Three Crowns LLP > Washington, United States > Firm Profile

Three Crowns LLP > The Legal 500 Rankings

Dispute resolution > International arbitration Tier 2

Three Crowns LLP focuses exclusively on international arbitration and international law, where it represents multinational corporates and sovereign states in high-stakes disputes. The team’s US offering, which in centered in Washington DC, has extensive expertise across a mix of commercial, investor-state and state-to-state cases and it further benefits from its ability to draw on its international lawyers for additional cross-border firepower. A co-founding partner of the firm, Luke Sobota enjoys a prominent reputation globally for his activity in headline-grabbing cases, with a focus on the energy, financial and technology spheres. Another seasoned specialist, Liz Snodgrass contributes deep experience in acting on commercial and investor-state cases and recently represented Burford Capital in a $140m arbitration brought against Sysco Corporation. Rounding out the partners is Scott Vesel, who brings to bear significant international prowess following stints in London and Bahrain. Vesel acted alongside the London office to represent the Sultanate of Oman in ICSID arbitration and annulment proceedings concerning a $180m claim brought by Turkish construction company, Atilla Dogan. The group also leans on a strong second line of non-partners, including Buenos Aires-qualified special legal consultant, Agustin Sanz; associate Simon Consedine; and English-qualified special legal consultant, Nicola Peart.

Latin America: International firms > International arbitration

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.