Reed Smith’s commodities and international trade arbitration practice is recognized as one of the best in the world. With commodities and international trade arbitration lawyers based around the globe – in particular in London, Dubai, Paris, Houston, Singapore, Beijing and Hong Kong – we are the go-to choice for clients across the commodities and international trade sector, including trading houses, mining and oil majors, agricultural and financial institutions and funds engaged in the trading and financing of commodities.

We are ranked in the top band by both The Legal 500 and Chambers and Partners. “Reed Smith LLP has a pre-eminent market offering in the physical commodities sector, with a great number of lawyers specialising in the area and acting for an enviable range of clients across the full range of commodities markets. In recent years, the firm has invested heavily in creating a deep bench of talent at both senior and junior level,” notes The Legal 500 2020. “They’re our go-to law firm for commodities matters. They are consistently high quality with international reach,” comments a client in Chambers and Partners 2020.

Through our sector specialism, we bring our extensive knowledge of the commodities markets to bear, enabling us to partner with our clients every step of the way, from advising on the drafting of effective contracts, to providing pre-emptive and strategic advice in anticipation of disputes, to managing arbitrations efficiently, always with a view to the commercial realities.

Reed Smith’s global international arbitration construction team has deep industry experience. Our construction and projects lawyers are recognized as leaders in Global Arbitration Review, Chambers, The Legal 500, Who’s Who Legal, Best Lawyers™ and Acritas.

The Legal 500 describes our team as “the best in technical construction knowledge,” adding that our practice is “well known for its construction arbitration ability and handling significant cases in that area.” Chambers comments on our “ability to cut through complex matters and provide clear, commercial advice” and Who’s Who Legal recognizes our “extremely good counsel deserving of recognition, able to identify important issues quickly – and how to deal with them.”

Our wide sector knowledge and understanding of the issues that can arise means our lawyers know how the arbitration process can best be shaped to minimize risk and deliver the best outcome for clients.

Reed Smith has “outstanding lawyers with unrivalled experience of arbitration and international litigation in general.” The Legal 500 EMEA 2020

Helping clients to find solutions to their domestic and international corporate and commercial arbitration disputes is a core practice area for our firm. As one of the largest disputes practices in the world, we have a dedicated team of over 100 international arbitration lawyers across 30 offices globally who act as trusted legal counsel to leading national and international businesses.

We assist our clients in navigating the complexities of operating in evolving marketplaces, and deliver solutions aligned to their business objectives. We represent clients in disputes arising from corporate and commercial transactions, mergers and acquisitions, and joint ventures and partnerships, in addition to a whole range of commercial agreements, including licensing and distribution agreements and other commercial contracts.

We can help you at any and all stages of a business transaction, from advice on the effective use and drafting of arbitration clauses (including forum choice and how to maximize enforcement efficacy), through to dispute avoidance/resolution strategy, negotiation and representation before tribunals. Our clients benefit from bespoke, insightful advice and tailored legal decision-making, as demonstrated by our inclusion in BTI Consulting Group’s “Most Recommended” law firms for eight consecutive years.

The ability to globally enforce arbitral awards is a key reason why international businesses increasingly select international arbitration as their dispute resolution method of choice. Our international arbitration lawyers can help you at any stage of the dispute lifecycle, from advice on the effective use and drafting of arbitration clauses, including choice of forum, seat and arbitral institution, to enforcement of awards and subsequent collection.

Francophone Africa is an important and growing market, dynamic and rich in business opportunities. Our Francophone Africa arbitration team has deep experience assisting African and international companies operating across the region to manage business and investment risk, as well as advising states and state-owned entities in their relationships with private investors.

We combine extensive international commercial and investment treaty experience with in-depth knowledge of key sectors in Francophone African countries, including oil and gas, construction, mining and minerals, infrastructure, transportation (railway, shipping, and aviation), and telecoms.

We guide our clients through the unique challenges and opportunities of arbitrating in the region and help them to achieve the best possible outcome for their businesses. Recent successes include a $170 million ICC award in favor of a major construction group in an arbitration brought against the State of Gabon in a dispute involving undue pressure and allegations of corruption, and successfully obtaining a conservatory measure on a state asset valued at €400 million.

