Quinn Emanuel is a global leader in sovereign disputes. We represent clients in the most complex, high stakes and high-profile disputes against sovereign states and instrumentalities. The deep and unparalleled experience we bring to these matters, together with our creativity in devising unique solutions, delivers consistently successful results to our clients.
Our sovereign disputes practice covers any kind of dispute involving a sovereign state or instrumentality—regardless of forum. We have represented bondholder groups, individual investors and companies all over the world in contested matters involving:
- Distressed and/or defaulted sovereign debt
- Judgment and arbitral award recognition and enforcement
- Compensation for expropriated assets
- Investment treaty arbitration
- International arbitrations between sovereign states
While we are known for our stellar results in litigation and arbitration, not all our work involves formal legal proceedings. We have a track record of successfully engaging with stakeholders to reach agreed upon resolutions without the need for contested proceedings. We also regularly provide pre-investment counseling to clients seeking to understand and evaluate the cost, timetable, strategy and potential outcomes in disputes that may arise in connection with the proposed investment.
We are usually free of conflicts because we primarily represent clients in cases against sovereigns rather than on their behalf. As the largest litigation firm in the world, the absence of any corporate practice leaves us free to utilize powerful strategies against sovereign issuers and money center financial institutions without conflicts and without any fear of losing opportunities for future transactional matters. For example, we are one of the very few global firms that is free to pursue discovery from money center banks—a form of discovery that provides an exceptionally powerful tool in insolvency and collections cases.
We are an international firm with truly global reach. In addition to our offices in the United States, we have offices in London, Tokyo, Beijing, Abu Dhabi, Berlin, Neuilly-La Defense, Mannheim, Hamburg, Paris, Hong Kong, Munich, Sydney, Brussels, Zurich, Shanghai, Singapore, Doha, Riyadh, Stuttgart, and Perth. Aside from the firm’s exceptional domestic capabilities in the jurisdictions where it operates, our lawyers routinely run international enforcement and recovery campaigns—when necessary, coordinating with trusted law firms in countries where we do not have an office. Our extensive global footprint allows us draw upon expertise to pursue claims and recoveries in courts and tribunals around the world. We work together across cultures and time zones, on different continents and in different languages, to offer coordinated, multi-jurisdictional strategies.
The Head of our Sovereign Litigation practice, Dennis Hranitzky, is a leading practitioner in sovereign disputes. Described by clients as “bright, very sharp, very strategic,” “creative and proactive,” Mr. Hranitzky has been recognized by Legal 500 as “Leading Lawyers” in International Litigation every year since the category’s inception in 2016 and has “hall of fame” status in this category. Mr. Hranitzky is also regularly recognized by Lawdragon, Who’s Who in Asset Recovery and LatinLawyer. He has been lead counsel in many of the largest and most complex sovereign disputes over the last two decades, most recently including Cairn Energy’s $1.8 billion collection effort against India and collection of a $2.8 billion arbitral award against the National Iranian Oil Company for Crescent Petroleum. Mr. Hranitzky co-led the legal team awarded the Grand Prize for Global Dispute of the year (2016) by The American Lawyer for the Argentina debt default litigation and settlement on behalf of NML Capital, Ltd. In a matter marked by “firsts,” the team led by Mr. Hranitzky obtained the first ruling from a U.S. court that a central bank is the alter ego of its parent state, the first attachment of assets at the Bank for International Settlements in Basel Switzerland, the arrest of the Argentine Naval frigate ARA Libertad in Ghana, an injunction prohibiting Argentina from paying its restricted bonds without making ratable payments to holders of its defaulted bonds, and an order piercing the corporate veil between the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca (of Panama Papers fame) and its Nevada affiliate. He is proficient in both Spanish and Portuguese.
Among the key members of the team are Alex Gerbi, Anthony Sinclair, Aidan O’Rourke, Kevin Reed, and of counsel Debra O’Gorman, Jagdish Menezes, and Alex Loomis. Mr. Gerbi the co-managing partner of Quinn Emanuel's London office and one of the most sought-after disputes lawyers in the London market. He has broad experience in complex, high value, cross-border commercial disputes, including English High Court and Appellate litigations, as well as commercial and investor-state arbitrations. He has particular expertise in disputes relating to the Middle East, Russia, Ukraine and other CIS territories. Mr. Gerbi was awarded the prestigious "Partner of the Year" accolade at the 2023 British Legal Awards, which recognizes individuals who have achieved success beyond their practice and have left a significant mark in their respective fields. Mr. Gerbi received this award in recognition of the assistance he has provided to Ukraine in respect of several highly significant international disputes with Russia. In the latest edition of the Legal 500, Mr. Gerbi is ranked as a Leading Individual for commercial litigation, as well as being recommended for civil fraud, international arbitration and public international law. Chambers & Partners described him as “extremely bright, sensible and practical”. Earlier in his career, Alex was included in The Lawyer's "Hot 100" for 2017, recognizing his then emerging status as one of the UK's foremost lawyers.
