Fietta LLP > London, England > Firm Profile
Fietta LLP Offices
1 FITZROY SQUARE
LONDON
W1T 5HE
England
Fietta LLP > The Legal 500 Rankings
Dispute resolution > Public international law Tier 1
‘The strongest PIL boutique in London‘, Fietta LLP has ‘vast experience in PIL matters‘. Dedicated to PIL and international arbitration work, the practice is routinely instructed by sovereign clients in their most sensitive PIL matters globally; and in contentious work, the team represents both investors and respondent states in investment arbitration. With ‘remarkable knowledge of PIL‘, founding partner Stephen Fietta KC
regularly acts for sovereign states in high-profile territorial disputes; and Jiries Saadeh, ‘an absolute star of his generation‘, represents state and investor clients in international investment treaty cases. At counsel level, Australian lawyer Ashique Rahman is a founding board member of the Young Public International Law Group, a network of PIL practitioners; and Laura Rees-Evans and Oonagh Sands also both assist with complex PIL issues.Practice head(s):
Stephen Fietta KC; Jiries Saadeh
Other key lawyers:
Testimonials
‘What makes this practice unique is its distinguished knowledge and vast experience in PIL matters and various aspects of investment disputes, from the initial stages of a dispute until its final conclusion, whether by amicable settlement or final arbitral award.’
‘Fietta is the strongest PIL boutique in London, with quality from top to bottom and no dead weight at all.’
‘A small, highly specialised and effective PIL practice with carefully selected practitioners.’
‘Stephen Fietta has remarkable knowledge of PIL, can determine the strategic approach for complex cases, and has team leadership skills when the members of the legal team are from various offices or chambers.’
‘Stephen Fietta has authored a reference volume entitled “A Practitioner’s Guide to Maritime Boundary Delimitation,” which has quickly become a go-to resource on the subject matter.’
‘Stephen Fietta is a very strong performer with long experience in PIL.’
‘Jiries Saadeh is highly professional in fact-finding processes, whether by analysing facts or determining the key elements of disputes. He also has vast experience in public international law matters and investment disputes.’
‘Jiries Saadeh is an absolute star of his generation, and someone in whom clients can place absolute trust.’
Key clients
PL Holdings
Big Sky Energy Corporation
Littop Enterprises
Bridgemont Ventures
Bordo Management
Schooner Capital
Tidhar Excavation and Earth Moving
Work highlights
- Advising Malaysia on various public international law questions relating to sovereignty, maritime delimitation, offshore petroleum development, navigation and international environmental law.
- Representing PL Holdings in an arbitration (pursuant to the Belgium-Luxembourg Economic Union-Poland bilateral investment treaty) against the Republic of Poland.
- Representing an individual real estate project-related investor in an UNCITRAL arbitration against a Gulf State under the Agreement on Promotion, Protection and Guarantee of Investments among the Member States of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference.
Dispute resolution > International arbitration Tier 4
Boutique law firm Fietta LLP houses a dedicated international arbitration and public international law (PIL) practice that is widely respected for its investment disputes credentials. The ‘strategic‘ Stephen Fietta KC is regularly instructed by sovereign states to act in highly sensitive PIL matters, including some of the world’s highest profile territorial claims; and Jiries Saadeh ‘has vast experience in investment disputes‘. Ashique Rahman is a partner as of July 2022, while Laura Rees-Evans and Oonagh Sands are the counsels to note.Practice head(s):
Stephen Fietta KC; Jiries Saadeh
Other key lawyers:
Testimonials
‘Fietta is the strongest arbitration boutique in London, with quality from top to bottom and no dead weight at all.’
‘Vast experience and remarkable knowledge of investment disputes in international arbitration.’
‘Stephen Fietta KC is strategic and a great team leader.‘
‘Stephen Fietta KC is a very strong performer with longstanding experience in investment arbitration.‘
‘Jiries Saadeh is highly professional and has vast experience in investment disputes.’
‘Jiries Saadeh is an absolute star of his generation, and someone in whom clients can place absolute trust.’
Key clients
PL Holdings
Big Sky Energy Corporation
Littop Enterprises
Bridgemont Ventures
Bordo Management
Schooner Capital
Tidhar Excavation and Earth Moving
Work highlights
- Counsel to over 900 Greek and Luxembourgian investors in a pending ICSID arbitration brought under two bilateral investment treaties against Cyprus.
- Representing the respondent state in an ad hoc arbitration brought by a Canadian investor under a bilateral investment treaty, which involves issues of state succession in the former Yugoslavia in relation to real estate interests.
- Representing the claimants in a claim brought under the Ethiopia-Israel BIT.
Fietta LLP > Firm Profile
Fietta LLP is a law firm dedicated to public international law (PIL) and international arbitration. The Fietta practice comprises a unique team of specialists with broad-based experience advising States, international organisations, multinational corporations and private clients across a range of international law matters. Fietta lawyers have acted as counsel on some of the largest and most important PIL disputes of the past two decades. They have won a number of the most substantial or significant victories seen in investment arbitration cases globally over recent years. The firm also has a busy advisory practice, advising State (and other) clients on some of the most sensitive and important PIL issues of the day.
