Ivan Urzhumov

Full Profile

Ivan’s practice concentrates on commercial and investment arbitration, as well as cross-border litigation.  He is based in Paris and has successfully represented clients in ICC, UNCITRAL, ICSID, LCIA and SCC arbitrations with a variety of applicable laws and arbitral seats. His practice further covers set aside and enforcement proceedings, as well multi-jurisdictional asset tracing and recovery, fraud litigation and cross-border bankruptcy matters, taking of evidence abroad and obtaining conservatory measures in support of foreign proceedings. Ivan also provides legal advice in relation to cross-border transactions and international investment projects.

He has represented both public and private clients in matters involving oil & gas, mining, energy, construction, telecommunications, transport, waste management, automotive, banking, high tech and other sectors.

Ivan is recognized as a "Next Generation Partner" by Legal 500, an Arbitration Future Leader by Lexology (formerly Who's Who Legal) and an "Up and Coming" lawyer by Chambers. He is a member of the International Arbitration Institute (IAI), the French Arbitration Committee (CFA) and the Club Español e Iberoamericano del Arbitraje (CEIA).

He holds a Masters of Law from University Paris I Pantheon-Sorbonne in 2008 and is admitted to the Paris bar. He speaks English, French, Spanish, as well as Russian and Ukrainian. 

Experience

Investor-State Arbitration

• Secured a victory for a Latin American State against a Canadian mining company, obtaining the set-aside by the Paris Court of Appeal of a US$ 1.3 billion ICSID award
• Obtained a dismissal of a US$ 180-million claim brought by a Canadian power company against a Latin American State under ICSID Additional Facility Rules
• Represented an Eastern European State in an ICSID arbitration concerning the State’s alleged failure to exercise regulatory oversight over claimants’ deposits in a local bank
• Assisted the Republic of Ecuador in obtaining a victory against an international oil company alleging breaches of the U.S.-Ecuador BIT arising from the State’s imposition of a windfall-profits levy

Commercial Arbitration

• Successfully represented a Russian public works company in an ICC arbitration with the seat in Paris regarding the non-conformity of equipment supplied for a plant in Saudi Arabia
• Counsel to a pan-European recycling company in two separate ICC arbitrations in Paris and Zurich, against German and French logistics service providers
• Secured a victory for a Belgian company against a leading German supplier of automotive parts, in an ICC arbitration in Paris concerning the ownership of patents and trade secrets
• Represented an international oil company in an ICC arbitration in Paris against an African State concerning the termination of production sharing agreements
• Counsel to a large French electricity company in an ICC arbitration in Switzerland against a European electricity trader and distributor arising out of an electricity distribution contract

Cross-Border Litigation

• Obtained and defended attachments of French properties held via a complex ownership scheme, in an effort to recover a multi-million debt arising out of a fraud scheme committed in Russia
• Representing a client in multiple French court proceedings relating to the enforcement in France of a large arbitral award issued against a Eastern European State-owned entity
• Represented a client in debt recovery arbitration proceedings, followed by a pierce of corporate veil action initiated in Spain and parallel insolvency proceedings in Luxembourg
• Successful representation of a European State in court proceedings in France and Luxembourg against a company seeking to enforce an SCC award issued against a defunct State entity

Publications

• Co-authored, French chapter of "In-Depth: International Arbitration", Lexology, Editor John V H Pierce, 15th Edition, 2024
• 2021 ICC rules of arbitration: towards making arbitration even more attractive, Lexology