Dr. Sinclair, also based in London, specializes in international commercial arbitration, investment treaty arbitration, and public international law. He has extensive experience as counsel for both private investors and States handling disputes under bilateral investment treaties (BITs) and the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT), and has also been counsel in several ICSID annulment proceedings. He is the joint winner of the 2017 International Arbitration Club of New York annual Smit-Lowenfeld Prize for an outstanding article published in the field of international arbitration. In 2011, he was named one of Global Arbitration Review’s ‘45 under 45’ leading arbitration practitioners. In 2018, he was named a Thought Leader in Arbitration by Who’s Who Legal and was selected by his peers for inclusion in Best Lawyers in the UK since 2018 for International Arbitration: London. Law360 named him a 2018 MVP for International Arbitration.
Mr. O’Rourke is an experienced litigator based in London who previously worked at one of New Zealand’s premier commercial law firms. In 2019 and 2020, Legal 500 named him as a “Next Generation” commercial litigation partner in London. Mr. O’Rourke’s public representations include acting for a group of security holders against Argentina in a EUR 640m claim arising from Argentina’s failure to make payments under the securities following a re-basing of its national accounts.
Mr. Reed, a former federal prosecutor with more than 25 years of experience in complex commercial litigation and arbitration, has broad and deep familiarity with issues relating to litigating against sovereigns. In 2024, Mr. Reed helped lead the team representing a group of clients holding judgments against Argentina related to bonds that have been in default since 2001. The team obtained a unanimous win in the Second Circuit directing the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to turn over more than $300 million in cash, including $50 million held in Germany, to satisfy a longstanding claim against the Republic of Argentina. He also advised Elliott in its dozen-year battle with Argentina and has appeared in numerous commercial disputes against other sovereigns, as well. Mr. Reed has been recognized by Lawdragon 500 as a Leading Litigator in America – Commercial Litigation, inc. Insurance, IP, Securities, 2024-2025
Ms. O’Gorman has extensive experience in sovereign litigation, handling complex and contentious multinational litigation and has been recognized by Lawdragon 500 as a “Leading Global Litigators” and by Legal 500 as a “Recommended Lawyer” in International Litigation. She was an integral member of the team representing Argentina’s largest creditor with claims for over US$3 billion in multinational litigation and judgment enforcement proceedings that were recognized as “highly commended” by the Financial Times in 2014 and awarded the Grand Prize for Global Dispute of the Year (2016) by The American Lawyer. She presented the sole witness in a trial that resulted in an US$105 million judgment on behalf of creditors of the Democratic Republic of Congo in a lawsuit to recover on defaulted sovereign debt.
Mr. Menezes has significant experience in disputes involving sovereigns as parties or counterparties and was recognized by the 2020 UK edition of Legal 500 as a key lawyer for commercial disputes. He was described in a testimonial as a “tremendous professional” with an “extremely impressive…degree of commitment and mastery of the case and applicable laws of multiple jurisdictions.” He is also listed among the Arbitration Future Leaders (Non-Partners) in the Who’s Who Legal Guide 2023 and 2024, as well as in the 2024 UK edition of Legal 500 as a Recommended Individual for International Arbitration and Public International Law. Mr. Menezes’s representations include acting for AngloGold Ashanti in ICSID proceedings in connection with a mining dispute against the Republic of Ghana arising out of the withdrawal of military support from AGA’s concession in Obuasi, Ghana, as well as acting for DP World in an investment dispute against the Republic of Djibouti arising out of the State’s seizure of DP World’s container terminal at Doraleh, Djibouti.
Mr. Loomis has extensive experience in international and appellate litigation, especially in litigation involving foreign sovereigns and in foreign judgment enforcement actions. From 2023-2025, he has been ranked in The Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch for Appellate Practice and Commercial Litigation. Mr. Loomis was an integral member of the team representing a group of clients holding judgments against Argentina that resulted in a recovery of over $300 million.
