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

15 APPOLD STREET
LONDON
EC2A 2HB
England
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Sarah Ellington

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
- IBA Business and Human Rights Committee
- Society for Computers and Law, ESG Committee
- Legal Innovation for Sustainable Investment (LISI), Co-creator.
- Global Alliance of Impact Lawyers (GAIL), UK Regional Board member
Education
- 2005 – 2006 · College of Law, Legal Practice Course (Distinction)
- 2004 – 2005 · College of Law, Graduate Diploma in Law (Distinction)
- 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.
Lawyer Rankings
Top Tier Firm Rankings
- Dispute resolution > Commercial litigation: mid-market
- Dispute resolution > Commodities disputes
- Projects, energy and natural resources > Renewables
- Finance > Transport finance and leasing
Firm Rankings
- Projects, energy and natural resources > Infrastructure: Project finance and development
- Transport > Aviation
- Dispute resolution > Commodities disputes
- Real estate > Construction: contentious
- Real estate > Construction: non-contentious
- Industry focus > Hospitality and leisure
- Dispute resolution > International arbitration
- Corporate and commercial > M&A: Lower Mid-Market Deals, £100m-£750m
- Projects, energy and natural resources > Oil and gas
- Projects, energy and natural resources > Power (including electricity and nuclear)
- Finance > Trade finance
- Industry focus > Emerging markets
- Real estate > Environment
- Corporate and commercial > Equity capital markets – small-mid cap
- Risk advisory > ESG
- Employment > Immigration
- Projects, energy and natural resources > Infrastructure: M&A and acquisition financing
- Projects, energy and natural resources > Mining and minerals
- Transport > Rail
- Transport > Shipping
- Real estate > Commercial property: development
- Real estate > Planning
- Corporate and commercial > Private equity: transactions - mid-market deals (up to £500m)
- Real estate > Property litigation
- Corporate and commercial > Corporate tax
- Employment > Employers
- Corporate and commercial > EU and competition