Peter Griffin, a former partner at Shearman & Sterling and Baker Botts, and subsequently a founder of Slaney Advisors, a boutique consultancy specialized in arbitration enforcement and monetisation, will be joining Gaillard Banifatemi Shelbaya Disputes’ partnership on 1st February 2025.
During the early part of his career at Shearman Sterling, Peter Griffin first worked as an associate and later as a partner in the arbitration team founded by the late Professor Emmanuel Gaillard. There, he specialized primarily in oil & gas, technology and business combination disputes. He also worked alongside Emmanuel Gaillard and Yas Banifatemi on several landmark cases involving sovereigns, most notably Ceskoslovenska Obchodni Banka A.S. v. The Slovak Republic and GIMOD v. Iraq.
At Baker Botts, Peter focused primarily on oil & gas disputes, ranging from disputed Production Sharing Agreements in Central Asia and the Middle East, as well as Gas Transportation Disputes in Asia. While at Slaney Advisors, Peter also advised certain national oil companies on significant corporate transactions, specifically advising KazMunaiGaz on the USD 3 billion acquisition of Rompetrol and the related financing. He also worked as co-counsel on certain select cases, most notably Cengiz İnşaat Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S v. Libya, which was nominated by GAR as case of the year in 2020.
Yas Banifatemi, a Founding Partner of Gaillard Banifatemi Shelbaya Disputes, comments: “I am thrilled that Peter Griffin will be joining our Firm as a Partner in New York. Peter’s stellar reputation precedes him, and he brings versatility and a wealth of experience in international arbitration, US litigation and enforcement that fits perfectly our Firm’s practice and platform.” She adds: “I have known Peter for over two decades and had the pleasure of working with him in Emmanuel Gaillard’s team at Shearman & Sterling in the early 2000s. I am particularly grateful and delighted that our life and work trajectories have brought us back together at the firm and family carrying Emmanuel’s legacy.”
Peter Griffin says: “I have been watching the trajectory of Gaillard Banifatemi Shelbaya Disputes since it was founded four years ago. In that short time, it quickly established itself as one of the leading arbitration practices in the world, just as Emmanuel Gaillard had envisaged. I am thrilled to join such a talented and visionary team and delighted to reconnect with so many colleagues.”
Mohamed Shelbaya, a Founding Partner of Gaillard Banifatemi Shelbaya Disputes, comments: “Peter’s extensive experience in oil & gas disputes will directly contribute to the further growth of our booming global energy practice.” He adds: “Peter is a valuable addition to the team that will help us best serve our clients in the Americas and elsewhere.”
Peter is also well known as a leading specialist in the enforcement of international arbitration awards, with a particular focus on the recovery of sovereign arbitral debt. He has led successful enforcement and recovery efforts against numerous sovereign award debtors in Europe, the Americas, Africa and the Middle East, recovering over US$300 million for his clients.
While at Slaney Advisors, Peter pioneered the growing field of arbitral award monetisation, where he helped structure some of the largest and most complex monetisation transactions in history. More generally, Peter is a thought leader in the field of sovereign arbitral debt, and the various ways that it can be valued, recovered, restructured and re-financed.
Peter explains: “I have always been fascinated by the endgame in international arbitration, most notably what happens to arbitral debt once it is crystallized in the form of an award. Those issues are as pressing today as they ever were and these solutions should interest claimants and respondents alike. I am excited to see how I can integrate this experience into Gaillard Banifatemi Shelbaya Disputes so that we can offer our clients this kind of end-to-end solution whenever needed.”
“I am thrilled that Peter is joining our firm,” comments Benjamin Siino, a Founding partner of Gaillard Banifatemi Shelbaya Disputes and the leader of the firm’s enforcement practice. “I couldn’t think of a better fit for our world-class enforcement and asset recovery practice. Peter is one of the few lawyers worldwide with a true specialisation in this growing field.”
Peter read law at Panthéon-Sorbonne University in Paris and King’s College in London. A bilingual (English and French) Irish national, Peter is admitted to practice in New York and Paris. He was listed in the inaugural “45 under 45” by Global Arbitration Review in 2006. He is also a member of the prestigious Bretton Woods Committee, an invitation-only organization based in Washington DC to promote the interests of the Bretton Woods institutions.
It is expected that Peter will focus primarily on work as counsel, where he was previously recognized for his strong advocacy and examination skills. Having previously practiced in Paris, New York and London, he will be based in the New York office of Gaillard Banifatemi Shelbaya Disputes as the resident partner. Peter Griffin joins as Daniel Reich, who was based in the firm’s New York office since its opening in February 2021, has left to join another US-based law firm.
