Ina C. Popova is a Partner in the firm’s International Dispute Resolution Group who focuses on international arbitration and litigation and public international law. Ms. Popova is admitted to practice in Paris and New York and holds advanced degrees in English law.

Ms. Popova is recognized within the legal community as one of the top international lawyers of her generation. She sits as arbitrator and serves as counsel in a broad range of international matters, and has particular experience in the energy, mining, and technology, media, and telecommunications sectors. She also advises investment firms and asset managers in evaluating investments in international claims or arbitration awards. Fluent in several languages, Ms. Popova leads matters in French and Spanish and regularly handles disputes arising out of Africa and Latin America. She is a member of the ICC International Court of Arbitration.

Ms. Popova is recommended for International Arbitration by Chambers Global and Chambers USA, where she draws praise for her extensive language capabilities and “very well respected” practice. Clients note that “she is highly intellectual and brings a world-class degree of academic rigor to legal argument.” In 2019 she was named a “Next Generation Partner” by The Legal 500 Latin America (International Firms), which noted that she is “highly recommended” for her international arbitration work. Ms. Popova is also one of only ten international arbitration “Next Generation Partners” recommended by The Legal 500 US this year. Clients have described her as “a rising star,” and note that “her demeanor in an arbitration is phenomenal.” She is also recognized in Who’s Who Legal Arbitration (main edition) as a global leader for arbitration, as one of the top 40 up-and-coming lawyers nationwide by the American Bar Association, as a “Rising Star” by Law360, as a “Future Star” and a member of the “Under 40 Hot List” by Benchmark Litigation, and as “Best in Commercial Arbitration” by Euromoney Americas Rising Stars. Who’s Who Legal: Arbitration Future Leaders describes Ms. Popova as “very bright, impressively efficient and extremely well liked in the community.”

She represents individuals, corporations and States and has broad experience under the rules of the major arbitral institutions and several regional institutions. She also advises parties in international litigations involving proceedings in foreign and domestic courts, and has represented parties before the federal and state courts in the United States, including the United States Supreme Court.

Ms. Popova serves in a number of leadership positions, including as a member of the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the Court of the Casablanca International Mediation and Arbitration Center (CIMAC), and as Chair of the Corporate Counsel Task Force of the Silicon Valley Arbitration & Mediation Center (SVAMC). She has also served as Co-Chair of the American Society of International Law (ASIL) 2019 Midyear Meeting, Co-Chair of the Program Committee for the ICC New York Conference, Co-Chair of the ASIL 2016 Annual Meeting, as a member of the 2018 ICCA Program Committee, as Advisory Board member of the Institute for Energy Law, and as a rapporteur for the ASIL-ICCA Joint Task Force on Issue Conflicts in Investor-State Arbitration. She is a member of the IBA International Commercial Arbitration Case Law Subcommittee, and the IBA Working Group on the UNIDROIT Principles, and the ICCA Task Force on Standards of Practice. She has taught law at the Institut d’Études Politiques de Paris (Sciences Po) and is a Fellow of the Société de Législation Comparée. She speaks and writes regularly on arbitration-related issues.

Ms. Popova maintains an active pro bono practice, most recently involving immigration, asylum, and clemency matters. She was recognized by the New York State Bar Association’s “The Good We Do” campaign for her pro bono representation of a family facing eviction.

In addition to graduate degrees from Harvard Law School and from the University of Cambridge, Ms. Popova received her B.A. (Hons.)(Cantab.) with First Class Honours in Law (Double Maîtrise) from the University of Cambridge, Trinity College, and her Maîtrise en droit comparé, mention droits anglais et français with high honors from the Université de Paris II Panthéon-Assas. She is a Senior Scholar of Trinity College and was a Hollond Fund Scholar at Harvard Law School.

Ms. Popova speaks French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, and Bulgarian. She is a member of the Bar in Paris and in New York and is admitted to appear before the United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York.