Luke Sobota > Three Crowns LLP > Washington, United States > Lawyer Profile

Global arbitration and international law specialist Three Crowns LLP is uniquely positioned to provide high-level representation in multinational commercial, investor-state, and state-to-state cases. Based out of Washington DC, the US team is distinguished by its ability to lean on equally dedicated groups in London, Paris and Singapore; additionally, its exclusive focus on international disputes also marks it as a popular choice to act alongside major firms in a co-counsel role. High-profile expert Luke Sobota is a go-to name for disputes involving the energy, technology and financial services spheres; he is notably leading the firm’s representation of Chevron (as co-counsel alongside King & Spalding LLP) in an investment treaty arbitration concerning a $9.5bn judgment against Chevron issued by Ecuadorian courts. Other prominent names include Liz Snodgrass, who has played central roles in nearly 50 arbitrations, and Scott Vesel, who recently transferred to Washington DC from Bahrain. The department also benefits from a talented second line of counsels including Agustin Sanz, who has an emphasis on proceedings relating to Latin America, and Simon Consedine, whose practice has a focus on energy, construction, and private equity-related disputes.

Three Crowns LLP is the largest specialist international arbitration firm in the world and has an outstanding record in Latin America. In April it announced the launch of a Madrid office (in autumn 2023) to further expand its handling of Spanish (and more generally European) clients. Leading Latin America international arbitration expert, the tri-qualified (England & Wales; New York and Spain) Carmen Martinez Lopez, is relocating from London, as is prominent Argentine-qualified special legal consultant, Agustin Sanz, from Washington DC. The firm has deep civil law credentials, language capabilities and cultural links to the region, which provide the basis for a thriving practice in both investor-state and commercial cases. Clients note that the team ‘understands the reality of the market’ and has a ‘pedigree that is second to none’. Indeed, Martínez is currently representing Chile in a $200m+ ICSID case filed by ISA under the Chile-Colombia FTA (related to the construction of the Cardones-Polpaico electricity transmission line in Chile); and co-leading advice to Sacyr on its $1bn+ investment treaty claim against Panama relating to the expansion of the Panama Canal, alongside the London-based Gaëtan Verhoosel KC (and Singapore’s Simon Elliot). Verhoosel is a leading arbitral practitioner with a first class track record in the region, a standing reflected by his selection as chair in a $500m ICSID case brought by B-Mex (and others) against the United Mexican States. Tri-qualified (California, New York & Washington DC) Luke Sobota, a founding partner of the firm, is currently handling Chevron’s long-running $9.5bn Permanent Court of Arbitration case against Ecuador, which as of late 2022 had reached the quantification of damages stage; and is also co-lead on the defence of ConocoPhillips’ $8bn ICSID award against Venezuela in the face of the latter’s attempts to annul or otherwise stay the decision. As the foregoing suggests, the firm has represented various oil and gas majors in headline cases against Latin American states, and has also been engaged by sovereign entities themselves. It is now experiencing further growth in intra-regional cases and disputes conducted solely in Spanish, and is also gaining  prominence in environmental disputes and cases related to sovereign states’ efforts to capture windfall profits from the mining sector. Multilingual and dual-qualified (Brazil/New York) special legal consultant Laura França Pereira (Washington DC) is also noted.