Winston & Strawn LLP

The interests of today’s governments, corporations, and funds are truly global. This brings along with it legal issues that require the attention and advice of legal counsel of impeccable integrity, experience, and competence. Counsel who can plan and manage the corporate legal affairs of governments, state agencies, leading national and multinational corporations, funds, financial institutions and underwriters and lead on some of the largest and most important public and private transactions.

At Winston & Strawn, we are recognized as having a unique understanding of the global legal issues our clients face to both dispute-related and transactional matters. From our humble beginnings in Chicago in 1853 we have grown to be one of the world’s leading law firms with over 900 attorneys across four continents. No matter how large we have become, we have never forgotten that people matter and meeting their objectives is personal as well as a matter of commerce. We are especially known for our international arbitration, litigation, and mediation practice and have decades of experience representing our clients in disputes around the world. We routinely handle some of the most critical disputes faced by companies and individuals in any jurisdiction.

International Arbitration

Recognized in Global Arbitration Review’s “GAR100” and as a “Top Arbitration Firm” by The American Lawyer, Winston builds globally integrated and multi-lingual teams across offices worldwide to meet the specific needs of each case. Our practitioners are qualified in multiple jurisdictions, and tackle disputes arising under civil law, common law, and international law, and we arbitrate in numerous different languages. We maintain offices in many of the most important arbitration centres in the world, including London, Paris, Hong Kong, New York, and Washington, D.C. and handle arbitrations seated across the globe under all the major international arbitration rules, including the ICC, LCIA, ICSID, SCC, ICDR/AAA, CIETAC, HKIAC, DIAC, SIAC, CAS-TAS, Swiss Chambers, and UNCITRAL rules.

The chair of our International Arbitration practice is Michael J. Stepek. He is recommended in Chambers Global and The Legal 500’s Hall of Fame where he is described as an “extraordinary advocate”. Michael is one of the most seasoned litigators and arbitrators in the industry, bringing extensive experience to every matter our firm handles. This experience enables us to spot outcome-determinative legal issues earlier so we can prepare compelling arguments that support our clients’ positions. Michael’s world-class international arbitration practice assists clients with large-value, complex, and high-profile commercial and investment-based disputes in virtually every major arbitration center on earth.

Delivering, according to the distinguished law directory, The Legal 500, ‘responsive, smart and strategic advice’, our London office is consistently instructed on high-stakes shareholder disputes, including in the tech sector. The team also acts in large-scale infrastructure disputes. Our clients and peers alike praise us for our legal advice and the care and skill with which it is delivered. Year after year, prestigious law directories who gather information from clients, place us among the leading UK and global law firms.

Foreign Investment

Arbitration is, however, not confined to typical commercial disputes. Foreign investors in particular may have to turn to arbitration as they deal with a changing political and regulatory landscape which impacts their investments. In some cases (for example, when a state expropriates a foreign investor’s assets or acts in an unfair /discriminatory way in respect of an investment), arbitration under an investment treaty may be the only viable option for redress. Foreign investors commonly bring actions against states under one of the more than 3000 bilateral or multilateral investment treaties that exist to protect their rights, including before tribunals constituted under the ICSID rules. Growing governmental regulation of renewable energy, digital business, and disruptive technologies is causing an increase of disputes in these evolving areas. At Winston, we have an in-depth understanding of the relevant regulatory, legal and disputes landscapes and provide guidance to clients at each stage.

Litigation

Intense competition, increasingly complex regulations, pandemics, disasters, financial distress, and viral public opinion are a few of the many challenges to a company’s operations that can lead to complex commercial disputes. We leverage our top-tier reputation as a trial lawyer’s firm to help clients overcome critical litigation, resolve day-to-day business matters, and prepare for future threats. With more than 500 lawyers focusing on dispute resolution worldwide, we have the capacity and breadth of experience to assist our clients with almost every kind of dispute encountered by businesses globally. Our practice is anchored by seasoned litigators, many of whom have been recognized by in-house counsel and their peers as top practitioners in their fields. From compliance counseling to mediation, settlement negotiation, motion practice, trial, and appeal, Winston offers a full-service litigation law firm capable of meeting our clients’ business and legal objectives, whatever they may be.

Our long history of taking cases to trial – and winning – gives our clients tremendous settlement leverage with their adversaries, as well as confidence in a successful outcome if they go to trial. That’s why some of the world’s largest companies and financial institutions have asked us to represent them in their most difficult litigation and arbitration matters. These clients include: Abbott Laboratories; Cisco Systems, Inc.; Ernst & Young LLP; Goldman, Sachs & Co.; Google Inc.; JPMorgan Chase & Co.; McDonald’s Corporation; Microsoft Corporation; the NFL Players’ Association; and Panasonic Corporation.

Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG)

We have similar expertise in ESG, Net- Zero, and climate change issues that are at the top of the agenda for corporations, investor activists, and state regulators. Our dedicated ESG practice includes multidisciplinary lawyers who routinely advise investment funds, investment advisors, public companies, boards, management teams, legal, compliance personnel, and investors who oversee the complete spectrum of ESG-related legal and business issues, risks, and investigations.

For more information and to contact Michael Stepek, please click here.

To find out about our international arbitration practice, please click here. For our wider disputes practice please click here.

For further information on Winston & Strawn, please visit www.winston.com

Winston & Strawn LLP
CityPoint
One Ropemaker Street
London
EC2Y 9AW
Tel: + 44 (0)20 7011 8754
Contact: Michael Stepek
Email: mstepek@winston.com
Website: www.winston.com