Richard Deutsch

Richard D. Deutsch is a commercial litigator specializing in international arbitration and government investigations. Richard heads the U.S. division of the firm’s International Arbitration Group. He is licensed in Texas and New York.

In his international arbitration practice, Rich advises leading energy and financial services companies, among others, in international commercial arbitrations and investor-state arbitrations worldwide.

He has represented clients in arbitrations under all of the major institution rules, including the International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR), the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC), the Cairo Regional Centre for International Commercial Arbitration, and the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), as well as ad-hoc arbitrations under the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules.

For clients investing in foreign jurisdictions, Rich provides advice on risk mitigation through arbitration provisions, international investment treaties and political risk insurance. He is a Fellow at the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and is appointed to sit as an arbitrator in international disputes.

Rich’s international practice also includes representing companies in corporate investigations, including compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). He has represented international energy companies implicated in recent industry-wide FCPA scandals, guiding them as they were being investigated by the Department of Justice or the Securities and Exchange Commission.

He has provided FCPA due diligence to energy companies and medical devices companies with business dealings in high-risk locales, including Brazil, China, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Mexico and Nigeria, among others.

In his commercial litigation practice, Rich has represented U.S. and Canadian banks and energy companies in large securities matters in federal and state court, including several multi-million dollar cases related to the Enron scandal. He has also defended a multinational bank in class action consumer claims and general commercial disputes.

Rich teaches International Commercial Arbitration and International Investor-State Arbitration at the University of Texas School of Law and serves on the advisory board of the school’s Kay Bailey Hutchison Center for Energy, Law and Business. He is also on the adjunct faculty for the University of St. Gallen (Switzerland) Institute of International Law.

Rich is active in the international arbitration community and is often asked to speak at international arbitration events or author journal articles on the practice. He is on the ICDR’s Houston Advisory Committee, the Advisory Board of The Institute for Transnational Arbitration, the steering group of the American Bar Association’s International Arbitration Committee, and serves as President of the Houston International Arbitration Club.

EXPERIENCE :

• Bahrain oilfield services provider v. UAE project manager (UNCITRAL Rules). Advised potential claimant in dispute regarding amended services agreement for energy project in Iraq.
• Represented a major international oil and gas exploration company in a Nigerian Arbitration Act Rules arbitration (UNCITRAL Model Law) and related litigation regarding a semi-submersible rig offshore Libya.
• Represented three major oil and gas exploration companies in an arbitration (ICDR Rules) over the costs of a multi-billion dollar offshore production facility in the Gulf of Mexico.
• Indian investment group v. Japanese automobile manufacturer (SIAC Rules). Represented claimant investment group in claim concerning automobile distribution agreements in India.
• International energy company v. U.S. company (ICDR Rules). Represented claimant energy company in dispute over fees related to energy trading.
• U.K. Company v. North African Company (Cairo Regional International Arbitration Centre arbitration). Represented claimant in US$20 million claim based on contract for equipment.
• Camuzzi International S.A. v. Argentina, ICSID Case No. ARB/03/2. Represented claimant in its $300 million arbitration claim against the Argentine Government.
• Advised U.S. oilfield services company on potential international arbitration claim (ICSID) against Eastern European government.
• Provided investment structuring advice for Mexican construction company’s investment in Venezuela.

Education :

• Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law, JD, Managing Editor, SMU Law Review, 2002
• The University of Texas at Austin, BA, Journalism, 1992
• The University of Texas at Austin, BA, English, 1989

Admissions :

• New York
• Texas
• U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas
• U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas
• U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas

Affiliations :

• Fellow, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators
• Adjunct Professor, International Commercial Arbitration & International Investor-State Arbitration, University of Texas School of Law
• Adjunct Professor, International Arbitration, St. Gallen (Switzerland) Executive Master of International Business Law
• President, Houston International Arbitration Club
• Advisory Board, University of Texas School of Law, Kay Bailey Hutchison Center for Energy, Law & Business
• Steering Group & Vice-Chair, American Bar Association, Section of International Law, International Arbitration Committee
• Member, Houston Bar Association Law & the Media Committee (Chair 2006)
• Member, United Way of Greater Houston, Young Leaders.