Constantine Partasides QC, a partner in the London office of Three Crowns, was quoted in a Law360 article on 9 March titled “International Arbitration Boutiques Flourish As BigLaw Gets The Slip.”
Constantine recounted to Law360 that he and the firm’s other founding partners began thinking seriously about launching a new firm after considering the success of specialist disputes practices in the United States:
“What we saw in that was that discriminating clients who wanted the very best advocacy would go to a specialist advocacy firm, even if they had very sound relationships with full-service firms for other matters. The judgment we made was that international arbitration advocacy was the same thing. You’re purchasing the kind of advocacy that can make a difference in the biggest disputes. In that sense, arbitration is the opposite of a commoditized legal service. It’s very much about the capability of those who are doing it — the advocates.”
Constantine is also quoted in relation to Three Crowns’ unique value proposition as a market-leading specialist firm:
“The upside in the specialist firm model is that every decision we make, from hiring, to mandate selection, to promotions, to training of our people is dedicated to one thing only, and that is representation in international arbitrations. We made a judgment in 2014 that we thought that repeat users of arbitration services increasingly will see this is a specialism, and that they will look for specialist knowledge and specialist support. It seems that that judgment has been vindicated. I think when we see others doing the same, we see that as a vote of confidence in the model.”
The full article is available here.
ABOUT CONSTANTINE PARTASIDES QC
Constantine, a partner in our London office, is recognised in all major directories and publications. Chambers UK list him as a “Star Individual” in International Arbitration—one of only two lawyers with this ranking, he was named in the “Hall of Fame” for International Arbitration in the 2021 edition The Legal 500 UK, and has been ranked as one of the “Top 20” individuals in the world of commercial arbitration every year since 2011 by Who’s Who Legal.
Constantine is a co-author of the fourth, fifth, and sixth editions of the leading textbook on international arbitration, “Redfern and Hunter on International Arbitration.”
Constantine is a solicitor-advocate (Higher Courts Civil) and was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 2014. He was educated at King’s College, London, and Cambridge University.
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