International

Describe your practice area and what it entails.

As a capital markets lawyer at Freshfields, my practice focuses on advising companies and underwriters on a range of capital markets transactions, including IPOs and other equity offerings, convertible and other debt offerings, and strategic investments. I also advise companies and boards on securities law compliance and general corporate and governance matters. I have extensive experience advising companies in the life sciences and technology sectors.

What types of clients do you represent?

I represent public companies including Super Micro, Service-Now, Opendoor, and Corsair Gaming, alongside leading underwriters such as Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and Leerink. I also advise numerous private companies in the tech and life science sectors.

What types of cases/deals do you work on?

I advise on a broad range of capital markets transactions, including IPOs, follow-on and secondary offerings, convertible and high-yield debt issuances, and private placements. Recent transactions include CARGO Therapeutics’ $281 million IPO, Neumora Therapeutics’ $250 million IPO and concurrent at-the-market program, and Super Micro’s $2.3 billion and $700 million convertible notes offerings.

How did you choose this practice area?

I’ve always loved the transactional aspect of the deals. I enjoy working with a lot of different parties—sometimes on intense timelines and under a lot of pressure—to put together a collaborative work product that benefits everyone, whether that’s the company or the bank. I also enjoy telling the story of the company, learning about and getting to know them, and helping position them in the best possible way from both marketing and risk management perspectives. While I love the transactional aspects of what I do, I also really value being a trusted advisor to companies throughout their life cycle—being present in their boardrooms, helping with big management decisions, and guiding them through the intricacies of day-to-day corporate governance.

What is a “typical” day like and/or what are some common tasks you perform?

A typical day as a capital markets lawyer really varies, which is a big reason why I love what I do. If I’m working on a transaction, my day could involve coordinating all the different work streams to make sure everyone is on task and meeting the client’s timelines and objectives. It could also mean drafting and negotiating key agreements and important disclosures. From a corporate governance perspective, I might be answering critical questions for the company, such as how to be in compliance with certain SEC requirements or how to handle complex board decisions, or advising on what I think the best path forward is from a legal and/or a business standpoint.

What training, classes, experience, or skills development would you recommend to someone who wishes to enter your practice area?

If you want to be a corporate lawyer, having a deep understanding of financial statements and basic accounting is incredibly important. Clients often ask you to weigh in on how things are presented, and understanding how a profit and loss statement works is instrumental to this. It’s also really helpful to understand capital structures and the different financial instruments a company can use, along with the pros and cons of each.

What do you like best about your practice area?

I love that my practice is truly collaborative. In many other areas of law, it can feel like a zero-sum game, but in this practice, we’re working on transactions that aim to maximize the pie for all parties involved. Everyone wants to get to the same outcome, and it’s incredibly satisfying to help make that happen in a way that’s, hopefully, as painless as possible.

I also really enjoy telling the story of the companies that we are either taking public or representing on an ongoing basis following an IPO. A big part of the job is drafting the disclosure that describes the company’s operations, strategies, successes, and sometimes failures. Getting to help craft this narrative, which can be radically different across companies, is incredibly rewarding as in many ways you are helping position the company, hopefully, for success.

What is unique about your practice area at your firm?

What’s unique about capital markets at Freshfields is that it’s truly international. I work with companies and colleagues across the globe: Germany, the Middle East, Asia—you name it. This global reach adds complexity to our deals, and makes them more interesting and rewarding to bring across the finish line. We also work for a range of companies in different points in their life cycle. My typical day (to the extent there ever is one) could involve working with a company that is just trying to secure its first $5 million financing and then guiding a deal for a company that has a market cap of over $250 billion. No matter the size of the stakes involved, each deal is incredibly important to our clients, and being at the heart of it is always rewarding.

What kinds of experiences can summer associates gain in this practice area at your firm?

At Freshfields, summer associates get real, hands-on experience working on complex deals as well as day-to-day corporate advisory work. The summer can sometimes be slower from a transactional perspective, but it lines up with when companies are reporting their June 30 earnings, so summer associates often get to be part of that entire earning cycle.

We also have an incredibly robust training program that covers more than the typical topics covered at most law firms. For example, we have in-depth sessions training associates how to understand and read financial statements. We have extensive academies covering AI and other topics that are at the cutting edge of the legal practice.

What are some typical career paths for lawyers in this practice area?

