Suzanne Spears

Her international disputes practice focuses on investment treaty arbitration, international commercial arbitration, State-to-State disputes and transnational tort litigation. She has represented clients in international disputes under all the major arbitration rules (including ICC, UNCITRAL, ICSID and PCA) and before the International Court of Justice. She also has advised clients with respect to transnational litigation before United States courts and the courts of England and Wales. She has particular experience with disputes involving Latin America and Africa, the energy and natural resource industries, human rights and the environment.

Suzanne is recognised globally for her expertise in BHR law and serves as a trusted advisor to clients facing BHR-related regulatory and litigation risks. In her BHR practice, Suzanne advises clients on dispute prevention and resolution, risk management, compliance and governance. Suzanne also advises and represents private clients, governments and international organisations on a wide range of other contentious and non-contentious matters arising under public international law.

Suzanne has held positions with international human rights and foreign relations organisations, including the United Nations, the Inter-American Institute for Human Rights and the Council on Foreign Relations.

She is an Adjunct Associate Professor of Law at University of Notre Dame (U.S.A) in London, where she teaches International Arbitration and Business and Human Rights.

Other noteworthy experience includes advising:

• Merck Sharpe & Dohme (I.A.) Corporation in an UNCITRAL arbitration at the PCA against Ecuador under the US-Ecuador bilateral investment treaty.
• Occidental Petroleum in an ICSID arbitration against Ecuador under the US-Ecuador bilateral investment treaty.
• Fábrica de Vidrios Los Andes and Owens-Illinois de Venezuela in an ICSID arbitration against Venezuela under the Netherlands-Venezuela bilateral investment treaty.
• Egypt in an ICSID arbitration brought by Al Jazeera Media Network under the Qatar-Egypt bilateral investment treaty.
• Clients in numerous international commercial arbitrations, including in relation to the energy, financial, telecommunications and pharmaceutical industries, and the revision of gas prices and the diversion of LNG.