Dispute Resolution | Global

Clifford Chance is a well-established name in international disputes and handles some of the largest mandates arising in Africa. It has a particularly robust mining disputes practice, with activity throughout anglophone and francophone Africa as well as North Africa, and has further capabilities acting for financial institutions, telecoms operators and energy companies. The firm services an impressive roster of global and African clients from its offices in Australia, Europe and the USA.

DLA Piper is a prominent disputes player with broad sectoral coverage and a strong reputation for international commercial litigation and arbitration. The team is particularly active on investment treaty cases and disputes relating to the natural resources sector. It also offers extensive experience in shareholder and financial services disputes, in addition to human rights matters. The firm maintains an on-the-ground presence in Africa through its offices in Johannesburg and Casablanca, further bolstered by an extensive network of relationship law firms which enhances its formidable reach across the continent.

Quinn Emanuel is a standout law firm for high-end commercial disputes the world over, and several of its lawyers are well versed in Africa-related litigation and arbitration matters. The firm garners considerable plaudits for its investor-state arbitration practice, particularly in regard to its representation of international investors, with significant experience acting for clients in ICC and ICSID arbitrations. It demonstrates both depth and breadth in its handling of energy, infrastructure, oil and gas, mining and telecoms cases.

Wall Street law firm White & Case operates an exceptionally well-regarded arbitration practice which is highly visible on Africa-related investor-state and construction matters. Its lawyers possess extensive experience representing states, as well as private entities operating in the oil and gas, financial services, telecoms and insurance sectors. It is especially noted for its dominance in North and francophone Africa, although the firm has taken on cases originating in the majority of African jurisdictions. Its Africa disputes work is typically led by teams in Paris, London and Johannesburg.

Cleary Gottlieb has a highly respected international arbitration and litigation practice centred in Paris, with a wealth of experience acting principally for North and francophone African governments, as well as their state-owned entities, in addition to growing capabilities in anglophone Africa. The firm is renowned for its robust investment treaty practice, which acts for states as well as investors. Its lawyers offer considerable expertise in disputes relating to the natural resources and financial services industries.

Magic circle law firm Freshfields is a longstanding feature of Africa-related disputes. Drawing on the expertise of lawyers based in London, Paris, Dubai and New York, it is renowned for its capabilities in arbitration and acts for numerous heavyweight clients in key sectors such as telecoms and oil and gas. The team has additional experience representing African clients in high stakes litigation proceedings in London and the USA. Freshfields is also noted as a major player in the African public international law space, with a lead role on numerous high profile interstate proceedings.

Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer has a leading international disputes practice with extensive experience and activity throughout anglophone and francophone Africa. It is a well-established name for litigation and arbitration, with a long list of mining and oil and gas clients. The team has significant expertise in investment treaty arbitration and public international law, with its highly respected bench of specialists operating primarily from Paris, London and Johannesburg.

Linklaters is a prestigious international law firm with an impressive depth of experience in dispute resolution matters across Africa. It is recognised for its representation of states, mining companies and banking institutions in investor-state arbitrations, with considerable experience appearing before ICSID and the ICC. The team demonstrates significant activity across Africa, with the capabilities of its Africa-focused lawyers in London, Paris and Lisbon being bolstered by its alliance with Webber Wentzel in South Africa.

The A&O Shearman disputes team is regularly instructed in sophisticated investment treaty arbitrations. The international arbitration group offers African expertise across anglophone and francophone jurisdictions from offices in Casablanca, London and Paris. It is particularly noted for its frequent high profile work in Morocco, while its wider African caseload covers a range of disputes in the petrochemicals and financial services sectors.

Clyde & Co is well placed to advise clients on contractual disputes and injunction-related proceedings arising in sectors such as mining, insurance and energy. The firm has further experience in commercial and investor-state arbitration, with its recent work including several UNCITRAL and ICC cases. Running numerous matters from Paris and London, the firm is also able to leverage its on-the-ground African presence in South Africa, Egypt, Kenya and Tanzania.

Curtis is well known for its firm-wide emphasis on the representation of sovereign states, including several in Africa. The firm has an impressive international arbitration and litigation practice with a strong understanding of the natural resources industries, as well as extensive experience in disputes arising from infrastructure concession agreements. The firm's Africa work includes an especially notable concentration of cases in North Africa and is typically staffed from offices in New York, Paris, Milan and London.

