Charles (Chuck) Kotuby

Chuck is Of Counsel based in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office. His practice focuses on international commercial and treaty-based arbitration, transnational litigation, and public international law.

Previously a partner at an international law firm, he spent over twenty years as an international law counsel representing multinational corporations and sovereign states in complex international disputes.

Chuck’s representative experience includes:

  • acting for an Estonian company in an ICSID arbitration relating to an investment in a construction project in Kazakhstan
  • acting for U.S. investors in a treaty-based arbitration claim arising out of the financial services industry in Poland
  • acting for a Middle Eastern State in an OIC arbitration relating to a claim by a Qatari aviation company
  • acting for a Canadian company in an ICSID arbitration relating to an investment in Kazakhstan’s gold mining industry
  • acting for a Canadian company in an UNCITRAL arbitration relating to an investment in Kazakhstan’s uranium mining industry
  • acting for a Turkish company and individuals in an ICSID arbitration against Uzbekistan in relation to an investment in the country’s gas transportation industry

Chuck is a Professor of Practice at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, an Honorary Professor at Durham Law School and a Visiting Professor of Law at the Kyiv School of Economics.  He teaches courses in international arbitration, public international law and international human rights. He has published extensively, authoring or co-authoring more than two dozen articles and book chapters over the last 20 years.

Chuck is a member of the United States Government Delegation to UNCITRAL Working Group III on Reforms to Investor-State Dispute Settlement and the U.S. State Department Advisory Committee on Private International Law.  Prior to his time in private practice and academia, he was was a research fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Foreign and Private International Law in Hamburg, Germany, and a Law Clerk to the Honourable Joseph F. Weis on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

Chambers USA has recognised him as a Band 1 lawyer, calling him a “wonderful lawyer” and a “standout person…known for his…extensive multijurisdictional expertise.”

Chuck is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law (JD ’01, BA ’97), and the University of Durham (LLM ’00), and is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia and Pennsylvania.

Briana Young

Briana is our Professional Support Counsel in the London office. She has over 20 years’ experience of international arbitration law and practice in the UK, Europe and Asia. She supports Three Crowns’ clients and colleagues on a broad range of legal and procedural issues relating to arbitration and international law, ensuring that our advice reflects latest developments and best practice. In addition to knowledge management, Briana is responsible for coordinating external publications, devising and delivering internal and external training, and working with the firm’s leadership team on business planning, strategy and pricing.

Briana is an active member of the international arbitration community. She serves as Vice Chair of the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre and Chair of the HKIAC Proceedings and Rules Revision Committees. She is a member of Hong Kong’s Advisory Body on Outcome Related Fee Structures for Arbitration, in which capacity she was closely involved in introducing and drafting new legislation to permit success fees for arbitrations in the territory. Briana writes and coordinates content for numerous international arbitration publications and sits on Practical Law’s Editorial Board. She is a regular speaker at arbitration events, and has taught at Tsinghua University, Beijing and the Paris Arbitration Academy.

Briana graduated from Oxford University with a BA in Classics.

She is admitted to practice in England & Wales and speaks English and French.

Shaun Pereira

Shaun, counsel in the Singapore office, has advised and represented States, State-owned entities and multinational corporations in disputes subject to arbitration under the ICC, SIAC, HKIAC, LCIA, UNCITRAL, and AAA-ICDR rules in proceedings across the energy, construction, and financial services sectors.

Shaun’s experience includes:

  • Acting for the operator of an infrastructure project in Asia in a dispute with the government arising out of the concession agreement and the EPC contractor consortium arising out of the construction contract
  • Acting for a national oil company in a dispute with an international trading house and another national oil company arising out of long-term crude oil supply contracts
  • Acting for a global energy company in a dispute with its joint venture partner arising out of a power project in Asia
  • Acting for the owner of a power plant in Asia in a dispute with an EPC contractor and heavy equipment supplier consortium arising out of the development of the power plant
  • Acting for a Southeast Asian real estate developer in a dispute with a consortium of international investors arising out of a suite of financing and corporate documents
  • Acting for a NASDAQ-listed acquirer in a post-M&A dispute with the founders and promoters of the target business

Shaun is listed in The Legal 500 Asia Pacific, in which clients describe him as “impressive”, “outstanding”, and “up and coming”. He teaches as Adjunct Faculty at the Singapore Management University and has published on international arbitration in leading journals, including the Journal of International Arbitration, the Lloyd’s Maritime and Commercial Law Quarterly, and the Civil Justice Quarterly.

Shaun previously served in a judicial capacity as a magistrate and assistant registrar in the High Court of Singapore and the Singapore International Commercial Court. Before that, he clerked for the Chief Justice and Justices of the Supreme Court of Singapore.

Donald (Trey) Earl Childress III

Trey is Of Counsel based in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office. His practice focuses on international arbitration and litigation, public international law, and private international law (conflict of laws).

Trey has briefed and argued cases as counsel before the International Court of Justice and has consulted as an expert on various matters before international arbitral tribunals, with particular experience in PCA and ICSID-administered arbitrations. He has appeared as counsel before courts throughout the United States, including the United States Supreme Court, and has appeared as an expert before various courts outside of the United States. Trey was the 28th Counselor on International Law to the Legal Adviser at the U.S. State Department, which involved advising on the formulation of the government’s arbitration and litigation strategy. He also represented the United States before international bodies, including as part of the U.S. delegation to UNCITRAL Working Group III (regarding reforms to Investor-State Dispute Settlement), before the Council of Europe’s Committee of Legal Advisers on Public International Law (CAHDI), and in the Diplomatic Session of the Hague Judgments Convention.

