Etienne, a French avocat and senior associate based in the Paris office, has acted for private and sovereign clients in many complex, high-value international arbitrations across a wide range of sectors (including oil & gas, electricity, aviation, and automobile distribution) under all major arbitration rules. His practice has a particular focus on disputes arising out of major infrastructure and construction projects in the Middle East, North Africa, Asia and Europe. Etienne also has experience of enforcement and annulment proceedings before the French courts.

Etienne’s recent experience includes:

  • Representing a European contractor in an ICC arbitration arising out of the construction of a natural gas processing plant in North Africa
  • Securing a victory for a Middle Eastern government in an expert determination over testing requirements and procedures for a power and desalination plant project
  • Representing a European contractor in an ICC arbitration arising from a dual-fuel power plant project against a North African State-owned company
  • Securing a US$100 million ICC award for an Emirati-Algerian energy generation company in a dispute against a North African State-owned company
  • Securing a victory for an aviation consultancy firm in an ICC arbitration against a major aircraft manufacturer over unpaid remuneration and the termination of agency contracts
  • Securing a victory for the Kingdom of Bahrain in a challenge against the enforcement of an ICC award before the Paris Court of Appeal
  • Representing Middle Eastern distributors in disputes against major Asian and European automobile manufacturers

Etienne teaches courses on annulment and enforcement proceedings at Sciences Po Paris and regularly publishes on international arbitration. He notably contributed to the treatise Provisional and Emergency Measures in International Arbitration (J. Fouret Ed., Edward Elgar Publishing 2023) and to the third edition of the GAR Guide to Challenging and Enforcing Arbitration Awards (Law Business Research 2023).  

Etienne is admitted in Paris and speaks French and English. He holds Master’s degrees from Paris I Pantheon-Sorbonne University and ESSEC Business School, and a Bachelor’s degree from Lyon II Lumière University.