Keating Chambers

Veronique Buehrlen KC has a wide-ranging commercial litigation, international arbitration and advisory practice with special emphasis on complex energy disputes, construction and engineering (both on and offshore). She brings a unique perspective through her varied practice as Leading Counsel and international arbitrator and having sat as a Deputy High Court Judge (Technology & Construction Court (“TCC”)) from 2017-2023. As Counsel, Veronique is known for her meticulous preparation of complex, highly detailed, matters requiring penetrating and determined cross examination of expert and other witnesses. As an International Arbitrator, Veronique is known for being fair, thoughtful and measured.  She has a wealth of experience of the workings of the Technology and Construction Court, of the Commercial Court and of various international arbitral fora. As an expert in energy construction disputes Veronique represents parties in substantial litigation. She (for instance) represented the main contractor in a multi-billion-Euro ICC arbitration following the suspension and subsequent termination of the South Stream gas pipeline project.

Having spent 20 years at Fountain Court, Veronique also has a strong commercial disputes background.

Veronique is recommended by the leading directories for her energy, construction, and international arbitration counsel work, and as an International Arbitrator. In these guides she receives praise from those she has worked with for getting “on top of complex cases in an incredibly short time” and “working at the coal face of the dispute”. Clients appreciate her “strong commercial perspective” and forensic approach to cases, and describe Veronique as a “ferocious cross-examiner” with a “razor-sharp brain” and “laser focus on the fine detail”. Veronique was shortlisted by The Legal 500 for their prestigious International Arbitration Silk of the Year (2019 and 2024) and Arbitrator of the Year awards (2022 and 2023), and by Chambers & Partners for their International Arbitration Silk of the Year award (2023). She is ranked Band 1 for International Arbitration (Arbitrators) by Chambers & Partners, as well as for Energy & Natural Resources and International Arbitration: Construction/Engineering, and as a Leading Silk by The Legal 500.

Veronique specialises in all aspects of energy and construction disputes including termination, suspension, rights to payment, varied work, force majeure, frustration, delay and disruption and defective works in relation to both onshore and offshore projects. Her experience has spanned the full spectrum of commercial litigation encompassing major trials, jurisdiction and applicable law disputes, preliminary issues and interim relief. She is familiar with all the standard form contracts including NEC, LOGIC and FIDIC.

Veronique has worked (as Counsel and International Arbitrator) on disputes arising out of projects worldwide including on (or offshore) Scotland, France, Italy, Slovakia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Algeria, Mozambique, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Guinea, South Africa, Brazil, Indonesia, Russia and Kazakhstan.

As an International Arbitrator, Veronique sits both as Chair and Tribunal Member and receives both party and institutional appointments. Her appointments include a broad spectrum of construction and energy disputes, as well as commercial disputes in other fields (including insurance, aviation, joint ventures, sale of goods and commodities). Veronique is a member of the ICC’s Commission on Arbitration and ADR, a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, and a member of several arbitrator panels, such as SIAC, DIAC and TECBAR. She has dealt with disputes regarding major infrastructure and other projects worldwide (including onshore and offshore projects in Russia, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Oman, Algeria, South Africa, Nigeria, Guinea, Congo, Brazil, Indonesia, Iraq, Mozambique and France). Veronique has sat on arbitral tribunals seated in London, Paris, Singapore, Lagos, Cape Town and various cities in the Middle East, including Riyadh, Doha and Dubai, as well as in Nigeria and South Africa. She has experience of most institutional rules (ICC, LCIA, SIAC, DIAC, UNCITRAL, etc.), as well as ad hoc arrangements and DABs (FIDIC).

In May 2017, Veronique was appointed a Deputy High Court Judge and sat regularly in the TCC on a broad range of cases for six years, until May 2023. As judge, arbitrator and Leading Counsel, Veronique has an in-depth understanding of the litigation and decision-making processes. As Leading Counsel, Veronique fully comprehends what a Court or Tribunal requires to reach the right decision. As arbitrator, she remains mindful of the challenges and pressures facing the parties and their representatives.

Deputy High Court Judge, Queen’s Bench Division, 2017 Fellow Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, 2013 Keating Chambers, 2011-present Queen’s Counsel, 2010 Fountain Court Chambers, 1991-2011 Called to the Bar, 1991 Prior to being called to the Bar, Veronique worked with KPMG’s Strategic Consultancy team.

Bilingual French/English

Queen Mothers’ Scholar (Middle Temple), 1990- 1991 Diploma in Law, City University, Distinction, 1990 MA Hons. St Andrews, First Class (French and International Relations), 1988