Usually, attorneys decide fairly early on whether they want to focus on corporate or litigation work. Once you’ve decided on one of these two buckets, within the corporate world specifically, the next question is whether you prefer capital markets or M&A. After that, you likely develop a more robust general corporate practice where you’re doing a mix of day-to-day advisory work, disclosure questions, and broader governance issues. Over time, you refine this even further and move into a more specialized area as your career evolves.

Phillip Stoup is a partner in the corporate department of Freshfields’ San Francisco office. He focuses his practice on capital markets transactions, advising companies and underwriters on initial public offerings (IPO), follow-on and convertible offerings, and other complex financings. He also counsels clients on securities law compliance, corporate governance, and general corporate matters.

Phillip’s clients include companies at every stage of growth, from emerging biotechnology and technology issuers to large-cap publicly traded companies. He has extensive experience advising life sciences and technology companies and a global perspective shaped by six years of practicing in London.

Phillip has extensive experience acting as counsel in a variety of high-profile IPOs and capital markets transactions, including recent IPOs for ServiceTitan, Carmot Therapeutics, CARGO Therapeutics, and Neumora Therapeutics, as well as notable deals for companies such as Postmates and Planet Labs. He also advises on follow-on public offerings and has recently worked with clients such as Super Micro, Opendoor, and Bloom Energy. In addition, Phillip provides ongoing representation and strategic guidance to major public companies, supporting their executive teams with SEC compliance, corporate governance, and complex board matters.

Phillip received his J.D. cum laude from Duke University School of Law in 2009, where he was a member of the Duke Law Journal, and his B.A. and B.S. cum laude from the University of California, Berkeley, in 2005, with distinction in general scholarship. He is admitted to practice in California.

Describe your practice area and what it entails.

I’m a litigator by training, but when people ask me to describe my practice, I sum it up this way: I help large multinational companies operating in high-risk jurisdictions across the globe identify and manage legal risk, fight corruption, and create a culture of compliance. 

A large part of my practice is anti-corruption compliance, which includes internal investigations into allegations of potential violations of anti-corruption laws. I also assist companies in responding to government investigations and advise companies on anti-corruption, sanctions, and AML risks involved in expanding into new markets, particularly emerging markets. I also assist companies with transactional due diligence, advising on risks associated with potential targets and helping them devise plans to mitigate those risks, both from a compliance and an operational standpoint. The other part of my practice is civil litigation—including shareholder class action lawsuits, complex commercial litigation, and cross-border disputes.

What types of clients do you represent?

My clients are predominantly large, multinational companies operating in various markets around the globe. The firm represents companies who are leaders in a number of different sectors, including media, technology, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, oil and gas, mining, finance, food and beverage, and consumer goods. I represent individual directors and officers under investigation for potential FCPA violations and in shareholder lawsuits when they are accused of breaches of their fiduciary duties owed to the company and its shareholders.

What types of cases/deals do you work on?

In some of my most notable cases, I represented

• Twitter, Inc., in a putative shareholder class action challenging its proposed $44 billion acquisition by Elon Musk .
• Uber Technologies, Inc., in a multibillion-dollar shareholder class action alleging violations of federal securities laws in connection with its initial public offering.
• General Electric Company in a series of litigation matters in state and federal court relating to its acquisition and subsequent divestiture of its majority stake in Baker Hughes, Inc. 
• Synthes, Inc., in a shareholder class action challenging the company’s $20 billion acquisition by Johnson & Johnson. 
• The former CEO and chief compliance officer of a foreign subsidiary of a major multinational company in connection with a global FCPA investigation by the DOJ and SEC .
• Liberty Global, Inc., in a shareholder class action challenging its $23 billion acquisition of Virgin Media Inc.

In addition, our firm was appointed as an independent FCPA compliance monitor for Baker Hughes, as well as for York International, as part of a deferred prosecution agreement with the DOJ and SEC following charges of FCPA violations. I led teams in multiple countries around the world for both of these monitorships, collecting and reviewing documents, interviewing witnesses, conducting forensic accounting analyses, and reporting to the DOJ and SEC on our findings.

How did you choose this practice area?

International law has always intrigued me. I was born and raised in Barbados, and my parents immigrated to the United States when I was 2 years old. I chose A&O Shearman because of the firm’s global footprint and the opportunity to work with international clients and on international matters. I started at the firm as a junior associate working on international arbitration matters. As a mid-level associate, I started to do more work in the compliance and FCPA space. Today, I continue to help clients navigate the provisions of the FCPA, as well as AML and sanctions laws, and deal with different regulators and enforcement authorities in the United States and around the world.

