Steven Finizio is a partner in the firm's Litigation/Controversy and Securities Departments, and a member of the International Arbitration and Securities Litigation and Enforcement Practice Groups. Prior to joining the London office in 2000, Mr. Finizio practiced in the firm's Washington, DC office. He joined the firm in 1993.
Practice
Mr. Finizio's practice focuses on complex commercial and regulatory disputes, and concentrates primarily on international arbitration and alternative dispute resolution and internal investigations. Mr. Finizio also serves as an arbitrator in international commercial arbitrations.
Mr. Finizio has advised clients on matters arising under the rules of all the major international arbitration institutions, and in disputes sited in both common law and civil law jurisdictions and governed by the laws of jurisdictions in Europe, Asia and the US. Mr. Finizio also frequently advises on the drafting of dispute resolution clauses for commercial agreements.
In addition to international arbitration matters, Mr. Finizio has advised clients on matters in US federal and state courts and before a variety of regulatory and law enforcement agencies, including the US Securities and Exchange Commission, US Attorneys Offices and the UK Financial Services Authority. He also has been involved in responding to a number of government investigations on behalf of US and European clients, and has conducted internal investigations for clients in Europe, Asia and the US.
Recent Highlights
Mr. Finizio’s current and recent work includes representing a number of oil field services companies in a dispute concerning a consulting agreement sited in London; a European telecommunications company in a dispute concerning a joint venture company sited in Geneva; a multinational energy company in a dispute concerning LNG sales contracts; a multinational manufacturing company in an IP dispute; a multinational oil and gas company in a dispute with African parties sited in London; a European telecommunications company in arbitrations sited in Vienna, Geneva, and Brussels; a US-based insurance company in an arbitration sited in Paris; a Russian investment bank in an arbitration sited in London; and several international energy companies in an ad hoc expert determination sited in Washington, DC.
Mr. Finizio has been responsible for internal investigations concerning corporate governance and compliance issues for an international bank in the UK and a European telecommunications company. He also recently helped a central European government draft a new arbitration law.
Professional Activities
Mr. Finizio is an adjunct professor at Pepperdine University Law School in London, where he teaches International Commercial Arbitration. Mr. Finizio has served as a UK representative on ICC task forces on dispute resolution issues.
Honors and Awards
Mr. Finizio is recognized as a leading practitioner in the field of international dispute resolution. He has received the following rankings from client and peer reviews:
- Recommended in the 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 editions of Legal 500 UK in corporate and commercial: financial services (2008) and dispute resolution: arbitration (2008-2011)
- Recognized as a leader in his field in the 2007, 2008, 2011 and 2012 editions of Chambers Europe, and in the 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 editions of Chambers Global: The World's Leading Lawyers
- Named a leading international arbitration lawyer in each edition of Chambers UK: A Client’s Guide to the UK Legal Profession since 2003
- Featured in Global Arbitration Review's The Who's Who in International Arbitration (2008)
- Recognized in the 2011 editions of Who's Who Legal: The International Who's Who of Business Lawyers (Arbitration chapter)
- Recommended by PLC Which Lawyer? 2011 as a leader in the "dispute resolution: arbitration" category
- Named in Euromoney Guide to the World’s Leading Experts in Commercial Arbitration in 2004, 2006 and 2008
- Recognized by his peers as one of the world's leading experts in commercial arbitration in Legal Media Group's The Best of the Best
- Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering 1995 and 1997 Awards for Outstanding Pro Bono Service
Speaking Engagements
Mr. Finizio speaks regularly on international arbitration at conferences and seminars, including at the 21st ICC/AAA/ICSID Joint Colloquium on International Arbitration, the International Chamber of Commerce, the British Institute of International and Comparative Law, the German Arbitration Institute (DIS), ASA Below 40, and the Cairo Regional International Commercial Arbitration Centre. In the past several years, he has spoken on the topic of international dispute resolution in Paris, London, Stuttgart, Bern, Zurich, New York, Beijing, Tokyo, Cairo, and Riga.
Publications
Among other publications, Mr. Finizio is co-author of A Practical Guide to International Commercial Arbitration: Assessment, Planning and Strategy (Sweet & Maxwell) and also of "International Commercial Arbitration" in The Law of Transnational Business Transactions (West 2004) and is a contributing editor to the International Comparative Legal Guide to International Arbitration (Global Legal Group 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007). Topics of recent articles include the taking of evidence, revision of the UNCITRAL rules, anti-suit injunctions, arbitrator conflicts, revisions to the ICSID rules, provisional measures in investor-state arbitration, a comparative law discussion of the “plain meaning” rule of contract interpretation, and expert determination clauses.