Catherine Amirfar, Co-Chair of the Public International Law Group at Debevoise & Plimpton LLP and partner in the firm’s International Dispute Resolution Group, was inaugurated as President of the American Society of International Law (ASIL) earlier today. ASIL is the nation’s preeminent learned society that, since its founding in 1906, has fostered the study of international law and promoted the establishment and maintenance of international relations on the basis of law and justice.

Ms. Amirfar’s practice focuses on public international law, international commercial and treaty arbitration, and international and complex commercial litigation. She regularly appears before international tribunals and advocates before the International Court of Justice. Ms. Amirfar is ranked among the top international legal practitioners in the world by Chambers Global (2020) for both public international law and international arbitration. Prior to rejoining Debevoise in 2016, Ms. Amirfar spent two years as the Counselor on International Law to the Legal Adviser at the U.S. Department of State in the Obama Administration and received the State Department’s Superior Honor Award in recognition of her contributions to the Department.

Ms. Amirfar currently co-hosts a podcast for ASIL called “International News Behind the Headlines.” She is a member of the American Law Institute, the Council on Foreign Relations, the State Department’s Advisory Council on International Law, and the Governing Board of the International Council for Commercial Arbitration (“ICCA”). Ms. Amirfar is also a member of the firm’s Management Committee.

Debevoise partner Donald Francis Donovan previously served as President of ASIL from 2012 to 2014.