Global law firm Clyde & Co has today announced the hire of Georg Scherpf as a Counsel and Head of International Arbitration in Hamburg, further growing the firm’s continental European arbitration presence.

Georg is a German-qualified Rechtsanwalt and English-qualified solicitor and practises as counsel and arbitrator in disputes, with extensive experience in a broad range of legal issues and sectors including international trade (CISG), corporate disputes (joint venture and post M&A), energy (particularly offshore wind and solar) as well as construction disputes. He has represented clients in commercial arbitrations under most major institutional rules (ICC, LCIA, SCC, AAA and DIS) and ad hoc.

He also has a strong focus on public international law and has acted as counsel in investment treaty arbitrations (ICSID, UNCITRAL and ad-hoc) including proceedings against Albania, Spain, Czech Republic, and Germany under bilateral investment treaties (BITs) and the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT). Moreover, he focuses his practice on the wider CIS-region, in particular Ukraine, and the Balkans. He is very well connected in the arbitration community through his previous coordinator roles with the DIS40 (Hamburg) and YIAG (Europe).

Georg, who joins from German law firm Luther, will form part of Clyde & Co’s core arbitration group, which focusses on advising corporates, investors and states in complex investment and commercial arbitrations. His arrival follows the hiring of international arbitration partners Hery Ranjeva and Ivan Urzhumov from Foley Hoag in Paris in October. Georg will work closely with this Paris team as well as the team in London.

Clyde & Co opened its office in Hamburg in February 2019 through the hiring of four partners and their teams. Clyde & Co Hamburg has developed to provide market-leading legal advice to the marine, insurance, energy and trade sectors, and act in relation to commercial disputes with a focus on domestic and international arbitration work. The office has experienced significant growth and diversification while retaining its sector focus.

Georg’s arrival comes as Clyde & Co opens its Munich office this week, further increasing the firm’s presence in Germany.

Maurice Kenton, Partner and Co-Chair of Clyde & Co’s Global Arbitration Group, comments: “Georg compliments our cross border disputes teams in Paris and London and his hire underlines our commitment at Clyde & Co to developing our disputes presence following the hires in Paris late last year. His experience and geographic focus complement our existing capabilities superbly and bringing him on board will enable us to service our clients even more comprehensively wherever they need us.

Daniel Jones, Partner in Clyde & Co’s Hamburg office, comments: Georg is a rising star who is very well-regarded in the European international arbitration market, and so his arrival is an important step for the group. It continues the development of our international arbitration and litigation practice in Germany and his practice dovetails well with the work of our colleagues in Paris and London. It adds a new dimension to the work we do with clients in Hamburg.

Georg Scherpf comments “I feel that joining Clyde & Co is the natural next step to develop my career and practice and take advantage of a truly global platform and the potential of working with Clyde’s arbitration teams in London and Paris. Clyde’s energy and trade focus are also a perfect match for my arbitration portfolio.

Clyde & Co’s International Arbitration Group specialises in representing its clients in complex, big-ticket, multi-jurisdictional international arbitrations across sectors and in the world’s established and emerging markets. The group has a breadth and depth of arbitration experience, and clients include corporations, investors, financial institutions, private individuals, governments, states and state-owned entities.

Clyde & Co’s International Arbitration Group specialises in representing its clients in complex, big-ticket, multi-jurisdictional international arbitrations across sectors and in the world’s established and emerging markets. The group has a breadth and depth of arbitration experience, and clients include corporations, investors, financial institutions, private individuals, governments, states and state-owned entities.