Troutman Pepper Locke fields a deep bench of international arbitration practitioners who combine elite advocacy with comprehensive industry knowledge. Our clients don’t simply engage experienced counsel — they gain advocates who understand their business, their markets, and the technical complexities at the heart of their disputes.
We have built our reputation on results in the sectors that define our firm, including financial services, energy and power, construction and infrastructure, insurance and reinsurance, life sciences and pharmaceuticals, technology and telecommunications, transportation, mining and metals, manufacturing, and retail. Our subject matter experience spans complex commercial and corporate disputes, M&A and post-acquisition controversies, financial and investment disputes, and the full range of sector-specific matters that arise in international commerce. This industry focus enables us to move quickly from engagement to case strategy, speaking our clients’ language from day one and identifying the issues that resonate with tribunals.
Our practitioners are steeped in international arbitration procedure and practice. We draft arbitration agreements, advise on institutional selection and seat, manage proceedings from request through award, prepare fact and expert witnesses, conduct cross-examination, and present oral argument before tribunals worldwide. Several of our attorneys sit as arbitrators in institutional and ad hoc proceedings, bringing firsthand perspective on how tribunals evaluate evidence, weigh submissions, and deliberate toward awards.
We have experience before every major arbitral institution — including the ICC, LCIA, ICDR, SIAC, HKIAC, CIETAC, ICSID, SCC, and CPR — as well as UNCITRAL and other ad hoc proceedings. We are equally familiar with the broader landscape of international ADR mechanisms, and we regularly tailor practical dispute resolution strategies — including mediation, expert determination, and dispute boards — to meet our clients’ commercial objectives.
Our international arbitration group comprises practitioners qualified in both common law and civil law traditions, with experience across the Americas, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. We understand that international arbitration demands a different skill set than domestic litigation — familiarity with the IBA Rules on the Taking of Evidence, comfort with document production standards that differ markedly from U.S. discovery, fluency in the procedural flexibility that defines international practice, and sensitivity to the cultural dimensions that shape tribunal dynamics.
Our practitioners maintain strong relationships within the international arbitration community, enabling us to provide informed counsel on tribunal constitution and arbitrator selection — often a decisive factor in complex proceedings. We know how leading arbitrators approach procedural issues, manage hearings, and draft awards.
Our commitment to client service extends to developing practical resources, including our Guide to International Arbitration, which provides clients and counsel with a comprehensive overview of international arbitration practice.
Where proceedings require coordination with national courts — whether for interim measures, challenges to jurisdiction, or recognition and enforcement — we bring the resources to execute a coherent global strategy. Our litigation capability supports our arbitration practice, ensuring that related court proceedings reinforce rather than complicate our clients’ arbitral objectives.
- Represented a multinational design and engineering firm in an ICC arbitration involving claims exceeding $500 million arising from the construction of a multibillion-dollar hydroelectric power project in Chile.
- Successfully defended the CEO and 50% shareholder of a global manufacturer in ICDR proceedings, achieving a complete victory on all claims and a multimillion-dollar costs award.
- Represented a satellite technology company in a six-week merits hearing before HKIAC, defeating all claims and prevailing on all counterclaims with damages estimated in excess of $1 billion.
- Achieved a favorable award for a multinational reinsurer in a $100 million dispute concerning recapture rights under a series of life reinsurance treaties with a Canadian cedent.
- Represented two Canadian reinsurance companies in ad hoc proceedings regarding termination of existing treaty obligations through novation and portfolio transfer.
- Obtained a substantial CIETAC award for a U.S.-based medical device manufacturer in proceedings seated in Beijing.
- Secured a $76 million quantum award following evidentiary hearings in Delhi and London under LCIA Rules, with related enforcement proceedings in multiple jurisdictions.
- Represented a German research institution in an ICC merits hearing in Paris concerning IP rights governed by Belgian law.
- Obtained a liability award before the SCC for a U.S. purchaser against a Russian state instrumentality in a uranium supply dispute.
- Represented a U.S. specialty equipment manufacturer in CIETAC proceedings arising from a distribution arrangement in China.