We are well-versed in acting in arbitral proceedings under the rules of the major arbitration institutions, including the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), the Swiss Chambers’ Arbitration Institution (SCAI), and the Cairo Regional Centre for International Commercial Arbitration (CRCICA). We also represent clients in ad hoc arbitrations under the OHADA (Organisation pour l’Harmonisation en Afrique du Droit des Affaires) Uniform Act on Arbitration and the UNCITRAL (United Nations Commission on International Trade Law) Rules. Our wide experience covers arbitration-related litigation, including representing clients in annulment proceedings before state courts.

We have been trusted advisers for over 30 years to Indian clients and to businesses operating in the Indian market in relation to the resolution of disputes. We have been commended for our “great industry knowledge” (The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2018), “depth of understanding” and “appreciation of the Indian market and how clients in the market like to be advised” (The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2020).

As an experienced and well-recognized India practice, we provide our clients with disputes advice and solutions that are “flexible and commercial” (The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2020) and clients rate the team as “experienced and pragmatic” (The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2019). We have a “strong track record on India-related arbitration work” (Chambers Asia Pacific 2020) and extensive experience advising on a range of heavyweight disputes and investigations for Indian clients and/or arising out of projects, transactions and ventures involving a number of industry sectors in India.

Our seasoned practitioners are “extremely well-attuned” (The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2020) to the historical, cultural and social aspects of navigating disputes involving Indian parties. We have a solid record of accomplishment built on our deep understanding of our Indian clients’ requirements, and India’s history as a country and as a commercial marketplace.

Intellectual property (IP) and intellectual property rights (IPRs) are among your company’s most valuable assets. Helping our clients protect these assets in a highly competitive global environment is our priority.

Whether an IP dispute concerns issues of infringement, ownership, enforcement, commercialization, or protection and fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory (FRAND) licensing, our lawyers provide commercial advice and solutions that help protect our clients’ IPRs and innovations. By combining market-leading international arbitration experience with advanced technological knowledge, our IP international arbitration team works to maximize and protect the value of our clients’ IP and safeguard the rights at the heart of their businesses.

International arbitration permits parties facing multi-jurisdictional IP disputes to achieve consistent, confidential, and enforceable results, enabling businesses to efficiently exploit and enforce their IPRs across borders and take back their competitive advantage.

Reed Smith has a "renowned global practice with an excellent reputation for its ability to handle complex Latin American international arbitration mandates." Chambers and Partners Latin America 2020.

Reed Smith is a recognized leader in the region, as demonstrated by both our firm and our arbitration practice being included again this year in Latinvex’s 2021 rankings of top 100 law firms operating in the region. Legal directories describe our practice as “excellent on every front” and “prestigious … with an impressive knowledge of Latin American arbitration matters” (Chambers Latin America 2019) and note our expertise handling arbitration proceedings is “truly remarkable, with outstanding results” (The Legal 500 Latin America 2019).

As a “first-class advisor for Latin American clients and cases” (The Legal 500 2019) we are regularly called upon by significant multinationals to advise on high-value commercial arbitration disputes. (Chambers Latin America 2019). Our team leverages the depth and breadth of our experience and relationships with local strategic partners to provide commercial disputes advice to our clients in real time.

Our strong focus on the Latin American region means clients “benefit from a high concentration of resources” (Chambers Global 2019) and our “excellent reputation for [the handling of] high level complex arbitrations and litigations covering various jurisdictions in Latin America, predominantly for multinational companies” (Latin Lawyer 250).

We are adept at bridging legal systems and resolving complex legal issues, resulting in nominations for Chambers’ Latin America Award for International Arbitration Firm of the Year for the past four years. Our team includes native multilingual speakers, and dual-qualified and bi-cultural lawyers who know the cultures of individual countries in the region, the regional arbitration institutions, their rules, and the right questions to ask. Clients benefit from our extensive knowledge and experience of highly complex international arbitrations across both the common law and civil law systems.

Our global international arbitration practice is recognized for its “stand out focus” on the life sciences industry (The Legal 500 USA 2020). We pair world-class international arbitration practitioners with deep industry expertise to provide our clients with unparalleled service in this increasingly specialized area.