The Sovereign Litigation team works closely with the U.S. International Arbitration Practice led by David Orta, supported by Daniel Salinas-Serrano and Dawn Yamane Hewett, . Mr. Orta and his team have significant experience handling investor-state arbitration claims against sovereigns. Mr. Orta has received various accolades for his work, including being named consistently as a Leading International Arbitration Advocate by Chambers Global, Chambers Latin America, Legal 500, Euromoney’s Expert’s Guide to the World’s Leading Commercial Arbitration and being named consistently as “one of the world’s leading commercial arbitrators” by the International Who’s Who Legal. Most recently, Mr. Orta was named a Top 100 Lawyer for Arbitration & Litigation by Latinvex for 2020. He also has been named on two separate occasions (once by the National Law Journal and once by Washingtonian Magazine) as one of the Top 40 Lawyers under 40 in Washington, DC; selected numerous times for inclusion in Super Lawyers—Washington, D.C. for international arbitration, named to the 2014 Lawyers of Color Hotlist, named one of the world’s leading practitioners in The International Who’s Who of Asset Recovery Lawyers 2012, elected as Member of The American Law Institute, included in Global Arbitration Review 100 (2010 Edition) “Names to Know,” and named in Lawdragon 500 “New Stars, New Worlds” in 2006. He regularly lectures on topics of international arbitration and public and private international law all around the world and has published numerous articles on topics of interest within the international arbitration community.
Mr. Salinas-Serrano, a native Spanish speaker, is a leading international litigator and arbitration advocate with 15 years of experience successfully representing clients in complex investment treaty and commercial international arbitrations, complex commercial litigations, and complex restructurings. Praised by clients and peers for his “outstanding expertise in commercial and investment treaty arbitration as well as his excellent advocacy skills,” Mr. Salinas-Serrano has been recognized by top legal publications such as Chambers, Legal 500, Who’s Who Legal and Latinvex for his work as an arbitration advocate. Most recently, Mr. Salinas-Serrano was recognized by the 2022 Lawdragon: 500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers guide for his Transnational & Financial Litigation, especially International Arbitration practice. In 2019, he was selected as a Law360 Rising Star, a list that highlights the top legal talent under 40, recognizing “top litigators and dealmakers practicing at a level usually seen from veteran attorneys.”
Ms. Hewett is partner in our Washington, DC office and is affiliated with our Tokyo office as well. Fluent in English, Japanese, Spanish, and Portuguese, Ms. Hewett leads complex international arbitrations on behalf of investors of all types. Ms. Hewett is a former U.S. Department of Commerce Deputy General Counsel, and in that role, took the lead on international legal issues for the Department and represented the interests of both the U.S. business community and the U.S. government abroad. Ms. Hewett has been recognized by Lawdragon 500 for International Litigation, Washington DC Super Lawyers for International Law, and Best Under 40 (2014) by the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association; and has been selected to the Lawdragon 500 Global Litigation Lawyers Guide (2021) and Lawdragon 500 Leading Global Litigators Guide (2023), and Washington DC Super Lawyers Rising Stars List for International Law (2020). She was also named Seton Hall Law School’s Distinguished Practitioner of International Law in 2019.
The team also works hand in hand with the Bankruptcy & Restructuring Practice, a group known for its depth and creativity. Our bankruptcy lawyers include partners who served as counsel in such historic “never seen this before” situations as Enron Corporation, Lehman Brothers, the Bernard L. Madoff SIPC proceeding, and numerous cases emanating from the 2008-2009 financial crisis. Most recently, we led the creditors’ side of litigating and restructuring the largest bond issuer in Puerto Rico and successfully developed, navigated, and implemented an exchange of $17 billion of sales-tax bonds under new bankruptcy legislation designed to address the unique needs of the U.S. territories. The chairperson of our practice Bankruptcy & Restructuring Practice, Susheel Kirpalani, has twice been awarded Law360’s Bankruptcy MVP Award, the American Lawyer’s “Dealmaker of the Year,” and numerous other recognitions. In total, three of our Bankruptcy & Restructuring partners are ranked by peers and clients in Chambers for their abilities, and two have been admitted to the American College of Bankruptcy and the National Bankruptcy Conference.
Recent Representations
The following are some of the notable public sovereign litigation, arbitration and restructuring engagements handled by members of our team.
Litigation
- Lead counsel representing Cairn Energy, PLC and Cairn UK Holdings Limited in connection with efforts in the United States, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Canada, France, Mauritius, Cayman Islands and elsewhere to enforce an arbitration award in Cairn’s favor against the Republic of India. As an important and novel part of its enforcement strategy, Quinn Emanuel conceived and initiated a separate proceeding against India’s state-owned airline, Air India, seeking to have Air India declared to be an alter ego of India and therefore responsible for the arbitration award. Quinn Emanuel obtained a favorable settlement and prompt payment to Cairn of the award. As a result, a tax demand for over USD 5.5 billion was extinguished and an award of USD 1.8 billion was enforced.
