Herbert Smith Freehills has promoted nine Disputes lawyers to its partnership out of a total of 34 worldwide. The promotions in the Disputes practice, which take effect on 1 May 2021, span across the firm's international network.

Of these new partners, three are arbitration specialists, reflecting the strength and importance of the arbitration practice area to the firm.

The new arbitration partners are:

Jonathan Ripley-Evans, Johannesburg

Jonathan is a disputes lawyer whose practice is geared towards alternative dispute resolution, including arbitration and mediation. He also has extensive experience in general commercial litigation.

Jonathan specialises in resolving commercial disputes in a wide variety of sectors, including energy, mining, tourism, hospitality, property, and engineering. He has also acted as mediator and as an advisor in both mediations and arbitrations.

Daniel Waldek, Singapore

Dan is an international arbitration lawyer specialising in construction, energy and infrastructure disputes.

While Dan regularly appears as counsel in a range of institutional arbitrations (including those under the ICC, LCIA and SIAC rules), his practice also includes a significant advisory element. Dan has acted as counsel in arbitrations relating to both onshore and offshore oil and gas projects, pipelines, petrochemical developments, renewable and conventional power projects, as well as a range of other major infrastructure projects.

James Allsop, Tokyo

James specialises in international arbitration and corporate crime and investigations.

James' practice involves acting as counsel and advocate in both institutional arbitration (including under the HKIAC, ICC, JCAA, LCIA, SIAC, TOMAC, and VIAC rules) and ad-hoc arbitration. He specialises in a number of sectors, including manufacturing and industries, pharmaceuticals and healthcare, TMT and automotives. His corporate crime and investigations practice sees him work with clients on multi-jurisdictional fraud and corruption matters, including co-ordinating with authorities and regulators.

Paula Hodges QC comments: "I am delighted to welcome our three new partners, James, Dan and Jonathan. All three are outstanding practitioners and add to our already impressive bench strength in Asia and EMEA. Their breadth of knowledge and experience, coupled with their own individual regional and sectoral specialisms will also enable us to meet the growing needs of our clients worldwide. I congratulate each of them on their success and wish them all the very best for the next chapter of their careers at Herbert Smith Freehills."

In addition to our partner promotions, three further arbitration specialists have been promoted to counsel positions. They are:

Yosuke Homma, Tokyo (Of Counsel): Yosuke specialises in international arbitration and corporate crime and investigations and undertakes work in a range of sectors including manufacturing and industries, TMT, and pharmaceuticals and healthcare.

Guillermo Garcia-Perrote, Sydney (Executive Counsel): Guillermo is a disputes lawyer specialising in commercial arbitration, investment treaty arbitration and cross-border litigation in energy and infrastructure disputes.

Vincent Bouvard, Paris (Of Counsel): Vincent specialises in commercial disputes resolution with a particular emphasis on arbitration and energy disputes in Africa. He has advised clients in disputes arising under the ICSID, UNCITRAL, and ICC rules, as well as in disputes in West and North Africa.

For more information, please contact Daniel Waldek, Jonathan Ripley-Evans, James Allsop, Yosuke Homma, Guillermo Garcia-Perrote, Vincent Bouvard, or your usual Herbert Smith Freehills contact.