Robert Amsterdam is an international lawyer with 35 years experience

working on high-profile cases in emerging markets. His law firm Amsterdam

& Partners LLP, with offices in London and Washington DC, is frequently

sought after for its unique practice areas which explore synergies between

public international law, international criminal law, and political advocacy.

Amsterdam has been retained by multinational mining and energy

corporations on issues pertaining to resource nationalism and expropriation,

while also representing sovereigns in disputes with foreign investors. His

unique blend of political advocacy and international law has led to his

retention by several world leaders, such as the former Prime Minister of

Thailand Thaksin Shinawatra, former President of Zambia Rupiah Banda,

Ugandan MP Robert Kyagulanyi (Bobi Wine), Governor Godswill Akpabio of

Akwa Ibom State in Nigeria, among other high profile figures.

With significant experience on the ground in emerging economies across

Africa, Asia, Eurasia, and Latin America, Amsterdam has successively settled

disputes for major corporations such as PWC and the Four Seasons Hotel &

Resorts Group, while also advising companies on opening new markets and

managing political risk.

The law firm is well known for its pro bono practice in human rights,

including the defense of the award-winning democracy activist Dr. Chee

Soon Juan of Singapore, Ilya Ponomarev, an exiled Russian State Duma

Deputy, and the journalist Stephan Templ, who recently became the first

Jewish political prisoner of Austria. The firm has also represented Georges

Tadonki, a United Nations employee who survived a campaign of intimidation

by officials in Zimbabwe – a case which resulted in Amsterdam & Partners

LLP being awarded the 2013 Global Pro Bono Dispute of the Year Award

from American Lawyer.

Amsterdam has also represented high profile political prisoners, such as the

former head of the Yukos oil company in Russia, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, and

the Venezuelan businessman Eligio Cedeño, who was successfully released

into freedom.

As a prolific columnist and blogger, Amsterdam’s writings have been

published in the International Herald Tribune, the Financial Times, the Wall

Street Journal, the Washington Post, and the Fordham International Law

Journal, among other publications. Amsterdam has made several television

appearances on networks such as CNN, CNBC, Bloomberg, BBC, and Fox

News. A profile feature of Amsterdam was published in the magazine

American Lawyer in February 2012.

Amsterdam is a member of the Canadian and International Bar Associations,

and is licensed as a solicitor in the United Kingdom. He earned his BA from

Carleton University in Ottawa, and studied law at Queen’s University in

Ontario (LLB).