- Lead counsel to plaintiffs in litigation to collect claims and judgments for $414.4 million arising out of Argentina’s sovereign default in 2001. Quinn Emanuel serves as global enforcement counsel, in connection with which the Plaintiffs have successfully attached certain assets. Most recently, the firm obtained appellate approval of its attachment of $312 million held on Argentina’s behalf by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
- Lead counsel for Crescent Petroleum Company International, Ltd. And Crescent Gas Corporation, Ltd. In multinational proceedings to enforce a USD 2.4 billion award against the National Iranian Oil Company. In connection with its efforts across multiple jurisdictions, Quinn Emanuel has achieved success in recognizing and enforcing the Award in Greece, the Netherlands, the United Arab Emirates, and the U.K.
- Counsel acting on behalf of JSC Oschadbank in a landmark bilateral investment treaty arbitration claim against the Russian Federation arising out Russia’s illegal invasion and purported annexation of the Ukrainian sovereign territory of Crimea in early 2014 which led to the loss of the bank’s investments in that territory. Quinn Emanuel was successful in obtaining an award finding that Russia was liable for the loss of Oschadbank’s investments in Crimea and ordering Russia to pay USD 1.1 billion plus interest.
- Lead counsel to Alcazar Capital Partners Co. to recognize and enforce a judgment for USD $500 million against the Kurdistan Regional Government in connection with a license to install and operate mobile networks in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.
- Lead counsel in a long-running engagement on behalf of Ukraine (through its Ministry of Finance) in which the firm is defending Ukraine against a claim brought before the English courts by Law Debenture, the trustee under the USD $3 billion Eurobonds purportedly issued by Ukraine in December 2013 and taken up as to 100% by the Russian Federation. The claimant, Law Debenture, acting on the instructions and for the benefit of the Russian Federation, is seeking to obtain payment of all principal and accrued interest allegedly due by Ukraine under these bonds. In March 2023, the UK Supreme Court rejected Law Debenture’s summary judgment motion.
- Lead counsel of a team appointed by the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine to pursue claims before the European Court of Human Rights to hold Russia accountable for breach of the most fundamental rules of international law resulting from the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. To learn more about this representation, refer to John Quinn’s interview of Alex Gerbi in the Law, Disrupted podcast available at https://www.law-disrupted.fm/quinn-emanuel-representation-of-ukraine-in-proceedings-against-russia-in-european-court-of-human-rights/
- Counsel acting on behalf of various international investors whose multi-billion dollar investments have been severely impacted and damaged by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
- Lead Counsel acting on behalf of DP World to recognize and enforce two arbitral awards worth over $685 million arbitral award issued by the London Court of International Arbitration against the Republic of Djibouti. Enforcement proceedings were commenced in the United States and are continuing post-appeal. Quinn Emanuel successfully obtained a judgment enforcing a second award in favor of DP World arising out an arbitration proceeding brought DP World to confirm the continuing validity of the underlying contract.
- Lead Counsel in London-based proceeding on behalf of holders of Argentine securities in a EUR 640 million claim arising from Argentina’s failure to make payments under the securities following a re-basing of its national accounts.
- Counsel to a Delaware LLC seeking to conduct discovery and enforce an arbitral award against the Democratic Republic of Congo for approximately $278 million.
- Lead counsel to Gater Assets in multinational judgment enforcement proceedings against Moldova and Moldovan instrumentalities AO Moldovagaz and AO Gaznabtranzit.
- Co-lead of the international team representing Argentina’s largest creditor, NML Capital, Ltd., in litigation and judgment enforcement proceedings spanning 11 countries on four continents.
- Lead counsel for Plaintiffs Themis and Des Moines in litigation against of the Democratic Republic of Congo and its central bank to recover US $100 million in defaulted sovereign debt. Quinn Emanuel attorneys handled a bench trial that resulted in a money judgment in excess of USD 100 million, and established the US precedent that a sovereign can be bound by the acts of its apparent agent.
- Counsel to a U.S. mining company and its U.S. investor in section 1782 discovery applications in the Southern District of New York and the Eastern District of Virginia to obtain discovery for a pending arbitration against the Republic of Bolivia.
