Ken Reisenfeld is among the world's leading advocates and arbitrators in complex cross-border contract, commercial, licensing and investment treaty disputes. Over the past 35 years, Ken has litigated cases or been appointed as an arbitrator in proceedings administered by the most prominent international and regional arbitration centers around the world and in significant ad hoc tribunals, including in investor-state and state-to-state arbitrations. Since his early years litigating expropriation claims before the Iran-U.S. Claims Tribunal, he has developed significant experience representing sovereign government entities and multinational companies in investment disputes governed by contract, investment treaties or public international law. Ken also regularly serves as advocate or arbitrator in complex contract, commercial, technology, telecommunications, pharmaceutical, IP licensing, M&A, energy, mining, international distribution and construction/infrastructure arbitrations, and in judicial enforcement proceedings around the world. Placing a high value on his strategic approach and thorough preparation, clients call upon Ken for effective, efficient and knowledgeable advocacy and solutions.
Ken has been recognized by leading publications relying on client recommendations and independent peer reviews, including Chambers, International Who’s Who of Commercial Arbitration, Super Lawyers, and Euromoney’s Guide to the World’s Leading Experts in Commercial Arbitration, among others. From 2012 to the present, Chambers Global and Chambers USA have ranked him as a top practitioner in international arbitration, noting Ken’s “high acclaim from market commentators,” and “praise [for his] very creative and well-thought-out approaches” to cases, as well as his “extensive experience in acting as counsel and arbitrator in a range of commercial and investment treaty arbitrations.” Chambers USA (2012). A former Chair of the American Bar Association’s 25,000-member International Law Section, Ken is regularly invited to speak and write on international dispute resolution topics and to provide strategic dispute avoidance counseling for in-house counsel. He has also helped establish standards for advocacy before international tribunals, serving as a co-author of the American Bar Association and American Arbitration Association Code of Ethics for Arbitrators, the International Bar Association (IBA) International Principles on Conduct for the Legal Profession, and the new IBA Guidelines on Party Representation in International Arbitration.