What is a “typical” day like and/or what are some common tasks you perform?

A lot of my work involves traveling to conduct interviews on the ground in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America. When I’m not traveling, I spend much of my time reviewing and editing interview memos, preparing investigation reports for company boards and management, interacting with regulators, drafting and editing briefs, working with financial and forensic accounting experts, and appearing in court on behalf of my clients.

I’m also the relationship partner for a number of the firm’s key clients. In addition, I have served as the associate development partner at the firm responsible for initiatives such as trainings and mentoring programs to support the career development of our associates. I also sit on the Recruiting and Pro Bono Committees and am actively involved in our inclusion networks and related initiatives.

Additionally, I do a lot of pro bono work in the international arena. Every year, I conduct trial advocacy trainings in East Africa in partnership with a nonprofit organization called Lawyers Without Borders (LWOB). We team up with LWOB to lead advocacy trainings for prosecutors, judges, and law enforcement personnel in those jurisdictions focused on prosecuting cases of human and wildlife trafficking, as well as child sexual exploitation cases. I conduct similar training for prosecutors at the International Criminal Court, focused on prosecuting war crimes and crimes against humanity.

These are just a couple of examples of the breadth of our pro bono practice. Lawyers across our 49 offices completed more than 119,000 hours of pro bono work in 2023.

What training, classes, experience, or skills development would you recommend to someone who wishes to enter your practice area?

I would advise any law student who is interested in working on FCPA matters to take an international law class focusing on anti-corruption. I also recommend taking business courses and classes in forensic accounting. It’s important in this field to understand our clients’ businesses so that our advice takes into account practical business considerations. We also need to be knowledgeable about current world events, geopolitical issues, and the socioeconomic climate of the various jurisdictions in which these matters arise. It’s essential to have the proper context to evaluate the information we uncover in investigations and interviews so that we can most effectively advise our clients.

What is the most challenging aspect of practicing in this area?

Perhaps the most challenging aspect is working in different time zones. When I’m traveling for investigations, it’s often to the other side of the world, and when my day ends there, it’s just beginning in the United States. There’s also the aspect of being on the road a lot and being away from your family and kids. So, when they are not in school and it’s feasible to do so, I try to take my children with me on some of my trips. At just 3 months old, my son traveled with me to London, and by the time he was 5 years old, he had already traveled with me on work trips to Amsterdam, South Africa, and Tanzania.

What are some typical tasks that a junior lawyer would perform in this practice area?

The junior lawyers on my team are involved in every aspect of our investigations. They’re the key fact finders, so they conduct a focused review of the documents to follow the narrative and the money. They work to figure out who was involved and what really took place. The junior lawyers also help assemble our witness kits for witness interviews, draft witness outlines, attend interviews, prepare witness interview memoranda, and draft reports for clients. For example, one of our first-year associates accompanied me on a trip to Turkey for an investigation for a major multinational company. This associate did all the document review prior to the trip, prepared the witness kits, drafted outlines, and attended and participated in the interviews. I’ve also had summer associates accompany me on investigations in India and Brazil.

How do you see this practice area evolving in the future?

As anti-corruption enforcement continues to expand beyond the United States, I see the practice becoming even more global and with a greater overlay of AML and sanctions laws. In recent years, we’ve seen more enforcement efforts by the United States along with a lot more cooperation between U.S. authorities and foreign authorities in launching investigations. The resolutions of these cases have also become global in nature. As a practitioner, it’s now imperative to know and understand how these laws interplay and to approach risk mitigation from a multidimensional, multi-jurisdictional perspective.

How can lawyers develop greater cultural intelligence in dealing with international transactions and matters?

You have to experience different cultures out there in the field. There is no substitute for real-world, on-the-ground experience. You also need to stay current with world events and understand the global economy. It is also helpful to read relevant industry publications and to join a bar association committee that is focused on international law matters.

When we are advising clients looking to expand into new geographic markets, we need to advise on more than just the legal aspects. We need to consider the sociopolitical landscape and what trends and developments we see happening in those regions. It’s extremely important to be knowledgeable about these things so that we can provide a comprehensive, 360-degree perspective for our clients.