- Lead counsel acting on behalf of U.K. energy producer Savannah Energy to compel Citibank to direct its subsidiary, Citibank Gabon, to freeze client accounts to protect US $150 million – in the midst of a coup d’etat taking place in Gabon – against a scheme by the Republic of Chad to wrongly appropriate those funds in connection with an oil pipeline investment.
- Representing Process & Industrial Developments Limited in high profile enforcement proceedings before the English High Court in respect of arbitral awards worth in excess of USD $11 billion, which the Federal Republic of Nigeria has challenged on the basis of serious allegations of fraud and corruption.
Arbitration
- Lead counsel for U.S. investors in a pending UNCITRAL arbitration against Bolivia involving mining rights.
- Counsel for Captain Ossama Al Sharif in three investment treaty arbitrations against The Arab Republic of Egypt.
- Lead counsel for Progas Energy Holdings et al. against the Republic of Pakistan in an investment treaty UNCITRAL arbitration claiming hundreds of millions of dollars arising from an energy and infrastructure project.
- Lead counsel for Dr. Ali Allawi against the Republic of Pakistan in an investment treaty UNCITRAL arbitration claiming hundreds of millions of dollars arising from an energy and infrastructure project.
- Lead counsel for various claimants in two investment treaty disputes against the Republic of Venezuela.
- Lead counsel for a European claimant in an investment treaty dispute against the Republic of Peru.
- Lead counsel for various U.S. investors in a US $700 million investment treaty arbitration under NAFTA against the United Mexican States regarding their investment in the Mexican oilfield services industry.
- Lead counsel for various U.S. investors in a US $125 million investment treaty arbitration under NAFTA against the United Mexican States regarding their investment in the Mexican gaming industry.
- Lead counsel for Spentex Netherlands B.V. in its multimillion dollar investment treaty claims against the Republic of Uzbekistan.
- Represent Churchill Mining Plc and Planet Mining Pty Ltd. in their multibillion dollar investment treaty claims against the Republic of Indonesia.
- Lead counsel to a group of creditors in a US $450 million dispute against the Kingdom of Spain and the Republic of France in relation to the construction and operation of a high speed international railway between France and Spain.
- Counsel for Austrian and Greek investors in an ICSID arbitration filed against the Republic of Serbia regarding the gaming industry.
- Represented DP World, an Emirati global logistics company, in an ICC arbitration against the Republic of Cyprus over the operation of the Port of Limassol.
- Counsel to an Azerbaijani investor in an ICSID arbitration filed against the Republic of Georgia over an investment in the telecommunications sector.
- Lead counsel to AngloGold Ashanti, a global mining giant, in an UNCITRAL arbitration against the United Republic of Tanzania. Previously acted for and obtained a successful outcome for the same client in an ICSID arbitration against the Republic of Ghana.
Restructuring
- Lead counsel to an ad hoc group of Argentina bondholders with claims totaling over $4 billion in connection with Argentina’s sovereign debt restructuring in 2020.
- Lead counsel to an ad hoc group of Province of La Rioja bondholders in connection with a successful restructuring of 8.750% notes due 2025.
- Lead counsel to an ad hoc group of Province of Entre Ríos bondholders in connection with its litigation and a successful debt restructuring in 2021.
- Counsel to an ad hoc group of Province of Buenos Aires bondholders in connection with litigation.
- Lead counsel to an ad hoc group of Ecuador bondholders in in connection with its restructuring negotiations in 2020.
- Lead counsel to the COFINA Senior Bondholders Coalition, a group of institutional investors holding in excess of $5 billion in sales-tax backed bonds of Puerto Rico.
- During the pre-default planning phase, we developed a comprehensive strategy to restructure the largest debt issuer of Puerto Rico.
- This strategy included drafting and successfully supporting passage of new legislation in both Washington, D.C. and San Juan.
- We also helped craft the protocol for resolving the dispute over ownership of tax revenues between the central government and its special-purpose entity
- Following several years of litigation, COFINA became the first sovereign issuer restructured under the bankruptcy title of PROMESA—the financial oversight and management law for U.S. territories.
- Puerto Rico reduced its outstanding sales-tax-backed liabilities from approximately $18 billion to $12 billion, with our clients recovering over 93% of their claims.
- Lead counsel to the Lawful Constitutional Debt Coalition, a group of institutional holders of Puerto Rico’s General Obligation and Public Buildings Authority bonds issued prior to March of 2012 in the largest municipal restructuring in history.
- Lead counsel to GoldenTree Asset Management, LP in a successful restructuring of bonds issued by the Puerto Rico Industrial Development Corporation.
Partners
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