Herbert Smith Freehills' Global Arbitration Practice has been showcased as being the third busiest in the world as part of the annual Global Arbitration Review (GAR) 30 rankings.

The firm's latest GAR 30 ranking appears in the 13th edition of the GAR 100, which was revealed last night at the tenth annual GAR Awards ceremony. This year, more than 300 members of the arbitration community joined together from across the world for a “virtual” ceremony, taking place during Paris Arbitration Week.

Highlighted once again by the publication as a “force to be reckoned with”, GAR reports that the firm has a "strong reputation in public international law and investment treaty arbitration, increasingly acting for governments in state-to-state negotiations and boundary and treaty disputes". GAR reveals that the total value of the firm’s arbitration portfolio has increased by more than US$20 billion in the past two years, with more than 10 cases over the US$1 billion mark.

The firm also achieves a large number of peer-recognised specialists across the global network, having 15 people featured in 'Who’s Who Legal' and 18 as “Future Leaders”.

A construction client involved in a critical billion-dollar arbitration says the firm’s work “100% satisfied our expectation.”

GAR highlights the fact that the firm has achieved notable victories for clients such as Chevron, helping the energy major to thwart the enforcement of an US$18 billion sham award rendered by an allegedly sham arbitral institution in Cairo. Also noted is the partial award on liability won by the firm for Sinopec against Repsol in a US$5.5 billion fraud claim, thought to be among the largest cases ever filed at the Singapore International Arbitration Centre. They also showcase the firm's work for major gas pipeline owner and operator Nord Stream 2, in the first-ever Energy Charter Treaty claim against the European Union.

As in previous years, the GAR 30 is based on a quantitative analysis of a number of different markers of a busy arbitration practice, looking at the  number of merits and jurisdiction hearings conducted by a firm over a two-year period, the amount in dispute in those cases, the split of work between commercial and investment treaty arbitration and the number of hours recorded by the arbitration practice over that period.

The ranking is also based on the number of arbitrator appointments a firm’s members have received and the number of individuals who appear in GAR’s sister publication, Who’s Who Legal: Arbitration – a guide to the leading practitioners in the field as selected by their peers.

The full GAR 30 can be found here.

Paula Hodges QC, who heads Herbert Smith Freehills' Global Arbitration Practice, said:

"I am delighted to see the practice ranked amongst the top three in the world and am proud that we have appeared in the top five for six years in a row. This is a fantastic achievement, and provides well deserved recognition for the talent and hard work of our global team. It truly demonstrates the strength of our practice right across the world.”

As in previous years, GAR donates all proceeds from the awards to the Swawou School for Girls in Sierra Leone, supporting the school in what is a particularly difficult period for the students.

For more information, please contact Paula Hodges QC, Global Head International Arbitration, Vanessa Naish, Professional Support Consultant, Rebecca Warder, Professional Support Lawyer, or your usual Herbert Smith Freehills contact.