Patrick Taylor

Partner

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London

Tel: +44 20 7786 9033

Overview

Patrick Taylor is a partner in the London office of Debevoise & Plimpton, and is part of the firm’s France Desk. He is Co-Chair of the firm’s ... Read Full Biography

Experience

- An Asian biosimilars manufacturer in a complex contract dispute governed by Korean law, including under a joint venture agreement with one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world.
- An international energy company in an ICSID arbitration relating to its investments in Nigeria.
- A major inter-governmental organisation on the international law regulation of sexual and gender-based violence in places of detention during armed conflict.
- A leading Russian manufacturer of steel pipes to restrain foreign court proceedings threatened in breach of a London-seated arbitration agreement.
- A satellite capacity provider in LCIA arbitration proceedings and domestic court proceedings brought by another satellite company.
- Tethyan Copper Company Pty Limited in a challenge against an ICC Award under ss. 67 & 68 of the 1996 Act.
- Tethyan Copper Company, a joint venture of Antofagasta Minerals and Barrick Gold, in its US$6 billion arbitration win against the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, which is the second-largest ICSID award ever rendered.
- An international pharmaceutical company in an ICC emergency arbitration concerning supply obligations.
- A large Russian investment company in its defence of an LCIA arbitration claim brought by a Russian individual, relating to a corporate dispute with respect to a manufacturing group.
- Advice on a potential LCIA claim for breach of contract and misrepresentation in relation to a shareholder agreement between two Argentinian entities.
- A multinational professional services firm in a Belgian-seated commercial arbitration arising out of a post-M&A dispute.
- The Center for Reproductive Rights in securing UN recommendations to overturn El Salvador’s criminalization of abortion.
- A Cypriot company in a complex commercial arbitration in Stockholm under the SCC Rules, engaging contractual and fiduciary claims under German, Cypriot and Swedish law.
- Nova Group Investments in an ICSID claim against the Romanian Government under the Netherlands-Romania BIT relating to the expropriation of its Romanian assets.
- The Republic of Korea in ICSID arbitration filed by IPICI and Hanocal.
- A Russian shareholder in a highly publicised SCC arbitration regarding the ownership of a multibillion dollar stake in one of Russia’s largest mobile phone operators.
- A leading international oil & gas company in the quantification of losses arising from its investment treaty dispute with Venezuela which, at the time, was the highest-ever value claim brought under the ICSID rules.
- Various international oil & gas companies in the settlement of a high-profile and complex cost recovery and fiscal stabilization dispute with the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
- Various international oil & gas companies in the settlement of a production sharing agreement dispute with a CIS state oil company.
- A joint venture between two of the world’s largest oil & gas companies in a multibillion dollar overlifting and fiscal stabilization dispute with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company.
- A FTSE-100 company in structuring investment protections for a tax settlement in a Middle Eastern conflict zone.
- An international energy generation company in its renewable energy tariff dispute with an Eastern European Government.
- An international Africa-based mobile telecommunications company in a multibillion dollar shareholder dispute in Nigeria.
- An African mobile telecommunications company in licence disputes in Iran, ATS claims in the U.S., and a highly publicized investigation in its home jurisdiction.
- A European private equity fund in the recovery of shares stolen in a corporate raid carried out through the corrupt enforcement of a fraudulent arbitration award.
- A large United States consulting firm in an arbitration brought by an Italian company in Milan under the rules of the Milan Chamber of Arbitration.
- An international NGO in its global litigation strategy regarding claims before UN human rights treaty monitoring bodies across multiple Latin American states.

Education

Nottingham Law School, 2002, L.P.C.
University of Cambridge, 2001, LL.B. (Hons.)

