Overview
(March 4, 2016, London) — Steptoe & Johnson LLP took one of the top prizes at this year’s GAR Awards, winning in the category “International arbitration practice that impressed in the past year.” The annual awards ceremony, presented by Global Arbitration Review, was held March 2 in Shanghai to celebrate the opening of the city to foreign arbitral institutions and the work of the Shanghai International Arbitration Center.
The award that Steptoe won was selected by Global Arbitration Review’s editorial team “based on their knowledge of the market and consultation with leading practitioners.” In particular, Steptoe was selected for its work for the von Pezold family in a successful claim before the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) against the government of Zimbabwe over a “racially discriminatory” land reform program initiated by President Robert Mugabe. The editors noted that the case was a rare example of an ICSID tribunal granting restitution, with the state ordered to return seized agricultural estates or pay US$196 million in damages.
A similar award was made in a second arbitration against Zimbabwe, the financial damages portion of which was US$125 million. Moral damages were also awarded in both cases to compensate the clients for the assaults and threats of violence they endured in Zimbabwe. In addition, Zimbabwe was ordered to pay all of the clients’ costs in both cases. The sums awarded are among the largest ever in investor-state arbitration.
The cases arose out of Zimbabwe’s expropriation of the clients’ property pursuant to Zimbabwe’s Land Reform Program, and the manipulation of fixed exchange rates whereby the clients were forced to exchange foreign currency for Zimbabwean dollars at a rate which grossly overstated the real value of the Zimbabwean dollar. The tribunals accepted the clients’ claims that Zimbabwe’s measures breached the German-Zimbabwe and Switzerland-Zimbabwe bilateral investment treaties, and rejected all of Zimbabwe’s defenses and challenges to jurisdiction and admissibility.
Steptoe partner Matthew Coleman, who led the London-based team, accepted the award on the firm’s behalf. His team included fellow London-based lawyers Helen Aldridge and Tom Innes, and Washington-based of counsel Anthony Rapa.
About Steptoe
Steptoe & Johnson LLP is an international law firm widely recognized for vigorous advocacy in complex litigation and arbitration, successful representation of clients before governmental agencies, and creative and practical advice in guiding business transactions. The firm has more than 500 lawyers and other professionals in offices in Beijing, Brussels, Century City, Chicago, London, Los Angeles, New York, Palo Alto, Phoenix and Washington. For more information, visit www.steptoe.com.
Steptoe partner Matthew Coleman
