Sarah Ellington > Watson Farley & Williams LLP > London, England > Lawyer Profile

Watson Farley & Williams LLP
15 APPOLD STREET
LONDON
EC2A 2HB
England
Sarah Ellington photo

Work Department

Dispute Resolution

Position

Sarah is a solutions-focussed disputes lawyer, who has been resolving disputes using both formal and informal mechanisms for multinational corporations, governments, governmental agencies and international organisations for over 15 years. She leads teams of lawyers and experts to resolve large and complex multi-jurisdiction litigation and arbitration. Sarah is particularly known for her work on environmental, social and governance (including human rights) disputes, IT and outsourcing disputes and fraud investigations and asset recovery, as well as ESG and impact advisory.

She is one of only a few lawyers to combine experience on complex and high-profile group litigation with advising on complaints to non-judicial mechanisms, such as OECD National Contact Points, UN Special Procedure mandates and private, sector-based accountability mechanisms. She also has experience drafting and developing novel non-judicial grievance mechanisms.

Sarah uses this experience to advise clients on managing liability and dispute risks in the context of compliance and regulatory advice and works with clients across several sectors on related risk management and governance issues in corporate transactions, commercial contracts, project development and financing.

Sarah is recognised by Legal 500 UK 2025 for ESG. She is described as “a standout ESG expert” with a “great strategic mindset” and “huge experience and expertise in this area”.

Memberships

  1. IBA Business and Human Rights Committee
  2. Society for Computers and Law, ESG Committee
  3. Legal Innovation for Sustainable Investment (LISI), Co-creator.
  4. Global Alliance of Impact Lawyers (GAIL), UK Regional Board member

Education

  1. 2005 – 2006 · College of Law, Legal Practice Course (Distinction)
  2. 2004 – 2005 · College of Law, Graduate Diploma in Law (Distinction)
  3. 2000 – 2004 · University of Leeds, BA (Hons) History-Spanish (First)

Lawyer Rankings

London > Risk advisory > ESG

Watson Farley & Williams LLP is equipped to advise on land resettlement issues connected to major infrastructure projects and regulatory incident response complaint resolution in the field of ESG including court litigation, mediation and private grievance mechanisms. Sarah Ellington and Nick Walker co-lead the practice. Ellington’s broad practice ranges from transactional due diligence to handling UN complaints. Walker is highlighted for  his expertise in environmental and social monitoring and EU ship recycling regulations. Valentina Keys is a further key name to note.