Paula Anderson is a partner in A&O Shearman’s global litigation and investigations practice, and Co-head of the firm’s U.S. commercial litigation practice. Her experience is broad, with an international focus, and encompasses a wide range of areas, including internal and government investigations, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), sanctions and anti-money laundering (AML) compliance, cross-border disputes, shareholder class litigation, M&A-related litigation, complex commercial disputes, and international arbitration.

Her clients include global leaders in the finance, technology, insurance, automotive, telecommunications, oil and gas, mining, media and entertainment, consumer goods, healthcare, and manufacturing industries. 

Paula received a J.D. from Harvard Law School and an undergraduate degree summa cum laude from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, where she was class valedictorian.

Describe your practice area and what it entails.

As an M&A lawyer at Freshfields, my practice principally entails representing corporate clients undertaking significant transactions, including mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, spin-offs, and joint ventures, as well as providing advice on activist defense, hostile takeovers, and other corporate governance matters. With that said, being an M&A lawyer is not only about signing deals. Being a trusted advisor means being a true partner to your clients, understanding their business objectives, and providing guidance on any number of important legal or commercial issues that may arise in the ordinary course of their business. I focus a meaningful portion of my practice on being available for my clients for general strategy and advice on a day-to-day basis.

What types of clients do you represent?

I represent a wide variety of companies around the world, both public and private, across various industries and at varying stages of their life cycle. Over my career, I have had the opportunity to work with some of the world’s largest public companies on multibillion-dollar transactions, with smaller private companies undergoing transformative change, and even with young founders looking to turbocharge growth for their startups. In that time, I have learned a lot about different industry sectors—from pharmaceuticals and medical devices to media and entertainment, railroads and energy, software and chipsets, billboards, and beer. This diversity in clients is a function of Freshfields’ generalist approach to the M&A practice, as well as the strength of the firm’s global offering.

What types of cases/deals do you work on?

Again, the breadth of my M&A practice provides me the opportunity to work on a wide range of transactions and matters. In the past few years, for example, I have represented public companies in numerous potential acquisitions, sales, and divestitures; worked on one of the largest spin-offs in history; represented the special committee of a public company board in a take-private transaction; advised on a successful deal jump; negotiated an equity investment and a strategic partnership; and represented a private company in its business combination with a special purpose acquisition company. In addition, I’ve guided clients through engagements with activists, advised on governance improvements, and helped sort out conflicts with commercial counterparties.

How did you choose this practice area?

When I first started as a summer associate, I didn’t have a clear understanding of what corporate lawyers did or what the M&A practice really entailed. But as I worked on deals, I was drawn to the energy, the pace, and the variety of challenges that each transaction brought. I enjoyed diving into the complicated questions that seemed inherent in M&A and working with colleagues and clients to craft creative solutions. I also noticed that the M&A partners I worked with often seemed to serve as true advisors and counselors to their clients, offering strategic guidance that went far beyond legal advice on any individual transaction. Over the course of my career, I did explore other practice areas, but I always found myself coming back to M&A. Ultimately, for me, the creativity, strategic thinking, problem-solving, and variety inherent in M&A work were unparalleled.

What is a “typical” day like and/or what are some common tasks you perform?

The interesting part of being an M&A lawyer is that there is no typical day. What I do on any given day is often a function of the matters I am working on and what stage they are in at the time. Generally speaking, though, my day often involves meetings with clients, counterparties, and their advisors and working (mostly) collaboratively to understand the principals’ objectives and concerns and to properly address them in the deal. It also involves drafting and reviewing transaction documentation, coordinating with other lawyers on the team focusing on the more-specialized aspects of a transaction (e.g., intellectual property, tax, executive compensation), and quarterbacking the overall deal process. It includes taking time to answer calls and emails from clients and prospective clients, whether they relate to an active deal or just a one-off question.

Importantly, I also spend a meaningful portion of my time promoting Freshfields’ culture of collegiality, training, and inclusivity. Depending on the day, that may take the form of sitting down with an associate to walk through a markup, giving a presentation on recent developments in Delaware case law, helping to plan an employee resource group event, or even taking the team out to a celebratory dinner to recognize their hard work.

What training, classes, experience, or skills development would you recommend to someone who wishes to enter your practice area?

