Philip Devenish is a highly rated solicitor with a heavyweight cross-border disputes practice. In recent years he has won billions of dollars for clients in high-profile cases around the world.
Philip has represented major corporations and financial institutions, ultra-high-net-worth individuals, and sovereign States in some of the largest and most important arbitrations of the past decade, as ranked by The American Lawyer and Global Arbitration Review.
Among other successes, he served on the counsel team that secured a US$1.1 billion damages award for a commercial bank in a landmark arbitration arising out of the expropriation of its investments in Eastern Europe. His recent work includes defending the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in a US$2 billion arbitration arising out of the Qatar diplomatic crisis.
Philip also has acted for British, Australian, and Canadian mining companies in natural resource disputes spanning sub-Saharan Africa, Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, and Australia. According to JusMundi, his team has one of the world's busiest mining arbitration practices.
Philip is consistently ranked as a leading dispute resolution lawyer and has received various accolades for his work. He is named in The Legal 500 UK's Arbitration Powerlist of leading arbitrators who are "deemed the gold standard by businesses." Legal directories describe him as an "exceptionally talented professional" (Chambers UK) who is "widely praised by peers and clients" (Expert Guides) and has "practiced at the very top for many years" (The Legal 500 UK).
Experience
Additional Publications
- 2021
"Enforcement of investment treaty awards against assets of states, state entities and state-owned companies", in Enforcement of Investment Treaty Arbitration Awards (2nd edn., Globe Law and Business, 2021)
"Philip Devenish is an outstanding lawyer. He is forensic and hardworking, and will always go the extra mile for a client."The Legal 500 UK
- University of Oxford (Bachelor of Civil Law 2012; academic scholarship at Christ Church); University of Sydney (Master of Laws with high distinction 2011; first place in multiple subjects); The Hague Academy of International Law (2007); University of Technology, Sydney (Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws with first class honors 2007)
- Senior Courts of England & Wales, High Court and Federal Courts of Australia, Supreme Court of New South Wales, Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Courts, and Abu Dhabi Global Markets (ADGM) Court
Member of one of the world's leading international arbitration teams as ranked by Global Arbitration Review (2022)
Ranked in The Legal 500 UK, Chambers UK, Who's Who Legal, and Expert Guides for international arbitration and public international law
Best Lawyers UK, "outstanding professional excellence" award (2023)
Law360, ranked one of the top five arbitration lawyers globally under 40 years of age (2022)
International Financial Law Review, Europe Award for Commercial Arbitration (2020)
- Reading proficiency in German and in Spanish