Sherina Petit > Stewarts Law LLP > London, England > Lawyer Profile

Sherina Petit

+44 (0)20 7903 7953 spetit@stewartslaw.com

Work Department

International Arbitration

Position

Partner, Head of International Arbitration and Head of India

Sherina specialises in international commercial arbitration, investor-state arbitration, litigation and alternative dispute resolutions (ADR). In addition to acting as counsel in arbitrations, she also sits as an arbitrator. Sherina is ranked in the Legal Business Arbitration Power List and as a Global Leader in the Who’s Who Legal.

Sherina has a wide range of experience in all key aspects of international arbitration, including a focus on India-related disputes. Her global client base spans a broad range of industries, including energy, construction, oil and gas, trade, transport pharmaceuticals, commodities, finance and technology.

Sherina has experience of all major arbitral institutions, including the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA), the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) and the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC).

Sherina has practised across multiple jurisdictions, including as an advocate in India (Mumbai) before qualifying in England and Wales.

Sherina has achieved a number of successes for her clients in both commercial and investment arbitration proceedings in terms of settlement and arbitration awards. Her experience includes acting for:

• An Indian multinational oil and gas company and its international subsidiary in two oil and gas-related arbitrations against an African state (UNCITRAL, Sudanese law, London seat).
• A French maritime and transportation company in respect of its challenge in the English courts to an award issued under the India-France BIT in an arbitration seated in London and conducted under the UNCITRAL rules (UNCITRAL, English law, London seat).
• A US curtain manufacturer against a large Pakistani textile manufacturing company (UNCITRAL, English law, London seat).
• A national oil and gas company in relation to a decommissioning dispute against a contractor in respect of a drilling campaign offshore West Africa. The dispute involves variation claims exceeding US$80m (LCIA, Angolan law, London seat).
• An Indian airline in relation to a multi-billion dollar dispute between various shareholders concerning alleged breaches of a shareholders agreement (LCIA, Indian law, New Delhi seat).
• One of the wealthiest South Asian families in an African jurisdiction involving a dispute over a number of assets the family owns worldwide (LCIA, English law, London seat).
• A Middle Eastern satellite operator in a dispute with a Canadian telecommunications provider concerning a transponder rights agreement (ICC, English law, London seat).
• An Indian water manufacturer against a Qatari contractor relating to contracts in relation to two water treatment plants (ICC, Qatari law, London seat).
• Two multinational banks against an insurance company relating to political risk insurance events in South America (LCIA, English law, London seat).
• A global company on potential remedies under bilateral investment treaties involving Tanzania in a matter involving several hundred million dollars, including advice on the implications of the Standard Chartered v Tanzania BIT claim.
• A European infrastructure company in a bilateral investment treaty claim against a former Soviet state for breaches of agreements and fair and equitable treatment provisions relating to changes in local law and investment policy.

Sherina has also had numerous successes in high-value litigations before the English High Court. Some high-value, complex disputes in which she has been involved include acting for:

• A US construction company as defendant in a litigation concerning the construction of one of the world’s largest beverage facilities
• One of India’s largest conglomerates in a multi-billion dollar litigation against numerous global and Indian banks
• An Indian owner and operator of a commodities and currencies derivative exchange in a litigation relating to the enforcement actions arising out of a successful award in a London-seated ICC arbitration.

Career

Sherina trained at Linklaters in London before spending six years at Shearman & Sterling. She was most recently Head of the India practice at Norton Rose Fulbright before joining Stewarts in October 2023.

Memberships

Sherina is on the board of the LCIA and the European Federation of Investment Law and Arbitration (EFILA).

She is also a member of:

• Advisory Council of the School of International Arbitration of the Queen Mary University of London
• City of London Law Society Arbitration Committee
• ICC Indian Arbitration Group
• SIAC Users Counsel
• Chamber of Arbitration of the Indian International Arbitration Centre
• Steering Committee of the Pledge for Equal Representation for Women and the Chair of the India Pledge Committee.
• Task Force of the IBA Arbitration Guidelines and Rules Subcommittee for the revision of the 2014 IBA Guidelines on Conflicts of Interest.

Sherina is also part of a number of mentorship programmes for law students, including for the School of International Arbitration of the Queen Mary University of London and the Institute of Transnational Arbitration (ITA) at the Centre for American and International Law.

Personal

Sherina is passionate about family, friends, food, animals and adventure. If she weren’t a lawyer, Sherina would likely be a travel and food writer.