It is hard to replicate what corporate lawyers do in the classroom environment, so many of the legal skills you will need to be a good M&A lawyer you will acquire on the job. As a result, I generally tell law students to just take courses and seminars that interest them. With that said, I think there is real value in familiarizing yourself with the corporate world, particularly if you do not have a finance or economics background. Taking more business-focused courses in accounting or corporate finance can provide a head start but so too can being an avid consumer of finance-focused media: The Wall Street Journal, The Economist, and Bloomberg, for starters.

What is the most challenging aspect of practicing in this area?

The M&A practice is fast-paced and often high-stakes, and while that can make for exciting and interesting work, it can also sometimes mean long and demanding hours. As a result, an important part of being an M&A lawyer is being thoughtful and intentional about managing your time and stress levels. For me, it comes down to maintaining perspective, keeping up a manageable work-life balance, and relying on the people around you. That doesn’t mean shirking your responsibilities to your clients, but it does mean using your downtime to keep up with your hobbies, interests, and family and friends. It is also important to be open with your team when you need time off (for important events or otherwise) and to trust your colleagues to pick up slack when necessary—and to do the same for them. Your practice can only be successful if it is also sustainable.

What do you like best about your practice area?

For me, the best part of M&A is how much of what we do really requires creativity and strategic thinking. Working on M&A transactions is, at its core, problem-solving: It requires you to think deeply about your clients’ objectives and business goals and devise solutions that work for all parties. Because no two transactions are the same, it is rare that something that worked the last time will be the best approach on the next deal. That means you constantly have to revisit your assumptions, look at the problem from different angles, and innovate. And that makes the M&A practice exciting and always keeps things fresh.

What is unique about your practice area at your firm?

What’s unique about M&A at Freshfields is how global and collaborative our practice is. M&A has become increasingly cross-border, with most deals involving multiple jurisdictions and complex legal and regulatory challenges. Freshfields is uniquely positioned to handle this, with top-tier teams across all key practice areas and offices worldwide. This means we are able to provide seamless, integrated solutions for even the most challenging transactions. But what really sets Freshfields apart is the people. Freshfields is known for having some of the smartest and most talented lawyers in the world, but almost more importantly, it is made up of people who are highly collaborative and dedicated to the collective success of the team. Our lawyers are used to working together closely across regions and disciplines, making Freshfields not only a leader in global M&A but also a great place to learn and grow as a lawyer.

What kinds of experience can summer associates gain at this practice area at your firm?

At Freshfields, we view the summer associate program as a real opportunity for summers to get to experience what it is truly like to be a practicing lawyer. Across the firm, our summers are treated as full members of the team and are asked to contribute to matters in the same way our first-year associates are. That means getting to draft documents, join and participate in meetings and negotiations, coordinate with clients and internal experts, and ultimately, help drive the matter forward. To ensure that all summers truly benefit from the program, each of our summers is assigned an individual partner mentor, who is able to provide guidance, training, and often, a few good meals. As a result, by the time our associates join us full time after graduation, they start with months of experience, a strong relationship with a potential partner mentor, and early direct feedback on how to grow and advance. Of course, the summer is also a great opportunity for summer associates to get to know the firm, and so summers are encouraged throughout the program to attend events, meet their fellow classmates, and engage with their future colleagues.

Sanjay Murti is a partner in the corporate department of Freshfields’ New York office. He focuses his practice on M&A, as well as shareholder activism defense, corporate governance, and general corporate matters. Sanjay’s clients include companies at every stage, from startup to publicly traded, across a wide variety of industries. He was listed as a Next Generation M&A partner by Lawdragon in 2024 and is a Law360 Mergers & Acquisitions Editorial Advisory Board member. Within the firm, he serves on the Recruiting Committee and the Talent Development Committee and is a partner liaison to Freshfields’ Asian/Pacific/South Asian/American Employee Resource Group.

Sanjay was born in Red Bank, New Jersey. He received a B.S. magna cum laude from Georgetown University in 2010 and a J.D. from Columbia Law School in 2014, where he was a James Kent Scholar.

Describe your practice area and what it entails. 

Christian: I focus on international arbitration with a particular emphasis on Latin America. We do both investor-state and commercial arbitrations. We advise corporations, governments, and state-owned entities dealing with high-profile clients in very complex, high-profile, and high-value disputes.

