William Kirtley

Practice Areas

William Kirtley, Managing Partner of Aceris Law, is a Franco-American Harvard-, Columbia- and Sorbonne-educated international arbitration lawyer with over two decades of experience focusing on international commercial, investment, and construction arbitration at the highest level. He has served as counsel or arbitrator in some of the largest arbitrations in history. He is a member of the New York and Washington, DC Bars and an inactive French Avocat à la Cour, who was previously a member of the international arbitration practice groups of Shearman & Sterling (now A&O Shearman) and Salans (now Dentons). He has served as lead counsel in disputes on five continents, under the ICC, ICSID, UNCITRAL, LCIA, SCC, ICDR, SIAC, HKIAC, DIAC, CICA, LCAM, JAMS, DIFC-LCIA, AAA, AFA, Swiss Rules, and other arbitration rules, winning or amicably resolving nearly all of the numerous disputes where he has served as counsel. Recognized by the Legal 500 and Décideurs for many years, named as the “Best of the Best” in various legal awards, as well as “Who’s Who” in the field of international arbitration, clients call him a “great international arbitration lawyer” who is “incredibly smart”, “reliable, dynamic, loyal and committed to his clients”, “fair and transparent” and “a lawyer who will seek one hundred percent to guard the interests of his client”. They also call him “hard-working and highly responsive” with “depth of knowledge and experience in international dispute resolution” and “an unstoppable work ethic”. They also cite his “excellent understanding of international arbitration case law and strategy” while noting that he is “very easy and pleasant to work with” and he “never abandons a case halfway, no matter how hard a case can be”. He also serves as an arbitrator under a variety of arbitration rules and is directly involved in all work of Aceris Law LLC.

Career

Aceris Law – Managing Partner;

DK AARPI – Partner;

Lazareff Le Bars – Counsel;

Dentons (formerly Salans) – Senior Associate;

Shearman & Sterling – Associate;

United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda – Legal Consultant;

American Peace Corps Côte d’Ivoire – Urban Environmental Management PCV

Languages Spoken

English

French

Spanish

Arabic (basic)

Bambara (West African language)

Baoulé (West African language)

Education

Industry Sector Expertise

International Arbitration