Ms Floriane Lavaud > Debevoise & Plimpton LLP > New York, United States > Lawyer Profile

Debevoise & Plimpton LLP
66 HUDSON BOULEVARD
NEW YORK
United States

Work Department

Floriane Lavaud is a member of the firm’s International Dispute Resolution Group.

Career

Floriane Lavaud’s practice focuses on public international law and international arbitration, with particular emphasis on the Middle East. She is admitted to the New York and Paris Bars, in addition to being a solicitor in England & Wales.

With nearly 20 years of experience, Ms. Lavaud advises and represents sovereign states, state-owned entities, and multinational corporations in a variety of jurisdictions and fora on issues of civil and common law, public international law, and treaty and contract interpretation. For example, she recently represented the State of Qatar before the International Court of Justice, in addition to representing Qatari entities in both treaty and commercial arbitrations. She sits as arbitrator, including on the Qatar Sports Arbitration Tribunal, and serves as counsel in a broad range of international matters. She also advises private equity funds and hedge funds, including in connection with investments in the Middle East.

Languages

Ms. Lavaud is a native French speaker and is also proficient in Spanish and has basic knowledge of Dutch.

Memberships

Ms. Lavaud serves in a number of leadership positions. In 2022, she was elected to the Board of Directors of ArbitralWomen, an international organization that promotes women and diversity in international arbitration. Ms. Lavaud also currently serves as Board Member and Co-Chair of the International Arbitration Committee of the American Branch of the International Law Association (ABILA), and as Co-Chair of International Law Weekend (ILW) 2022 and 2023. She is also a member of numerous arbitration organizations, including the Institute for Transnational Arbitration (ITA) Advisory Board representing Debevoise & Plimpton LLP. She also recently served as a New York Regional Representative of the ICC Young Arbitrators Forum.

Education

Ms. Lavaud received an LL.M. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 2007 and an M.A. in Litigation and Arbitration from the University of Paris II Panthéon-Assas with honors in 2005.

Lawyer Rankings

United States > Dispute resolution > International arbitration

(Rising stars)

Floriane LavaudDebevoise & Plimpton LLP

In the ultimate accolade, Debevoise & Plimpton LLP‘s international arbitration team is commended as having ‘no weak link’. As one of the largest dedicated groups in the market, the New York-based practice fields an impressive combination of senior specialists together with next-generation partners; all of whom bring to bear experience in representing the full scope of clients, including multinational corporations and sovereign states, in cross-border arbitral proceedings. A regular fixture on commercial, investment treaty and public international law-related matters, the group is a destination practice for complex cases under all major institutional rules. Co-chairing both the international dispute resolution and public international law departments, Catherine Amirfar enjoys a prominent global reputation for her record in landmark disputes. Amirfar recently paired up with Ina Popova to represent the Republic of Iraq in an ICSID case brought by Orange Telecom under the France-Iraq bilateral investment treaty (BIT), among other proceedings. Mark W. Friedman, who splits his time between New York and London, is sought after for his expertise in complex mining and natural resources cases; he teamed up with Latin America practice co-chair Dietmar Prager and Caribbean practice co-chair Natalie Reid to successful represent Tethyan Copper Company in its $6bn arbitration win against the Islamic Republic of Pakistan–the second-largest ICSID award ever rendered. Seasoned litigator David W. Rivkin is also widely recognized as a leading light, while newly promoted partner Laura Sinisterra and counsel Floriane Lavaud are highly regarded up-and-coming names.