Lauren Friedman

Lauren draws praise in the leading industry publications as “a favorite among international commentators,” “the first person [to] call with a difficult question of law,” and she is commended for her “outstanding capacity to generate and execute well defined and complex arguments,” her “great energy,” and her “very technical, thorough and professional” approach. According to feedback collected by Chambers USA, “she is an amazing oral advocate; I have seen her dissect opposing counsels’ arguments in a super expeditious fashion…you are blown away when she calmly dismantles the other side.” Clients further note that she is “very quick on her feet and is a very good oral advocate” and “she’s done a great job getting key decisions for us as a company.”

She is ranked in Chambers USA, Chambers Global, Legal 500 Latin America, Benchmark Litigation, and Who’s Who Legal.

In addition to her work as counsel, Lauren is active in a variety of leadership positions and committees, including on the IBA Taskforce for Conflicts of Interest, the IBA Taskforce on Third Party Funding, the CPR Annual Steering Committee, the ROAP Americas Faculty, and the Law360 Editorial Board for International Arbitration. She accepts arbitrator appointments and serves on the panel of arbitrators of the ICDR and is a Member of the SIAC Reserve Panel.

As a complement to her broad investor-state and commercial arbitration work, Lauren tracks the legal challenges that arise in response to the energy transition. She has represented and advised clients on unique challenges in this context, including exit strategies and stranded assets. She works with the Sabin Center for Climate Change at Columbia University on a pro bono basis to address the barriers to the development of renewable energy within the United States.

• Defended the Republic of Guatemala in an ICSID arbitration brought pursuant to the Spain-Guatemala BIT arising from a dispute regarding the calculation of electricity tariffs, resulting in outright dismissal of a $300 million claim.
• Represented Mexican shareholders and bondholders in an UNCITRAL arbitration arising from the first-ever resolution of a bank pursuant to the European Commissioner's regulations, which involved the fifth largest bank in Spain, as well as parallel proceedings before the Court of Justice of the European Union and related discovery proceedings.
• Defended the Republic of Guatemala in an ICSID arbitration arising under the CAFTA-DR related to investments in the electricity sector.
• Represented Westmoreland Coal Company in a legacy NAFTA dispute applying the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules involving the unequal treatment of companies in the phase-out of coal-fired power plants.
• Represented GDF Suez, AWG and Aguas de Barcelona in an arbitration against the Republic of Argentina conducted pursuant to the ICSID Convention and the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules under three bilateral investment treaties in connection with investments in water concessions, resulting in a $400 million award in favor of the client.
• Represented Serafín García Armas in an arbitration pursuant to the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules arising from the expropriation of a food distribution company in Venezuela, resulting in a sizable award in favor of the client.

Commercial Arbitration

• Represented an equipment manufacturer in a major dispute related to construction of LNG facilities in Nigeria, including oral argument leading to the early dismissal of two of three contract claims on jurisdictional grounds.
• Settled a CPR arbitration on behalf of a major oil company in a dispute worth more than more than half a billion dollars related to the termination of a long-term hydrogen supply contract.
• Represented one of the world’s largest oil companies in a multibillion-dollar ICC arbitration against a state-owned oil company arising from a breach of a concession contract resulting in a $2 billion award in favor of the client.
• Represented a major petrochemical company in an ICC arbitration related to the cost-sharing principles contained in a series of seven contracts following a corporate spin-off.
• Lead counsel to a major petrochemical company in an ICC arbitration related to its accounting systems, specifically the cost allocation methodology of indirect costs.
• Settled a dispute on behalf of a private equity company in an ICC arbitration related to the definition of the term EBITDA as used to define the Exercise Price in a Put/Call Agreement, including mediation of the dispute prior to the final hearing.
• Represented a third-party funder in an LCIA arbitration arising out of an alleged breach of a non-disclosure agreement, including parallel discovery issues in the US courts.
• Represented a manufacturer of technology in a SIAC dispute arising from the early termination of an M&A agreement.
• Represented a publicly traded medical device company in a multi-million-dollar ICDR arbitration arising from a breach of supply agreement in Brazil resulting in a settlement favorable to the client.
• Represented a major technology company in two parallel AAA Commercial Arbitration cases regarding violation of forum selection clauses.
• Defended a technology company in a SIAC arbitration arising out of termination of a merger agreement in response to a material adverse effect.
• Represented a global investor regarding enforcement of a $200 million arbitration award.
• Represented a manufacturer in an ICC mediation arising from the alleged termination of a distribution agreement resulting in a settlement favorable to the client.

Advisory Work

• Advised a publicly traded pharmaceutical company in a multimillion-dollar ICC arbitration involving breach of a joint marketing contract, which ended in a settlement favorable to the client.
• Advised one of the world’s largest oil companies in a billion-dollar ICSID dispute against a foreign state regarding the distribution of profits in a hydrocarbons contract.
• Advised an international energy company in a potential dispute against the State of Argentina.
• Advised a major oil company in a $70 million ICC arbitration arising out of a breach of a gas sales purchase agreement by a Middle Eastern state.
• Advised an international energy company in a potential dispute against the State of Argentina arising out of the development of gas fields.
• Advised a media company in a potential dispute against the State of Argentina.