Arbitration Lawyer

Buchanan; Greater London; On-site; GBP 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Buchanan, a US-headquartered international firm, is expanding its London International Arbitration & Dispute Resolution team. The role offers exposure to a broad caseload across ICC, LCIA, SIAC, ICIC and UNCITRAL matters with opportunities to sit alongside senior partners.

The ideal candidate has 3–4 PQE and solid international arbitration experience, including cross-border matters under multiple governing laws.

Qualifications

• Solid international arbitration experience from a credible disputes practice.
• Strong writing and sharp analysis are essential.
• Energy experience would be a real advantage but is not a condition.

Responsibilities

• Prepare witnesses and shape submissions; observe hearings.
• Work directly with several partners on multiple arbitrations.
• Develop as an all-round disputes lawyer, including court work when needed.

Skills

International arbitration experience

Strong writing

Sharp analysis

Cross-border matters

Energy experience (advantage)

Job description

A US-headquartered international firm is expanding its London International Arbitration & Dispute Resolution team. The team has taken on more work, so this is a genuine growth hire, not a backfill. The search has only just opened.

WHERE THE WORK COMES FROM

London is a strategic hub for the firm's global arbitration group, working closely with colleagues across the US and Continental Europe. The client list is broad: corporates, investors, state-owned entities and governments, in disputes arising across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Energy and infrastructure are the engine of the practice. Expect oil & gas and LNG disputes, gas price reviews, renewables and major construction projects. That is not the whole picture, though. The team is equally at home on finance, commodities and trading, technology and IP, telecoms, life sciences, mining and agriculture matters, so the caseload rarely settles into a single groove.

THE DOCKET

On any given day, an associate could be working on an ICC commercial claim, an investment treaty case before ICIC and an award enforcement action in the English courts. The team runs matters under ICC, LCIA, SIAC, HKIAC, ICIC and UNCITRAL rules, as well as ad hoc proceedings. Dispute types include:

• M&A and financial structuring disputes
• Commodities contract claims
• Infrastructure and construction arbitrations
• Investor-state treaty claims
• Challenges to and enforcement of awards

Related litigation before the English High Court and the DIFC Courts runs alongside the arbitration work. Associates therefore develop as all-round disputes lawyers, not only as specialists in one forum.

A DETAIL WORTH NOTING

The partners here do their own advocacy rather than automatically instructing counsel. For an associate, that means sitting close to the action: preparing witnesses, shaping submissions and seeing first-hand how a case is argued. The incoming associate will work directly with several partners, supported by an established associate structure.

WHO FITS

The sweet spot is 3-4PQE, broadly 2022 or 2023 qualified, with some room either side for an outstanding candidate.

The core requirement is solid international arbitration experience from a credible disputes practice, including complex cross-border matters under multiple governing laws. Strong writing and sharp analysis are essential. Energy experience would be a real advantage but is not a condition. Candidates who have worked on infrastructure, construction, technology, finance or commodities disputes will be just as interesting, particularly if they have also touched High Court litigation or enforcement work.

Applicants do not need to come from an arbitration boutique. Lawyers from broader international disputes teams are very much in scope.

THE PRACTICALITIES

• US-firm salary, highly competitive
• 1,800-hour billing target, comparatively manageable for a US firm
• Two-stage interview process
• A London office that has seen substantial lateral investment across practices