Floriane Lavaud

Floriane Lavaud is a member of the firm’s International Dispute Resolution Group in New York. Her practice focuses on international arbitration, public international law and enforcement-related litigation, in particular in the energy and mining sectors. She is admitted to the New York and the Paris Bars, in addition to being a Solicitor in England & Wales.

Ms. Lavaud represents clients in arbitrations conducted under the auspices of the main arbitration institutions and in related court proceedings. She has advised clients in a variety of jurisdictions and fora on issues of civil and common law, public international law, and treaty and contract interpretation, including advising the State of Qatar before the International Court of Justice.

Her experience also includes the assessment of damages and the enforcement of arbitration awards, especially under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act and other similar legislation.

Ms. Lavaud was nominated among the “Most Highly Regarded” Future Leaders in Arbitration by Who’s Who Legal 2019, an edition focused on a selection of outstanding attorneys aged 45 or under.

According to Who’s Who Legal, her peers describe her as “one of the most polished lawyers in the field” and previous editions of the guide have described her as “one of the best practitioners in her field. She pays attention to detail and is very talented in respect of analysing and constructing legal arguments.”

Prior to joining Debevoise in 2007, Ms. Lavaud worked at Total, the world’s fifth-ranked integrated international oil and gas company. As a member of Total’s Exploration & Production legal division, Ms. Lavaud gained in-depth experience with the oil and gas industry and the agreements specific to this industry, such as joint operating agreements and production-sharing agreements.

From 2009 to 2011, she clerked for the Hon. Douglas P. Woodlock of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. Ms. Lavaud is among the few civil-law-trained attorneys who served as a federal law clerk.

During her two-year clerkship, she was involved in a wide variety of civil and criminal cases under federal and state law and participated in numerous trials and motion hearings.

Ms. Lavaud regularly speaks and publishes on arbitration-related issues. Her recent articles include “Arbitration Guide – United States,” IBA Arbitration Committee (February, 2018) and “Damages Principles in Investment Arbitration,” GAR, The Guide to Damages in International Arbitration (January, 2018); “Corruption in International Arbitration: Challenges and Consequences,” GAR, The Arbitration Review of the Americas 2018(August, 2017); “Corporate Responsibility For Human Rights Violations After Urbaser,” International Bar Association Oil and Gas Law News (June, 2017); “El Orden Público Bajo El Prisma De Caso Chevron c. Ecuador,” Spain Arbitration Review (March, 2017); “Damages Principles in Investment Arbitration,” GAR, The Guide to Damages in International Arbitration (December, 2016); “French Conseil d’Etat Annuls ICC Award for Failure to Apply Domestic Administrative Law Rule,” Debevoise & Plimpton Client Update (December, 2016); “Public Policy Through the Lens of Chevron v. Ecuador,” IBA Litigation Committee Newsletter (October, 2016); “Oil and Gas Arbitration in the MENA Region,” Oil, Gas & Energy Law (OGEL) (October, 2016); “Valuation Date in Investment Arbitration: A Fundamental Examination of Chorzów’s Principles,” Journal of Damages in International Arbitration (September, 2016); “Forum Non Conveniens as Bar to Enforcement,” The Arbitration Review of the Americas 2017 (August, 2016); “Chevron v. Ecuador, The Saga Continues,” The Energy Law Advisor (May, 2016); “U.S. Federal Court Denies Immunity to Sovereign Wealth Funds,” Debevoise & Plimpton Client Update (February, 2016); “Recognition of ICSID Awards in the United States: Are Ex Parte Petitions Allowed?,” The Arbitration Review of the Americas 2016 (September, 2015); “Determining Compensation for Expropriation in Treaty-Based Oil and Gas Arbitrations,” The Leading Practitioners’ Guide to International Oil & Gas Arbitration (August, 2015); “NML v. Argentina: the Lasting Effects of Argentina’s Default,” Arbitration Quarterly, Issue 6 (January, 2015); and “Advocates’ Duties in International Arbitration: Has the time come for a set of norms?,” The Paris Journal of International Arbitration (February, 2014).

Ms. Lavaud has been appointed as a New York Regional Representative of the ICC Young Arbitrators Forum. She also sits on the Arbitration Committee of the New York City Bar Association and is a member of numerous arbitration organizations, including the IBA Oil & Gas Committee, ICDR Young & International, Y-ADR Institute, Young International Arbitration Practitioners of New York (YIAP), ASA Below 40, and ArbitralWomen.

Ms. Lavaud received an LL.M. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 2007 and an M.A. in Litigation and Arbitration from the University of Paris II Panthéon-Assas with honors in 2005. She is a native French speaker and is also proficient in Spanish and basic Dutch.

Experience:

• The State of Qatar and Qatari entities and individuals in international claims arising out of the measures imposed by the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Egypt against Qatar, including winning an order for provisional measures in proceedings before the International Court of Justice against the United Arab Emirates, investment arbitrations and claims in other international tribunals.
• A leading steel company in the Americas in a dispute arising from an acquisition and related supply agreements.
• Gramercy Funds Management and Gramercy Peru Holdings in an investment treaty arbitration against the Government of Peru arising under the U.S.-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement.
• A South American shipyard in an ICC arbitration against a major oil & gas company arising out of an EPC contract.
• Investors in settling on favorable terms a dispute arising out of a subscription agreement with a leading Chilean financial services company.
• Adel al Tamimi in an ICSID arbitration against the Sultanate of Oman relating to an investment in a limestone quarry.
• Perenco Ecuador against the Republic of Ecuador in ICSID proceedings concerning Ecuador’s amendment of the Hydrocarbons Law to increase the State’s participation to 99% of all revenues from oil sales above a fixed “reference price.”
• A leading publicly listed oil and gas company in enforcing a multibillion-dollar investment arbitral award against a Latin American state in the United States and worldwide.
• Several investors and private equity funds in dealing with domestic and foreign sovereign immunity issues.
• A major Japanese automotive corporation as claimant in consolidated ICC London arbitration proceedings concerning a multibillion euro cross-shareholding and arising out of a commercial alliance.
• A major U.S. oil company with respect to issues with respect to its offshore concession because of a border dispute between two neighboring countries.
• An investment manager in acquiring and settling on favorable terms a series of investment arbitration awards.
• A leading French pharmaceutical manufacturer in settling on favorable terms a dispute arising out of a distribution agreement with a Moroccan company.
• A major publicly-listed mining company in a dispute with an African government regarding a multi-billion dollar mining project.
• L’Oréal in false advertising litigation against Neutrogena related to the parties’ advertisements for their respective sun screen products.
• Deutsche Telekom in United States Department of Justice and SEC investigations relating to payments made by its Hungarian subsidiary, Magyar Telekom.
• A pharmaceutical manufacturer in a third-party payor class action litigation.

Education:

• University of Pennsylvania Law School, 2007, LL.M.
• Université Paris II Panthéon-Assas, 2005, M.A.
• Université de Toulouse, 2003, M.A.

Bar Admissions:

• New York
• Paris
• Solicitor, England & Wales