International Arbitration: investor-state arbitration:
Fietta LLP is one of the few law firms in the world that specialises in investor-State disputes and public international law. At all levels of the firm, our lawyers have substantial experience advising States, multinational corporations, individuals and international organisations across a broad range of international law matters. Our lawyers have won cases as counsel in treaty arbitrations across all regions of the globe. We advise on the full life-cycle of foreign investments, from the initial structuring of an investment, to the operation of an investment, the avoidance or settlement of related disputes and the pursuit or defence of arbitral proceedings on behalf of the investor or State. Fietta’s lawyers have been involved in around 50 decided and pending investment arbitration and associated court proceedings around the world. Unlike many other leading investment arbitration practices, we have acted regularly for both investor and State parties. Our lawyers have won some of the largest arbitral awards in the history of investment arbitration. In the past five years alone, our lawyers have secured four separate investment treaty merit awards worth US$100 million or more, and total awards and favourable settlements in excess of US$1.3 billion. We are regularly chosen to advise on some of the most complex and novel investor-State disputes, including those involving multiple parties and/or multiple treaties. We have acted in investor-State disputes involving a wide array of economic sectors and industries.
Public international law (advisory and contentious):
We have a leading advisory practice in public international law. We have advised sovereign clients on many high-profile and sensitive public international law questions. We have recently advised clients on issues of, inter alia, State responsibility, Statehood and sovereignty, sovereign immunity, treaty interpretation, law of the sea, international environmental law, foreign investment law, international human rights, international humanitarian law, State succession, international refugee law, as well as UN law and procedure. Our lawyers have represented State clients in disputes before a variety of international courts, tribunals and other dispute fora, including the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA), the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), ad hoc arbitration under Annex VII of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and ad hoc mediation under the auspices of the United Nations. We have also represented State clients in a range of public international law cases before domestic courts. Our State clients have enjoyed a positive outcome (win or positive settlement) in all concluded State-to-State disputes in which we have acted as counsel. A number of our State representations have involved disputes over territorial sovereignty, the delimitation of land and maritime boundaries, environmental damage and human rights. We are uniquely equipped to assist with the management, coordination and advocacy of such complex, multifaceted and sensitive cases, or in the conduct of negotiations prior to invocation of third-party procedures.
Main Contacts
| Department | Name | Telephone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Founder and principal | Stephen Fietta KC | stephen.fietta@fiettalaw.com | |
| Partner | Jiries Saadeh | jiries.saadeh@fiettalaw.com | |
| Partner | Ashique Rahman | ashique.rahman@fiettalaw.com |
Lawyer Profiles
| Photo | Name | Position | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Miglena Angelova | Miglena Angelova is a dually-qualified English and French lawyer, and Associate at… | View Profile |
 | Tommaso Buzzelli | Tommaso Buzzelli is an Italian-qualified lawyer and Associate at Fietta LLP. He… | View Profile |
 | Lea Christopher | Lea Christopher is an Australian-qualified lawyer and Associate at Fietta LLP. Lea… | View Profile |
 | Mr Stephen Fietta | Stephen Fietta KC is the firm’s founder and principal. He is ranked… | View Profile |
 | Ashique Rahman | Ashique is an Australian lawyer and Partner at Fietta LLP. Ashique represents… | View Profile |
 | Laura Rees-Evans | Laura is an English-qualified solicitor and Solicitor-Advocate (Higher Courts Civil Proceedings). Laura’s… | View Profile |
 | Jiries Saadeh | Jiries Saadeh is an English-qualified lawyer and Solicitor-Advocate (Higher Courts Civil Proceedings).… | View Profile |
 | Oonagh Sands | Oonagh Sands is a dually qualified English and US lawyer. She is… | View Profile |
 | Abdullah Tariq | Abdullah Tariq is a Pakistani-qualified lawyer and Associate at Fietta LLP. Abdullah… | View Profile |
Staff Figures
Number of UK partners : 3 Number of other UK fee-earners : 7Languages
French Italian Spanish Bulgarian RussianDiversity
Fietta LLP operates on the principles of equality and diversity, ensuring that all members of staff are treated fairly and with dignity and respect. It seeks to recruit and retain the best candidates, regardless of background, and considers that no member of staff, client, supplier or other third party should be unlawfully discriminated against, victimised or harassed because of their actual or perceived sex, marriage and civil partnership, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race (including colour, nationality and ethnic or national origins), religion or belief, sexual orientation, age or disability, or that of someone associated with them.
Unlawful discrimination, victimisation and harassment are all contrary to Fietta LLP’s values.
- Dispute resolution > Public international law
Top Tier Firm Rankings
- Dispute resolution > International arbitration