Legal 500 Recognizes Curtis as Leading Firm in UK 2027 Guide

Once again, Curtis has been recognized as a Leading Firm across multiple practice areas by Legal 500 UK in its 2027 edition. The International Arbitration, Commercial Litigation, Public International Law, and Oil & Gas groups were ranked, with numerous individual recognitions also received, as attested by this year's research. 

Public International Law

Consistently recognized for representing sovereign nations in investor-state arbitrations before international tribunals, the team's experience spans maritime delimitation, state immunity, and international humanitarian law. Heading the 'market-leading' team, Charles Buderi and Luciana Ricart, both advise on PIL issues as well as investment arbitrations, primarily acting for sovereign states and state entities.

As well as partners Charles Buderi and Luciana Ricart, Lise Johnson is also recognized as a Recommended Lawyer by Legal 500, whose practice encompasses human rights and business, climate change, and international investment law. Counsel Salah Malas and Associate Belén María Ibañez are also listed as Recommended Lawyers in the Guide. 

Key client testimonials:

• 'A market-leading team that is highly specialized in representing states. Great expertise in public international law and arbitration.'
• 'The Curtis team has real breadth and depth of experience in the field, covering a huge amount of diverse work.'
• 'Luciana Ricart is among the best and hardest-working lawyers I have known, and brings great quality and rigor to all she does. William Hampson is an excellent lawyer, too, and Claudia King is a star in the making.'
   

Projects, Energy & Natural Resources - Oil & Gas

The Oil & Gas group are known for their long-standing representation of governments, national oil companies, and regulators in the sector. Marc Hammerson, ranked as Leading Partner, focuses on M&A, project development, and restructuring in the oil and gas industry. Juan Carlos Boué, a key transactional specialist, and Walid El Nabal, who specialises energy disputes, are also recommended in the Guide. 

Key client testimonials:

• 'The firm offers diverse expertise across key infrastructure sectors through various resources that exist across the firm. The partners fully understand the dynamics and challenges of projects, causing them to be very resilient to the client's needs.'
• 'A key partner that stands out is Marc Hammerson. Marc has a wealth of experience across different infrastructure sectors, specifically energy, oil & gas, and PPPs. Marc has a very strong entrepreneurial acumen, allowing him to fully understand his client's needs. Dealing with him is not about landing a new project, but rather developing a level of trust and comfort, which leads to a long-term comfortable relationship.'
   

International Arbitration

Known for representing sovereigns in investor-state and inter-state disputes, the London team also acts for multinational corporations in international commercial arbitrations. Partners Charles Buderi, Luciana Ricart and Justin Jacinto are recognized for their arbitration practices in the Guide, as well as Counsel Claudia King.

Key client testimonials:

• 'The team at Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle LLP is top of the range for international arbitration, especially in any disputes with states.'
• 'The Curtis London disputes team is exceptional. They are hard-working, responsive, and on top of all the issues. The professionalism of the team was clear in successfully defending us in a complex conspiracy claim and a parallel arbitration; Curtis’ disputes team is full of creative problem solvers who clearly understand not only the best methods to win but also the particular needs and objectives of our business.'

Commercial Litigation: Mid-Market

The London commercial disputes team represents a range of international and domestic clients, including sovereign states and governments. 

Heading the team, William Hampson is listed as a Recommended Lawyer, as well as Partners Luciana Ricart, Walid El Nabal and Thomas Francis.

Key client testimonials:

• 'The Curtis London litigation team, led by Will Hampson, is exceptional. They are hard-working, responsive, and on top of all the issues. The professionalism of the team was clear in successfully defending us in a complex conspiracy claim; Curtis’ litigation team is full of creative problem solvers who clearly understand not only the best methods to win but also the particular needs and objectives of our business.'
• 'The team from Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle LLP is absolutely top-notch at handling difficult Commercial Court work. They use their arbitration and international law expertise extremely well when those matters arise in a commercial litigation context.'
• 'Will Hampson is superb, a great leader and thinker. He is very easy to work with, directly anticipates our business needs and objectives, and is an impressive speaker and advocate. Will is unflappable, always the calmest person in the room no matter the situation and ready with a solution one step ahead of everyone else. He is a pleasure to work with and the litigator you want in your corner when facing complex problems. A real star.'

The full editorial is available here.