From strategically drafting arbitration clauses and formulating dispute avoidance strategies, to effectively representing life sciences companies before arbitral tribunals and courts in related litigation, our life sciences arbitration team can help you successfully navigate all phases of a cross-border life sciences dispute, including disputes with foreign governments.

In addition to acting as counsel, members of our life sciences arbitration team routinely sit as arbitrators and play leading roles in major arbitral institutions. We are recognized globally as thought leaders in the arbitration arena, affording us unique tools for effectively resolving life sciences arbitrations and adding to our “strong experience across both advisory and contentious matters”(Chambers 2020).

Our “highly regarded” life sciences arbitration lawyers are renowned for their “expert handling of life sciences disputes” (Chambers 2020), drawing on expertise from across our multidisciplinary global life sciences practice – which represents eight of the top 10 largest pharmaceutical manufacturers, and eight of the top 10 largest medical device manufacturers, in the world – to build teams that provide holistic and comprehensive advice for life sciences arbitrations seated in the United States, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America under a host of governing laws.

“Reed Smith is a dynamic and forward-looking practice, which is superb at providing clients with advice which reflects their practical and commercial objectives. The ethos is hands on, down to earth and practical.” (The Legal 500 EMEA 2020: UAE).

With over 40 years of experience in the UAE, we bring extensive knowledge gained from working on high profile, complex multimillion-dollar disputes across the region. We represent clients in cases under the rules of a wide range of international arbitration forums, including ADCCAC, DIAC, DIFC-LCIA, LCIA, ICC and UNCITRAL, as well as in ad hoc arbitration proceedings in both the UAE and wider Middle East region and in arbitration-related litigation before the courts of Dubai, Abu Dhabi and the DIFC. Our lawyers are advocates, which enables us to offer a “one-stop shop” from start to end of any arbitration, without the need to involve outside counsel. Our strong advocacy experience covers both procedural and substantive hearings and is a true differentiator in our offering.

Clients and legal directories commend our forward-looking approach. Our team is described as “outstanding…with unrivalled experience of arbitration and international litigation in general” (The Legal 500 EMEA 2020: UAE) and “highly experienced representing clients in DIFC court litigation as well as arbitrations conducted under a variety of institutional rules” (Chambers Global 2020: UAE). Reed Smith was also named Arbitration Team of the Year at The Middle East Legal Awards 2017.

Our market-leading transportation and shipping arbitration lawyers have decades of experience handling a wide variety of complex, cross-border transportation disputes in jurisdictions around the world. Described as “[an] excellent and extremely professional firm, as well as a consistent leader in the market” (Chambers), we are ranked Band 1 in Shipping by both Chambers and The Legal 500.

Clients comment that as a practice we are “impressively commercial, astutely knowledgeable and work seamlessly as a team.” (Chambers) Our top-ranked maritime practice includes a number of lawyers who are also individually ranked in the top tier in The Legal 500 and Chambers in their respective jurisdictions.

From its roots in shipping, our pre-eminent practice has expanded to cover disputes across the transportation sector globally, including offshore, infrastructure and aviation disputes. This expansion has been driven by a combination of growth in our team and capabilities, harnessing the firm’s energy and natural resources experience – for example, through our work on mine, rail and terminal projects – and acting as trusted adviser to a growing client base that includes many of the world’s leading operators, producers and suppliers.

Our U.S. international arbitration practice has an “outstanding reputation in the Americas” (Chambers USA 2020), thanks to being led by a “distinguished dispute resolution team with deep experience in commercial arbitrations” (Chambers Global 2020).

Our local presence across 17 offices in the U.S. allows us to offer coast-to-coast services to leading U.S.-based international businesses, from Fortune 100 corporations to midmarket and emerging enterprises. We act collaboratively on complex, cross-border matters, combining our “excellent strategic approach and advocacy” (The Legal 500 USA 2020), “gravitas and knowledge” (Chambers Global 2020) and “stellar reputation in the market” (Chambers USA 2019) to provide our clients with tailored solutions to suit their needs.

We advise clients on significant commercial disputes and in virtually every industry sector, many with an international element, including: pharmaceuticals and medical devices, telecoms, defense, projects, construction and engineering, energy and natural resources, commodities, oil and gas, chemicals, banking and financial services, transportation, international trade, manufacturing, leisure, environmental, and insurance, as well as disputes arising from shareholder and joint venture agreements.