Lauren: I lead Linklaters’ U.S. environmental team and have an amazingly broad and fun portfolio. My work spans multiple practice groups, including energy and infrastructure, corporate, and banking. With the energy and infrastructure team, the environmental team helps with everything from assisting developers with identifying and obtaining the necessary permits and authorizations for its projects to helping investors analyze environmental risks and negotiating the necessary provisions in transactional documents to minimize environmental risks. With the corporate group, we help clients analyze the environmental risks associated with market-leading M&As, such as project-site contamination, asbestos litigation, and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances issues, and negotiate the transactional documents to minimize environmental risks. With the banking team, we advise on multi-jurisdictional matters that require compliance with international environmental standards, such as the World Bank Environmental and Social Framework, International Finance Corporation Performance Standards on Social & Environmental Sustainability, Equator Principles, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. The environmental team gets to work on a little bit of everything throughout the various practice groups, which is super fun and fast-paced.

What types of clients do you represent?

Christian: We represent both corporations, states, and state-owned entities in a variety of sectors, with a particular focus on infrastructure, energy, and mining.

Lauren: All of them! Because we work with multiple practice groups throughout the firm, our client base is super broad. It includes everything from offshore wind developers and solar developers to chemical facilities and global investors. The breadth of our work both domestically and globally makes it difficult to truly identify one type of client.

What types of cases/deals do you work on?

Christian: We work on commercial arbitration and investor-state disputes mostly focused on, for me, Latin America, but we have widespread coverage across all relevant regions, including the United States, Europe, Asia, and Africa, as well. I have acted as counsel and arbitrator in some of the most complex international arbitrations in Latin America (with respect to the International Criminal Court (ICC), the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes, the London Court of International Arbitration, the Partnership for Central America, American Arbitration Association, United Nations Commission on International Trade Law, the Lima Chamber of Commerce, American Chambers of Commerce Peru, the Bogota Chamber of Commerce, and Dispute Adjudication Board proceedings).

Lauren: Linklaters, in general, works on market-leading transactions and matters. Therefore, the environmental team gets to work on nearly all of the market-leading transactions and matters that come through various practice groups. For example, this year we have assisted offshore wind developers with competing for competitive leases and offtake agreements, solar developers with obtaining the necessary federal permits for development, banks with investing in large portfolios of renewable energy and transmission projects, and various clients with acquiring renewable energy portfolios, lithium facilities and mines, and industrial facilities.

How did you choose this practice area?

Christian: I always wanted to do something international. I wanted to become a diplomat, first of all; that’s why I began studying different languages including Russian and French. But, in the end, I discovered this area of law, which is international arbitration, where I get to work with people from all over the world, applying laws of both common law and civil law countries, so it’s as good as it gets, I would say.

Lauren: I was a biologist in undergrad; I wanted to (and still want to) save the world. I started studying and fell in love with environmental law; then I was drawn into the energy market, and here I am—and I haven’t looked back.

What is a “typical” day like and/or what are some common tasks you perform?

Christian: The good thing is that there is no typical day because it really depends on the status of a given case. It could entail preparing for a hearing; appearing at a hearing; or working on a submission, on a letter, or on correspondence to the tribunal or to the other side. There are no two days that are alike, and a big part of the job is looking for other opportunities.

What is the most challenging aspect of practicing in this area?

Christian: Clearing conflicts, I would say!

It’s unique in the sense that we apply different national laws to complex disputes or even international law. Also, each case requires you to know the sector in which you are advising the clients very well, and you get to develop expertise in a variety of industries, and as mentioned, layered on top of that is the application of different laws and working in different languages. For example, I have worked on cases in Spanish, English, French, and Portuguese.

Lauren: Finding time because there’s a wealth of opportunity and interesting, exceptional work here. Every time you are approached with a new matter—such as the first lithium M&A or an innovative facility or new ESG regulations or helping the Philippines put in place a green court—what are you going to say, “No”? The work is so fascinating and unique. There is so much going on, and you do not want to miss anything.

What do you like best about your practice area?

Lauren: All the people. I work with a ton of different attorneys and consultants, and everyone is brilliant in their own respect. It is really nice working with a broad range of people and experts so that every day you get to learn something new.

What is unique about your practice area at the firm?

Lauren: I am an environmental and permitting specialist, so—unlike attorneys in some more-practice-specific groups— I work with all the different groups and on a variety of diverse matters.

What are some typical tasks that a junior lawyer would perform in this practice area?