Languages

French
Spanish

Patrick Taylor is a partner in the London office of Debevoise & Plimpton, and is part of the firm’s France Desk. He is Co-Chair of the firm’s Africa practice, focusing on commercial and investment treaty arbitration, with particular experience in the upstream oil & gas, energy, pharmaceuticals, and telecommunications sectors.Qualified in England & Wales and Ireland as a solicitor-advocate, Mr. Taylor has advised and represented clients in disputes throughout the world, most frequently in Africa, Eastern Europe, Russia and the CIS and, increasingly, in Latin America.Mr. Taylor’s practice is geared towards advising clients in the most high-stakes, complex and valuable disputes, and he regularly advises clients on investment protection and investment dispute settlements in high-risk jurisdictions, tax-related disputes, fiscal and legislative stabilisation rights, shareholder, joint venture, distribution, post-M&A and general contractual disputes and complex damages analysis. Mr. Taylor frequently sits as an arbitrator.Mr. Taylor is recommended as a leading lawyer for arbitration in Chambers Global (2023) and Chambers UK (2024), where he is described as “tenacious and very committed to his clients.” He is said to be “a highly effective and commercially minded lawyer” with “exceptional advocacy skills” and “a fantastic strategic mind” who is “extremely hands-on, practical and smart when handling very complex cases.” He receives further praise for his “superb knowledge of international dispute resolution mechanisms,” and is said to be “incredibly thorough and detail-focused, with the ability to provide advice in a pragmatic and comprehensible way.” The guide has also described him as “a class act” whose “tenacity is absolutely loved by clients,” and “a fantastic advocate, and a well-rounded lawyer for international arbitration.” He is listed as a Litigation Star in Benchmark Litigation Europe (2021), which has described him as “excellent.” He is included in The Legal 500’s inaugural International Arbitration Powerlist, and he is also noted as a leading individual for International Arbitration in The Legal 500 UK (2024). The guide also recommends him for his public international law practice and for his work in emerging markets. He is described as “business savvy, extremely smart, and very responsive.” Sources also say he is “very focused and sharp,” “an outstanding lawyer with a very clear mind and strategic skills in all kinds of situations,” “incredibly driven,” “incredibly hardworking, detail-orientated in his analysis, and a powerful and impressive advocate.” He is also recommended by The Legal 500 Latin America (2024) for international arbitration, and listed by Who’s Who Legal as a Thought Leader for arbitration. Mr. Taylor is a member of the IBA Arbitration Subcommittee on Investor State Arbitration and a regular speaker at conferences on arbitration-related topics. His recent speaking engagements have included presentations on arbitration and private equity; the art of cross-examination; the implications of Brexit; managing tax-related investment disputes; enforcement of arbitral awards; the rise of AI in arbitration; extension of arbitration clauses to third parties and the scope of the right to regulate under international investment law. His recent articles include “A Duty to Disclose, a Duty to Inquire: French and European Courts Address an Arbitrator’s Independence and Impartiality,” LexisPSL (September, 2021); “The Portigon v. Spain Decision: Upholding International Law Protections for Financial Instruments,” EMPEA Data and Intelligence (June, 2021); “The Intersection of Arbitration and Insolvency in England & Wales,” IBA Toolkit on Insolvency (March, 2021); “Harmonising Cultural Differences in International Arbitration: The Role of Parties’ Reasonable Expectations and Counsel’s Ethical Rules,” Stockholm Arbitration Yearbook (November, 2020); “Court of Appeal Confirms Sanctions Provision Operates to Bar Recovery of Interest on Arbitral Award (Ministry of Defence & Support for Armed Forces of Islamic Republic of Iran v International Military Services Ltd),” LexisNexis Corporate Crime News (February, 2020); the France chapter in The European Arbitration Review 2020 (October, 2019); “Tactics and procedures used in international arbitration to promote efficiency,” Experiencias y Retos del Ecuador en el Arbitraje de Inversión y Comercial (September, 2018); “High Court reiterates high hurdle to enforce foreign award annulled by the court of the seat,” LexisNexis (August, 2017); “The Opportunities for Post-Brexit International Arbitration in London,” NLUJ Law Review” (Spring, 2017); “State’s right to regulate under international investment law,” Warsaw Investment Arbitration Day (October, 2016); and “The Poland Risk,” Private Funds Management (March, 2015).Mr. Taylor graduated with an LL.B. honours law degree from Cambridge University in 2001 and was admitted as a solicitor in England & Wales in 2005 and in Ireland in 2017. He is fluent in English, French and Spanish.Patrick Taylor est associé et travaille au sein du Groupe de Résolution des Litiges Internationaux. M. Taylor intervient principalement dans des arbitrages commerciaux et arbitrages d’investissement. Il a acquis une expérience toute particulière dans le secteur amont des hydrocarbures, le secteur