Charlie Lightfoot

Charlie is the chair of Cooley’s international arbitration practice. He represents companies and governments in complex, high-value international disputes across a broad range of sectors. Charlie’s knowledge and experience encompasses both commercial disputes and disputes under public international law. He is an advocate before arbitral tribunals and the English High Court, as well as a speaker and author concerning matters of international arbitration and private and public international law.

Charlie’s representative matters include:

• Acting for a defence contractor concerning claims against a state entity in respect of a $6 billion contract
• Acting for a West African state concerning a $1.8 billion claim heard in parallel arbitral proceedings
• Achieving an award of more than $100 million for an oil major in Swiss Chamber of Commerce international arbitration proceedings arising from an M&A transaction
• Acting for a claimant in International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) arbitration proceedings in London regarding a contractual dispute concerning gas fields in Colombia
• Acting in London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) arbitration proceedings relating to a contractual dispute over oil rights in the Gulf region
• Representing an Italian investor in an investment claim against an Eastern European state regarding real estate projects
• Representing a defence contractor in an ad hoc international arbitration related to a claim arising out of a state entity’s cancellation of a contract
• Acting for a Caribbean state entity in ICC arbitration proceedings in London regarding a dispute with an industrial contractor
• Acting for a claimant in arbitration proceedings in Stockholm in relation to a contractual dispute following industry privatization by a foreign state