Lauren: Junior lawyers are exposed to a myriad of opportunities to learn and develop their skill set. There is a lot of research and writing. Through exposure to agreements, they can see the different market provisions and how to mark them up. They sit in on calls with clients so they can understand the different postures that are part of a negotiation. They get to see it all. A summer associate will have a lot of fun in my practice too. Like I mentioned, there is not a typical day, so it really is what is happening in the market as well as the news. As new regulations are handed down, everything shifts, and we have to be ready for it and advise our clients as necessary for their specific matters. So, it is a lot of fun hands-on learning and growth because no deal is the same, and everything keeps evolving.

How do you see this practice area evolving in the future? 

Christian: I think it will continue to grow. Arbitration is, in my view, the most recommended way of resolving cross-border disputes between sophisticated, corporate, and state or state-owned entities.

Lauren: It will continue to grow. There is a big focus on ESG abroad, and more so in the states recently, so as we continue to get more regulations on ESG, the practice will continue to expand.

Christian Albanesi has acted as counsel and arbitrator in some of the most complex international arbitrations in Latin America and advises clients regularly in compliance investigations and other major crises. Christian draws on his prior experience at the ICC International Court of Arbitration where, as managing counsel, he supervised the nine case management teams of the ICC Secretariat to ensure uniformity of practices and decisions of the Court, and as counsel in charge of the Latin America, Spain, and Portugal case management team, he oversaw hundreds of cases from filing to scrutiny and notification of awards. Christian has been recognized by Chambers & Partners in International Arbitration for Latin America, as a Recommended Global Leader by Who’s Who Legal Arbitration, and as one of the “most highly regarded individuals” in international arbitration under 45 in the Who’s Who Legal Arbitration—Future Leaders.

As a former U.S. Department of the Interior and American Wind Energy Association lawyer, Lauren Bachtel assists clients with navigating complex environmental permitting, compliance, and regulatory issues across all types of projects and transactions, and advises clients on current and forthcoming requirements and risks of environmental regulatory changes. Lauren leads the firm’s U.S. ESG team. She has significant experience assisting clients with tracking and complying with existing and incoming ESG laws, policies, programs, and initiatives. Lauren also has significant experience advising on international environmental and social standards and risk management systems in the context of major energy and infrastructure project financings. Lauren is Chair of the ABA SEER Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Committee and an active member of the LGBTQ+ Bar. She has been acknowledged as a Green Ambassador by The Legal 500 Green Guide: United States 2025.

Describe your practice area and what it entails.

Our global tech disputes team at White & Case represents leading technology clients in high-stakes litigation and regulatory disputes all over the world, including matters involving intermediary liability, content moderation, privacy and data protection, AI, advertising, consumer protection, and elections issues. Our team works closely with clients, including their various cross-functional teams, and local counsel in jurisdictions across the globe to develop and drive litigation and regulatory strategy in a consistent and commercial manner and to counsel our clients on legislative and regulatory compliance, as well as product issues. We focus on giving practical and actionable advice in uncertain and ever-evolving legal landscapes.

What types of clients do you represent?

We represent several of the world’s largest online platforms, as well as other market-leading multinational tech companies.

Among other things, I help lead a team that handles international civil litigation for Meta Platforms. I have also been seconded as litigation, content, and compliance counsel for Meta in London, Los Angeles, Paris, and Washington, DC.

What types of cases/deals do you work on?

Our matters include class actions, complex civil and criminal litigations, regulatory actions, pre-litigation disputes, legislative analyses, compliance advice, and product counseling in more than 160 countries across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. The subjects involved are varied and include, for example, intermediary liability, content moderation, privacy and data protection, AI, advertising, consumer protection, and election issues. Dozens of our cases are pending before the highest courts around the world.

In the past few years, I have spent a substantial amount of time co-leading a team that counsels our clients on compliance with the EU’s Digital Services Act and represents very large online platforms in investigations brought by the European Commission concerning the same.

I also spend a substantial amount of my time defending very large online platforms in so-called “scam ads” litigations, as well as counseling my clients on compliance with global election laws.

How did you choose this practice area?

