Hannes Sigurgeirsson
Associate
Areas of Focus
- World Trade Organization (WTO) Dispute Resolution & Counseling
- International Arbitration
- International Trade
- International Trade Policy
- Commercial Arbitration & International Commercial Disputes
- International Investment Disputes
- Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning
- Customs & Import Controls
- Energy Transition
- Intellectual Property
- International Disputes
- Internet of Things (IoT)
- Regulatory
- Renewable Energy
- Sovereign Governments
- Sustainability
- Technology
- Counsels sovereign entities and multinational corporations on trade and investment policy and international dispute resolution.
- Advises clients on European Union law and policy.
Hannes Sigurgeirsson advises sovereign governments and multinational corporations on international trade law and policy. His work includes representing sovereign states in international trade disputes and negotiations across various international fora.
Hannes also regularly counsels multinational companies on compliance with cross-border trade and investment regulations. His practice further encompasses European Union law and policy, international investment law, customs compliance, and public international law.
Prior to joining Akin, Hannes practiced law at an Icelandic firm and served as a lawyer for the Internal Revenue Board in Reykjavik, Iceland—the country’s supreme tax and customs appellate authority.
Hannes holds a dual LL.M. in European and International Trade and Investment Law from Lyon Catholic University and a Master's degree in International Business Law from Université Lumière Lyon 2. He previously earned a BA in Law and an M.Jur. from the University of Iceland. As part of his M.Jur. program, he completed a one-year international exchange at Utrecht University in the Netherlands, focusing on European business law and public international law.
- Counsel to foreign governments in World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute proceedings.
- Counsel to investors in investor-state arbitration under ICSID Rules.
- Advising a foreign government in negotiations for more than a dozen comprehensive trade and economic agreements.
- Advised foreign governments on the consistency of domestic laws with international trade rules, including the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), and China’s export controls on raw materials.
- Advising multinational companies on compliance with European Green Deal regulations.
- Advising multinational manufacturers on engagement with and compliance under the EU legislative process.
- Advised a multinational company on a European Union-wide product recall.
- Advised a government body in a dispute concerning Universal Postal Union (UPU) rules.
- Advised a foreign government on U.S. and global export credit mechanisms for military trade.
LanguagesEnglish
French
Danish
Icelandic
English
French
Danish
Icelandic
EducationLL.M., Lumière University Lyon 2, summa cum laude, 2020
LL.M., Lyon Catholic University, summa cum laude, 2020
M.Jur., University of Iceland, 2012
LL.B., University of Iceland, 2009
Graduate Certificate, Utrecht University, 2013
LL.M., Lumière University Lyon 2, summa cum laude, 2020
LL.M., Lyon Catholic University, summa cum laude, 2020
M.Jur., University of Iceland, 2012
LL.B., University of Iceland, 2009
Graduate Certificate, Utrecht University, 2013
Bar AdmissionsIcelandic Bar Association
Icelandic Bar Association
- Lawyer, Internal Revenue Board, Reykjavik, Iceland.
- Legal intern, Icelandic Mission to the European Union, Brussels, Belgium.