des télécommunications et celui de l’énergie. Il intervient également dans le cadre de litiges en matière fiscale. En tant que solicitor et solicitor-advocate au Barreau d'Angleterre et du Pays de Galles et au Barreau d'Irlande, M. Taylor a conseillé et représenté des clients à travers le monde, le plus fréquemment en Afrique, au Moyen Orient, en Russie et dans les Etats de la CIS et, de plus en plus souvent, en Amérique latine. M. Taylor est intervenu dans des procédures arbitrales sous les auspices du CIRDI, de la LCIA, de la CCI, de la CNUDCI, de la Chambre de Commerce de Stockholm, de la Chambre d’Arbitrage de Milan, et dans le cadre de la loi nigériane sur l’arbitrage et la conciliation.L’activité de M. Taylor est mise au service de clients dans le cadre de litiges des plus complexes et aux enjeux des plus importants. M. Taylor conseille régulièrement des clients en matière de protection des investissements et de résolution de différends dans des juridictions où les risques sont élevés, mais également en matière de litiges liés à la fiscalité, de droits de stabilisation juridiques et fiscales, de joint-ventures d’actionnaires, de distribution, de litiges post-M&A et plus généralement de différends contractuels.M. Taylor est recommandé par Chambers Global (2022) et Chambers UK (2023) comme l’un des meilleurs avocats en arbitrage, où il est décrit comme étant “tenace et dévoué à ses clients.” Il est présenté comme “ayant un esprit stratégique fantastique” et comme étant “extrêmement pragmatique, pratique et intelligent lorsqu'il s'agit de traiter des affaires très complexes”. Il a également reçu de nombreuses éloges de sa “superbe connaissance des mécanismes de résolution des litiges internationaux” et qu'il est “incroyablement minutieux et soucieux du détail, avec la capacité de fournir des conseils de manière pragmatique et compréhensible”. Le guide l’a aussi décrit comme étant un “class act” dont “la ténacité est absolument appréciée des clients” et un “avocat fantastique accompli dans le domaine de l'arbitrage international”. Il est reconnu comme “Star en matière de contentieux” dans le Benchmark Litigation Europe (2021), où il est décrit comme “excellent”. Il figure dans la liste inaugurale International Arbitration Powerlist du guide The Legal 500 et est aussi présenté par le guide The Legal 500 UK (2023) comme l’une des personnalités dirigeantes en matière d’arbitrage international. Le guide le recommande aussi pour sa pratique du droit international public et pour son travail sur les marchés émergents. Il est décrit comme étant un avocat “très concentré et vif”, “exceptionnel, avec un esprit très clair et des compétences stratégiques dans toutes sortes de situations”. Il est également présenté comme étant “remarquablement dynamique” et “remarquablement travailleur, méticuleux dans son analyse, et un avocat formidable et impressionnant”. Il est aussi listé comme un leader d’opinion en matière d’arbitrage par le guide Who’s Who Legal.M. Taylor est membre du Comité Arb40 de l’IBA et intervient régulièrement dans des conférences relatives à l’arbitrage. Ses récentes interventions ont porté sur l’arbitrage et le private equity, l’art de la cross-examination, les conséquences du Brexit, la gestion des litiges d’investissement en matière fiscale, l’exécution des sentences arbitrales, l’importance croissante de l’intelligence artificielle dans l’arbitrage, l’extension des clauses d’arbitrage aux tiers et la portée du droit de réglementer en droit international de l’investissement. Parmi ses récents articles: “A Duty to Disclose, a Duty to Inquire: French and European Courts Address an Arbitrator’s Independence and Impartiality,” LexisPSL (septembre 2021); “The Portigon v. Spain Decision: Upholding International Law Protections for Financial Instruments,” EMPEA Data and Intelligence (juin 2021); “The Intersection of Arbitration and Insolvency in England & Wales,” IBA Toolkit on Insolvency (mars 2021); “Harmonising Cultural Differences in International Arbitration: The Role of Parties’ Reasonable Expectations and Counsel’s Ethical Rules,” Stockholm Arbitration Yearbook (novembre 2020); “Court of Appeal Confirms Sanctions Provision Operates to Bar Recovery of Interest on Arbitral Award (Ministry of Defence & Support for Armed Forces of Islamic Republic of Iran v International Military Services Ltd),” LexisNexis Corporate Crime News (février 2020); le chapitre consacré à la France dans The European Arbitration Review 2020 (octobre 2019); “Tactics and procedures used in international arbitration to promote efficiency”, Experiencias y Retos del Ecuador en el Arbitraje de Inversión y Comercial (septembre 2018), “High Court reiterates high hurdle to enforce foreign award annulled by the court of the seat”, LexisNexis (août 2017), “The Opportunities for Post-Brexit International Arbitration in London”, NLUJ Law Review (printemps 2017), “State’s right to regulate under international investment law”, Warsaw Investment Arbitration Day (octobre 2016), et “The Poland Risk”, Private Funds Management (mars 2015).M. Taylor est diplômé en droit de l’Université de Cambridge ; il a obtenu en 2001 un LL.B. avec honours (mention), et a été admis comme solicitor en Angleterre et Pays de Galles en 2005 et en Irlande en 2017. Il est bilingue en anglais et français, et a une maîtrise pratique de l’espagnol.