King & Spalding has signed three international arbitration partners from Kirkland & Ellis in a bid to grow the firm’s commercial work in Latin America and Europe.
With the addition of new partners Javier Rubinstein, Lauren Friedman, and Lucila “Luli” Hemmingsen, the firm also aims to expand its “investor-state” work in those regions. Investor-state arbitrations can arise when parties sue countries, or government agencies, over alleged violations of international investment treaties or laws.
Rubinstein, who served as vice chairman and global general counsel for PwC before joining Kirkland, will be based in Chicago for King & Spalding. Friedman and Hemmingsen will work out of the New York office.
“The geographical and industry knowledge Javier, Lauren, and Lucila have, combined with their language skills and decades of experience being outside and in-house counsel, make them a great addition to our International Arbitration team,” Andy Bayman, leader of King & Spalding’s Trial & Global Disputes practice group, said in a statement.
Zach Fardon, managing partner of King & Spalding’s Chicago office, said that the presence of Rubinstein will help expand the firm’s international arbitration footprint into the city and its surrounding area.
“King & Spalding’s premiere international arbitration practice and its commitment to grow disputes work in the Midwest were two important factors as we thought about the right platform going forward,” said Rubinstein in a the statement.
Friedman’s practice includes commercial and investor-state arbitrations on behalf of clients in the oil and gas and mining sectors, as well as consumer goods and public utilities.
In addition to her arbitration work, Hemmingsen also advises clients on treaty protection structuring connected to those proceedings.
The announcement comes about a month after King & Spalding made a high-profile hire from the Justice Department. In early January, the firm landed former deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein as partner in its government investigations group in Washington.
To contact the reporter on this story:
To contact the editors responsible for this story:
To read more articles log in.
Learn more about a Bloomberg Law subscription.