David W Rivkin

Practice Areas

David W. Rivkin is a litigation partner in Debevoise’s New York and London offices, with broad experience in the areas of international litigation and arbitration. He is consistently ranked as one of the top international dispute resolution practitioners in the world. Chambers Global (2022) identified Mr. Rivkin as one of the top 10 international arbitration practitioners worldwide.

Mr. Rivkin frequently advises companies on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) matters and compliance. He is one of the principal authors of the firm’s ESG Resource Center and of the UN-commissioned report “UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights at 10.”

He has handled international arbitrations before virtually every major arbitration institution. Subjects of these arbitrations have included long-term energy concessions, investment treaties, joint venture agreements, insurance coverage, construction contracts, distribution agreements and intellectual property, among others, and they have involved common law, civil law, Islamic law and other systems. Mr. Rivkin also represents companies in transnational litigation in the U.S., including the enforcement of arbitral awards and arbitration agreements.

Career

Mr. Rivkin served as Co-Chair of Debevoise’s International Dispute Resolution Group for more than 20 years and is a Past President of the International Bar Association (IBA). He is a member of many arbitration panels, including the AAA, CPR Institute for Dispute Resolution, Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (where he sits as a Co-Chair), Singapore International Arbitration Centre, Japan Commercial Arbitration Association, Chinese International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC), the Cairo Regional Arbitration Centre, the Fédération International de l’Automobile (FIA) and the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).