s cybersecurity, privacy & data protection services.

Energy Disputes

Our energy disputes lawyers work closely with our energy deal lawyers globally, as part of a practice with tremendous experience, focus and geographic reach.

We have acted on international arbitration and litigation cases all over the world and throughout the value chain—in oil and gas, liquid natural gas (LNG), traditional power generation and renewables.

Our oil and gas experience ranges from acting in “the World’s largest oil platform dispute” (The Times) to disputes under farmout agreements, joint operating agreements (JOAs), production sharing contracts (PSCs) and joint venture agreements, refining, petrochemicals, pipelines, oil and gas sale and purchase and mergers and acquisitions (M&A). We have acted on LNG pricing and off-take disputes, and on the full range of power generation, transmission, regulatory and engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) disputes.

Learn more about Akin’s energy litigation practice.

Financial Services, Financial Restructuring and Investment Funds Disputes

We excel at complex disputes in the financial sector, with a particular emphasis on disputes on behalf of investment funds, creditors and private equity investors. Our team is led by partners who are ranked as leaders in their fields in major directories and the team routinely handles very substantial disputes, usually with multijurisdictional elements. We routinely work together with our contentious regulatory colleagues, acting as a seamless unit where the same issues may give rise to civil litigation and regulatory investigations.

The team also works hand in hand with the firm’s market-leading restructuring practice, allowing for opportunities to provide litigation services to investment funds in the context of high-value complex restructurings.

Akin has secured a reputation as a go-to firm to advise investment funds on litigation financing opportunities. The firm is at the cutting edge of designing co-investment, portfolio-funding and other structures by which clients can increase their exposure to this asset class. We also have deep experience working collaboratively, across our practices and network of offices, helping sophisticated investors in key European and Asian markets develop and execute creative and highly specialized investment and activist strategies, involving both equity and debt instruments, often in the context of challenging and high profile situations.

International Arbitration

Our lawyers routinely handle international arbitrations of the greatest complexity across numerous commercial sectors, with amounts in dispute ranging from tens of millions to billions of U.S. dollars. According to The Legal 500 UK, “They are very savvy in understanding cross-jurisdictional elements of disputes; it’s impressive how they interconnect things with so much precision.”

We are widely acknowledged to have one of the world’s leading practices in the international arbitration of disputes arising out of large-scale infrastructure projects, joint ventures and cross-border investments, with particular reference to matters involving oil and gas, power generation and telecommunications. Comprising more than 30 experienced practitioners operating out of the firm’s offices in London, Geneva, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Moscow, Hong Kong and the United States, the international arbitration practice has extensive experience in arbitral fora all over the world.

Read more about Akin’s international arbitration practice and see examples of our work.