The international disputes team at Foley Hoag is noted for its in-depth knowledge of public international law. The firm frequently acts for sovereign nations on inter-state disputes relating to land and maritime boundaries. Its lawyers also offer a wealth of experience in high-profile human rights and Law of the Sea cases, in addition to handling investor-state arbitrations.

Gaillard Banifatemi Shelbaya Disputes (GBS) is a Paris-based international arbitration boutique. Its admired team possesses experience in disputes occurring across a wide range of industries, including energy, mining and oil and gas. The firm enjoys an excellent reputation as a go-to group for major investment treaty and commercial arbitration cases, and also demonstrates considerable expertise in enforcement and asset tracing matters.

Hogan Lovells possesses a distinguished and deep global bench in litigation and arbitration. Its Africa dispute resolution team is run principally from Paris and London, and lawyers from the firm are particularly active in francophone jurisdictions. The group has a strong capability when it comes to financial services disputes, acting for several financial institutions in addition to other highly prominent clients.

Stephenson Harwood is home to a highly respected Africa desk with a diverse international disputes practice. The Africa dispute resolution group is centred in London with additional support from partners based in Paris and Dubai. The team as a whole commands great respect for its involvement across the region, with particular plaudits for its experience in East Africa, as well as Nigeria. The team regularly acts for government entities in addition to energy and banking clients.

Three Crowns is a boutique law firm focusing on international arbitration. It has a fast-growing practice in Africa, with a team of in-demand lawyers regularly acting on disputes in the oil and gas and energy sectors. The team as a whole has an impressive client base which includes numerous multinational conglomerates. The firm's recent work has a particular emphasis on North Africa and Nigeria.

Bowmans is a leading African law firm which is frequently mandated on high value disputes by clients active in industries such as financial services and energy, as well as representing governmental bodies. Headquartered in South Africa, its broad regional network encompasses offices in Kenya, Mauritius, Namibia, Tanzania and Zambia, as well as alliance partners in Ethiopia and Nigeria. Its lawyers are well versed in commercial and contractual disputes, with additional activity in arbitration and corporate investigations.

ENS is well placed to advise states as well as private companies. It represents clients active in various sectors, including energy, telecoms and construction. The firm is highly sought after for arbitration, with experience co-leading matters alongside top-tier international law firms. It also has strong capabilities in both single-plaintiff and class action litigation, as well as corporate investigations. With offices across the continent, ENS has an especially strong disputes presence in South Africa, Mauritius and Ghana.

Eversheds Sutherland is a well-established name in international dispute resolution. The firm possesses a notable reach across Africa, with offices on the ground in Johannesburg, Port Louis and Tunis supported by the firm's enviable international network. It represents states and state-owned entities, as well as corporate clients, and is active on a range of commercial litigation and international arbitration cases relating to sectors such as telecoms, oil and gas and construction.

Leading South African law firm Webber Wentzel has a respected dispute resolution practice principally focused on its home jurisdiction and neighbouring states. It represents clients active across a variety of sectors, including mining and telecoms. The team possesses expertise in cross-border single-plaintiff as well as class action litigation, and is also regularly active in arbitration.

Ashurst maintains an impressive African disputes practice with a focus on construction, oil and gas, and mining disputes. It is well versed in representing international investors in proceedings against African states or state-owned entities, and has further expertise regarding commercial arbitrations conducted under the auspices of the ICC. The principal lawyers handling such matters are located in Frankfurt, London and Paris, and the firm's African credentials have been recently bolstered through the opening of an office in Casablanca.

Mayer Brown has a significant Africa disputes practice, run principally from its offices in Paris and London. Its capabilities in this field are broad, encompassing assistance with criminal investigations into bribery and corruption as well as high-value construction arbitrations. It regularly counsels energy companies in relation to their African investments and also has experience representing individual executives as well as sovereign states.

Stewarts is a London-based specialist law firm focusing on dispute resolution. It is active on a high volume of Africa-related cases, representing a varied client list of governments, high net worth individuals and well-known corporations. It is well versed in oil and gas arbitrations, as well as matters occurring in such industries as financial services and aviation. It is also very capable of advising on cases arising from allegations of corruption, including those involving freezing orders or asset tracing proceedings.