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Sophie J. Lamb QC

Partner
London
  • 99 Bishopsgate
  • London EC2M 3XF
  • United Kingdom
Profile Experience

Sophie J. Lamb QC, Global Co-Chair of the International Arbitration Practice, is widely acknowledged as one of the leading arbitration practitioners of her generation.

Ms. Lamb is a trusted advisor to boards of public companies, sovereign nations, participants in the energy and technology sectors, and major financial institutions, among others. Described by Chambers Global 2019 as “a real powerhouse,” Ms. Lamb is routinely engaged in the most complex, high value, and/or reputationally significant disputes of the moment. Her cases have featured in The Lawyer’s top 20 cases of the year and she has featured on their list of the UK’s most influential and inspirational lawyers for her successes “in billion dollar, high profile, politically sensitive and often market-shaping arbitration cases and related court trials.” An accomplished advocate, she has appeared in over 100 cases, including in the UK Supreme Court. She was appointed Queen’s Counsel in February 2018.

Ms. Lamb’s role includes advising boards and investment committees on corporate integrity, principles of responsible investment, sustainability, and the interaction between business and human rights. She has lectured at leading universities and business schools including Oxford, Harvard, and Insead, and has an active pro bono practice, advocating in particular for the rights of women, children, and stateless persons.

Ms. Lamb serves on the firm’s Initiatives Committee and is a former member of the Strategic Client Committee. She is the UK’s representative on the ICC International Court of Arbitration, a member of the UK Policy Committee of the ICC, the world’s largest business and trade organization, and a Board Member of the Africa Advisory Board of Save the Children UK.

Ms. Lamb’s representative matters include acting for:

  • Royal Dutch Shell and Shell Petroleum Development Company in their successful defense of transnational human rights and environmental litigations identified by The Lawyer as among the most significant cases of 2016
  • A leading mining company on a very high value shareholder rights and environmental issues arising from projects in Latin America
  • A sovereign party in an investor-state dispute concerning a bank rescue program
  • A private equity house in a very high value post-M&A earn-out dispute
  • A national oil company in a range of complex lending, shareholder, and supply disputes valued in the multiple billions of dollars
  • Counseling multinationals and private equity houses on a range of ESG and Investment Integrity issues
  • An international oil and gas company and Murphy Oil in their successful NAFTA arbitration against Canada under the ICSID, Additional Facility Rules over illegal performance requirements*
  • Ust-Kamenogorsk Hydropower Plant, a subsidiary of Samruk Energy, as advocates to the appellant in the UK Supreme Court on a landmark arbitration appeal to determine whether the English Court has jurisdiction to grant an anti-suit injunction in circumstances where no arbitration is intended or in prospect*
  • Mobile TeleSystems in its US$2.5 billion investor-state arbitration against Uzbekistan brought under the Additional Facility of the ICSID, including successfully defending an Article 45(6) application*
  • One of the largest private investment companies in Russia in a multibillion-dollar shareholder dispute, including successfully defending third party disclosure proceedings in London and the US and resisting attempts to injunct in the Caribbean courts a multibillion-dollar public share buyback*
  • A Japanese automotive company as Claimant in consolidated ICC arbitration proceedings against a German automotive company concerning the unwinding of a multibillion cross-shareholding*
  • A number of large corporate investors on tax stabiliation issues including the international law dimension of retrospective taxes and tax treaty override provisions*
  • Metals and minerals entities on price re-openers in long term supply agreements*
  • A life sciences company in a significant patent arbitration against one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies*
  • Telecoms entities in very high value change of control, put option, and IP licensing disputes*
  • A mining group in a multibillion-dollar tax dispute with the Government of an African country*

*Matter handled prior to joining Latham

Qualifications and Education

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