Before law school, I knew that I wanted to have an inter- national practice. I loved the idea of working on issues that mattered around the world that cut across borders, cultures, and languages. I majored in political science in undergrad and got a master’s in international economic policy, working as an editor for two international law journals. In law school, I took a heavy international course load, worked for an inter- national human rights organization, externed at the U.S. Department of State, and participated in my school’s international human rights clinic. During the OCI process, I naturally targeted firms with strong international practices, which led me directly to White & Case. I originally started in our market- leading international arbitration practice but then, as the tech disputes practice began to grow, switched into that practice as a junior associate. It was the perfect combination of all the things that make international work so exciting, engaging, and important: working with brilliant lawyers spread out all over the globe on brand-new, cutting-edge issues that directly impact how billions of people around the world engage with the new technologies that increasingly shape how they interact with each other and live their lives.

What is a “typical” day like and/or what are some common tasks you perform?

It’s not easy to point to a “typical” day since our work can vary so much, but I spend many of my days working closely with clients to address time-sensitive strategy points, whether on the direction we should take in a litigation or regulatory matter or on the risks of rolling out a product to market in various jurisdictions. I balance these ongoing time-sensitive demands against strategy on our longer-term cases, for which I’ll meet regularly with clients and counsel teams; advise clients on the pros and cons of proposed courses of action; pressure- test advice from our many local counsel teams to ensure that it’s contextualized within our clients’ global interests and objectives; draft submissions; guide our clients through trials, mediations, and negotiations with counterparties and regulators; identify and prepare fact and expert witnesses; and much more.

What training, classes, experience, or skills development would you recommend to someone who wishes to enter your practice area?

When we’re hiring recent graduates, we look for the same attributes that many others do in the industry: brains, grit, commercial sense, and social EQ. We prioritize communication skills—both oral and written—and the ability to think fast and communicate in a clear and commercial manner. And, given the ever-evolving nature of our global practice, we want our associates to be curious and comfortable learning new things. It’s helpful, but not at all necessary, if they come in with experience in some of the areas in which we practice.

I typically advise law students to take courses that will help them to build the foundation to become stronger writers, thinkers, and speakers. We can teach them the substance.

What do you like best about your practice area?

The work we do helps to shape the law, precedent, and policy around cutting-edge digital technologies and platforms—especially for social media and internet-based communications platforms—on a global scale. Given that the relevant case law and regulatory regimes are constantly in flux, advising our clients requires creative thinking that accounts for the practical and operational realities of our clients’ businesses. And our work is truly international: We work every day with attorneys and teams in different countries on groundbreaking and headline-making issues that fundamentally impact our clients’ global products and services.

What is unique about your practice area at your firm?

Even at a firm as globally oriented as White & Case, the tech disputes practice is uniquely international: All our matters require close, long-term collaboration with teams in different countries all over the world, and they often require consideration of the interplay between local and international laws as relevant to our multinational clients. Our team specializes in helping global internet-based platforms navigate litigation, regulatory, and compliance challenges, and therefore, we’re uniquely positioned to spot and address global legal issues and then provide our clients with the “speed dial” to a global team that is expert in the field and responsive at all hours around the world.

What are some typical tasks that a junior lawyer would perform in this practice area?

From the start, junior associates in our practice, among other things, work hand in hand with our local counsel teams to consider how international legal, policy, product, and other considerations interplay with jurisdiction-specific ones; research, draft, and develop advice and communicate it to our clients; draft and revise court filings; assist in preparing fact and expert witnesses; advise our clients on the rollout of new products and policies across the globe; and project manage complex litigations, pre-litigation disputes, and regulatory compliance matters. From the outset, our junior associates interact directly with clients and drive strategy, playing a fundamental role in all components of our practice’s day-to-day.

How can lawyers develop greater cultural intelligence in dealing with international transactions and matters?

New lawyers and law students—like all lawyers—should be good listeners, observant, and stay generally curious about other societies, cultures, practices, and systems of law. They should keep up-to-date with current events and legal developments around the world that affect the industries that interest them and, if possible, try to travel or engage directly with classmates or colleagues from and based in other parts of the world. Familiarity with global issues and sensitivity to local legal cultures and practices are invaluable when working with international teams on global matters.

Amara Mullins is a tech disputes partner in the Los Angeles office of White & Case and a member of the firm’s global technology industry group, representing technology clients throughout the world in high-stakes litigation, regulatory disputes, and product and compliance counseling. She has worked on cases before the world’s highest courts, including matters involving content moderation, intermediary liability, defamation, consumer protection, privacy and data protection, advertising, and elections, and she regularly advises technology companies on compliance with U.S. and international laws and regulations concerning the same. Amara’s clients include several of the largest online platforms in the world, as well as many other technology companies.