Karabeth Ovenden is a Partner in Quinn Emanuel’s London office. Her practice focuses on insolvency matters, over-the-counter derivative products risk management and related disputes, and complex commercial and tax disputes. Karabeth’s clients include, insolvency officeholders, high net worth individuals and multi-national corporates. She has experience with a broad spectrum of disputes in both litigation and arbitration, often involving jurisdictional and cross-border elements.
Karabeth graduated from Princeton University with a degree in politics with a certificate in economics and received her Juris Doctorate from Columbia Law School. She completed her Masters at the University of Oxford, with a particular focus on international tax disputes. Prior to joining Quinn Emanuel, Karabeth worked in the financial products and markets group of a major international law firm before joining the equity derivatives legal team of a leading investment bank.
Recently, Karabeth was recognized by Chambers UK who wrote “She is very responsive, thorough in her work and exhibits out-of-the-box thinking.". Karabeth has also been recognized by Legal 500 UK. .
- Counsel to the joint administrators of a large multinational healthcare conglomerate in insolvency proceedings and related fraud investigations and litigation.
- Counsel to large multinational mining corporations in ongoing tax disputes and investigations in foreign jurisdictions involving value added tax, transfer pricing, and corporate income tax.
- Counsel to a major financial institution in connection with disputes arising out of OTC derivatives contracts under ISDA affected by negative WTI oil prices.
- Counsel to a major petroleum products trading company against a state-owned bank in an LCIA arbitration in the context of a project finance dispute. The seat of the arbitration is London.
- Representing UK-based media companies in connection with IR35 related tax issues.
- The University of Oxford
(M.S.c., Taxation, with distinction, 2018) - Columbia Law School
(J.D., 2005)- Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar
- Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar
- Princeton University
(A.B., Politics, 2002)
- The State Bar of New York
- Admitted in New York only (practicing under the direct supervision of a member of The Bar of England and Wales)
- Named a Tax Contentious Associate to Watch by Chambers UK, 2020-2022
- Named a Tier 2 Tax Litigation & Investigations Associate by Legal 500 UK, 2020
- Article, “The UK Insolvency Regime and Taxation: Through the Lens of the COVID-19 Pandemic” (May 2020) FromCounsel, (with L. Fichardt).
- Article, “Cross-border disputes: tax stabilisation clauses” (2018) Tax Journal, Issue 1392, 18 (with L. Fichardt).
- Panelist, “Navigating the MLI: The New International Tax and Investment Landscape,” ASIL Biennial International Economic Law Conference (February 2020)
- Magistrate, UK Criminal Courts