Led by Dan Bodle, an experienced arbitrator with specialist knowledge of the energy and tech sectors, the team at Dentons is regularly instructed by major corporations as well as states and state-owned entities, leveraging the firm’s strong global footprint in support of clients. Alongside Bodle, James Langley is a key member of the team advising on investor-state arbitrations and with a focus on Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. Catherine Gilfedder has a strong commercial arbitration practice supporting clients in the energy and commodities sectors, while Matthew Turner has advised under a variety of arbitration rulesets, such as ICSID, ICC, and LCIA.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- Dentons’ international arbitration team combines global reach with practical, specialist arbitration judgment. The team was especially strong in managing the legal strategy, local law issues, enforcement risk, and commercial context together. What set the practice apart was its ability to coordinate seamlessly across jurisdictions, bringing in local experts and counsels where needed across their member firms. The lawyers understood the arbitration process and provided clear, commercially useful advice throughout.
- Dentons has a very experienced arbitration team. James Langley, Dan Bodle, Matt Vinall, and Matt Turner make an excellent team.
- Matthew Vinall is a very clever lawyer who understands the needs of clients and has a good instinct.
- There is an excellent team under James Langley and Catherine Gilfedder, with hardworking and impressive individuals.
- The Dentons team has real breadth and depth of experience in the field, covering a huge amount of diverse work.
- James Langley and Catherine Gilfedder are excellent lawyers, making a great team. They are great case managers and are able to handle the largest and most complex cases.
Key clients
- Newcastle United Football Club
- Sony
- Eni
- Equinor
- Perenco Energies International and Perenco
- Government of India
- TotalEnergies
- Avis Budget Group
- S.N.G.N. Romgaz
- National Bank of Canada
- West Indian Ocean Cable Company
- Kenya Broadcasting Corporation
Work highlights
Acting on behalf of the Government of India and successfully defending a US$275m claim by a Middle Eastern sovereign wealth fund in international arbitration under the UNCITRAL Rules and related court proceedings challenging the award.
Advising the Government of India in relation to its longstanding UNCITRAL arbitration against Reliance Industries Limited and BG Group concerning an upstream oil and gas project in India and related English court proceedings.
Lawyers
Leading partners
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.
Next Generation Partners
Junior partners with significant recognition from clients and peers in the market and key roles on multiple matters.
Leading associates
Leading associates with regular involvement in their team's key work, and recognition from peers or clients as being ones to watch.
Matthew Turner
Practice head
Dan Bodle
Other key lawyers
James Langley; Catherine Gilfedder; Matthew Turner; Matthew Vinall