Herbert Smith Freehills' global arbitration practice ranked 5th in the world

Global Arbitration Review (GAR) has released its annual ranking of the leading international arbitration practices, placing Herbert Smith Freehills at 5th in the world.

The firm's GAR 30 ranking is featured in the 18th Edition of the GAR 100, which was unveiled last night at the GAR Awards ceremony held at the Hôtel Du Collectionneur in Paris.

The ranking reveals that the firm's portfolio as counsel amassed $104.9 billion, nearly double its portfolio value in 2018. This includes 5 'bet-the-company' cases with claims valued over $1 billion and 7 'large' cases with claims valued between $250-999 million. 

In the firm's GAR 100 profile, GAR describes the commercial arbitration group as "formidable," also praising its public international law and investment treaty arbitration expertise, particularly in advising governments in state-to-state negotiations and boundary disputes. 

Client feedback in the GAR survey praises the firm for its "speedy grasp of some difficult technical and financial issues" stating, "we could not have asked for anything more".

The prestigious GAR 30 ranking is based on a thorough quantitative analysis, evaluating factors such as the number of arbitral hearings conducted by a firm over a two-year period. The research takes into account merits and jurisdictional hearings, the amount in dispute in those cases (with "bet-the company" and "large" hearings given greatest weight), and the number of hours billed to arbitration over that period. High-value matters settled and the portfolio value of a firm's active arbitration caseload also influence the final rankings.

Rankings also consider the number of arbitrator appointments a firm’s members have received and the number of individuals appearing in Lexology Index (formerly Who's Who Legal) – a guide to the leading practitioners in the field as selected by their peers.

This year's GAR Awards also saw two Herbert Smith Freehills partners nominated for Best Lecture or Speech: Dr. Patricia Nacimiento for her keynote at GAR Live Vienna 2024 and Craig Tevendale for his keynote at ArbFest 2024, as well as our team in Asia which was nominated for the new regional award "Asia practice that impressed". 

The full GAR 30 can be found here.

Andrew Cannon, Global Co-Head of the firm's International Arbitration Practice and its Public International Law Practice commented: "Our consistent ranking among the top arbitration practices globally reflects the dedication and expertise of our team.

Simon Chapman KC, Global Co-Head of International Arbitration added: "It's an honour to maintain this position in the top 10 for the twelfth year running, showcasing our commitment to excellence in resolving complex disputes for our clients."  

For more information, please contact Andrew Cannon, Partner, Simon Chapman KC, Partner or Vanessa Naish, Knowledge Counsel, or your usual Herbert Smith Freehills contact.