Jeffrey F. Pryce

Of Counsel

• jpryce@steptoe.com
• vCard
• Washington Office

Jeffrey F. Pryce, Vice-Chair of the international arbitration practice at Steptoe & Johnson LLP, counsels clients on international legal issues and represents them in proceedings to resolve international disputes. He brings a high-level background in diplomacy and broad experience in international arbitration and litigation to a practice focused on successfully resolving complex, multi-jurisdictional legal problems.

International Law and Litigation
International Arbitration. Mr. Pryce has represented clients involved in arbitration before ICSID, the ICSID Additional Facility, the ICC, and other international arbitral fora, as well as cases under UNCITRAL and other ad hoc procedures. He has particular experience in investor-State arbitration, having represented major US corporations in successful nine- and ten-figure arbitrations against foreign governments under bilateral and multilateral investment treaties. He also has extensive experience in international commercial arbitration, particularly in disputes arising out of energy, infrastructure, and telecommunications contracts. His practice includes arbitration conducted entirely in Spanish.

Cross-Border Litigation. Mr. Pryce has extensive experience in cross-border litigation, particularly representing US companies operating internationally. His practice includes US-court litigation implicating issues of international jurisdiction, conflicts of law and foreign law, and the simultaneous management of parallel proceedings in foreign courts or international arbitration. He has represented high-technology clients involved in major litigation in the Bombay High Court and the courts of Geneva.  He is experienced in cross-border service of process, international evidence-taking, and the enforcement of foreign judgments. 

Public International Law and International Criminal Law. Mr. Pryce advises clients on public international law, including issues of sovereign immunity, diplomatic immunity, treaty law, and the law of war. He also counsels clients on international criminal law.

International Law and Regulation Affecting High Technology. Mr. Pryce has provided significant advice on international treaties and foreign regulations affecting telecommunications e-commerce. He has testified before or participated in hearings on international regulation of electronic communications networks at the invitation of the EU and the CoE.

Appellate Litigation
Mr. Pryce also practices before the US Supreme Court, the federal Courts of Appeal, and State Supreme Courts. His US Supreme Court experience includes both certiorari proceedings and appearing in argued cases.

Government Experience
Prior to joining Steptoe, Mr. Pryce served for five years in the House and Senate as a staffer responsible for foreign policy, defense, and judiciary issues.

From 1993 to 1999, Mr. Pryce served as a senior official  in the Office of the Secretary of Defense.  As Special Counsel for International Affairs, he was the lead negotiator or a member of the negotiating team for the successful conclusion of nuclear disarmament agreements with Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and Kazakhstan. As Special Assistant and Counselor to the Under Secretary for Policy he had responsibility within the Department for the interagency policymaking process, congressional hearings, and public statements of US international security policy. He participated broadly in bilateral diplomatic discussions, particularly on European security matters, and in internal management of the Department. As Counselor, Mr. Pryce assumed additional lead responsibility for important cross-cutting international issues, including those arising in multilateral diplomacy. He was assigned to be the senior Defense representative on the US delegation to the Rome Conference on the ICC, and led the US delegation to NATO EAPC talks on controlling the proliferation of small arms and light weapons.

Select News & Events

• Jeff Pryce Comments on Medellin Case in National Law Journal
• Jeff Pryce Quoted in LegalTimes on Medellin Decision
• Impact of Medellin v. Texas on International Treaties, July 1, 2008
• How Final an Award? Review and Annulment in Investment Treaty Arbitration, July 2007, Chair, ASIL and DC Bar Luncheon Program
• Cyber-Security: A Transatlantic Perspective, April 9, 2001
• Testimony on Proposed EU Communication on Information Security, March 7, 2001
• CoE Cyber-Crime Treaty, December 7, 2000
• International Online Sales, November 11, 2000

More Seminars & Events »

Publications

• Consolidation of Proceedings in Investor-State Arbitration: From the Iran-US Claims Tribunal to the NAFTA
  The Iran-US Claims Tribunal at 25: The Cases Everyone Needs to Know (co-author with Lucinda Low)
  2007, Gibson and Drahozal, eds. (Oxford)
• The Globalization of Electronic Evidence Gathering: US Joins Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime
  October 16, 2006, B.N.A., Privacy & Security Law Report, Vol. 5, No. 41, pp. 1450-1454

Professional Affiliations

• Council on Foreign Relations
• Assistant Secretary, Board of Directors, Washington Institute of Foreign Affairs
• Vice Chair, DC Bar Committee on Public International and International Criminal Law, 2003-2005
• Washington Steering Committee, USCIB International Arbitration Committee
• International Bar Association
• American Society of International Law