Trey is a tenured professor of law at the Pepperdine University Caruso School of Law and has been a Scholar-in-Residence at the New York University School of Law’s Center for Transnational Litigation, Arbitration, and Commercial Law, and a visiting professor of law at the Washington & Lee University School of Law. He teaches courses on international arbitration and litigation, international business transactions, conflict of laws, comparative law, ethical considerations in international arbitration, civil procedure, and ethical lawyering. He has also taught courses through the Center for American and International Law.

Trey regularly writes law review articles and is a co-author of Transnational Law and Practice (Aspen Publishers 2015 & 2021) and Transnational Litigation in a Nutshell (West Academic 2021). He has co-edited a volume entitled Private International Law and Arbitration (Edward Elgar 2018). He has also organised academic conferences on the relationship between international arbitration and courts.

Trey is an elected member of the American Law Institute, a member of the Institute for Transnational Arbitration’s Academic Council, a director of the American Society of Comparative Law, and a member of the Advisory Committee on International Law of the U.S. State Department.

Hamid Abdulkareem

Hamid, counsel in the London office, is an experienced arbitration practitioner and litigator, having regularly advised multinational companies on an extensive range of disputes, particularly within the energy and natural resources sector. He has played a lead role in multiple disputes arising from Nigeria’s deep offshore production sharing contracts, resulting in successful outcomes for his clients.

Hamid’s experience includes:

  • Representing three ENI subsidiaries in an ICSID arbitration against the Federal Republic of Nigeria arising out the State’s refusal to grant an oil mining license to allow production to proceed in Nigeria’s deep offshore. The case involves allegations of corruption. US$2.5 billion is at stake
  • Representing a supermajor in an ICC arbitration against a Middle Eastern State-owned entity in relation to a dispute arising out of the supermajor’s assignment of its interest in a technical services contract
  • Acting for a consortium of oil and gas companies comprising ExxonMobil, Total, Chevron, and Nexen subsidiaries in a dispute relating to recovery of operating costs totalling US$1.5 billion
  • Representing Chevron and Equinor subsidiaries in a claim for damages for the overlifting of crude oil under a production sharing contract, resulting in a US$1 billion award for the oil companies
  • Advising contract parties under five deep offshore production contracts in disputes arising from the Nigerian government’s demand for multibillion-dollar payments in respect of alleged historical unpaid revenue
  • Representing Chevron and Equinor subsidiaries in Nigerian court proceedings resulting in the landmark decision that Nigerian courts have no jurisdiction to issue anti-arbitration injunctions

Hamid is a current Co-Chair of the International Bar Association’s Insolvency and International Arbitration Working Group, the Young Africa Chair for the Institute for Transnational Arbitration, and a member of the Lagos Court of Arbitration’s Young Arbitrators Network’s Advisory Board. He previously served as Co-Chair of the International Bar Association’s Arb40 subcommittee.

Hamid has been recognised in Who’s Who Legal: Future Leaders for Arbitration and as a National Leader for arbitration in Nigeria, having been described as “an exceptional advocate” who is “sharp as a tack” and “definitely one to watch”. Hamid is also recognised in The Legal 500 UK for international arbitration and public international law. He is qualified in Nigeria and was educated at the London School of Economics and Political Science and the University of Ilorin, Nigeria.

Richard Trinick

Richard, counsel in our London office, has acted on many large and complex arbitrations across a variety of sectors and regions, with a particular focus on energy, M&A, finance, and life sciences disputes.

Richard’s recent experience includes:

  • acting for an American lifestyle company in an LCIA arbitration and parallel expert determinations relating to the buy-out of an Indian joint venture
  • representing Naturgy in its billion-dollar investment treaty claim against Colombia relating to the regulatory framework for the supply of electricity
  • advising an international pharmaceutical company on post-acquisition claims and supply agreement claims
  • acting for a telecommunications company in an ICC arbitration relating to an earn-out payment following the acquisition of an African telecommunications business
  • representing a power company in a dispute over the termination of a power plant project in Eastern Europe
  • acting for an Asian national energy company in an LNG pricing dispute relating to a project in Australia
  • acting for a consortium of international oil and gas companies in defending cost recovery claims brought by a Middle-Eastern state entity in an ICC arbitration
  • representing an Asian national energy company in an ICC arbitration relating to issues of force majeure regarding the quantity of gas reserves in a field Indonesia
  • acting for a European bank in post-acquisition claims relating to a Spanish credit card business
  • defending the shareholders of several banks against claims brought by another shareholder across five consolidated LCIA arbitrations

Richard is recognised as a recommended lawyer for international arbitration in The Legal 500 UK’s 2023 and 2024 guides.

Richard has also been appointed as sole arbitrator under the ICC Rules in relation to a financial services dispute.  Prior to joining Three Crowns, Richard spent 12 months on secondment to the M&A team at SABMiller, then the second-largest brewing company in the world.

Richard is an English-qualified solicitor-advocate (Higher Courts Civil) who holds a degree in Jurisprudence from Oxford University.

Ryan Manton

Ryan is Counsel in the Paris office. He practises in all areas of international dispute settlement, including international commercial arbitration, investment treaty arbitration and inter-State disputes. His experience extends across cases before a wide range of international tribunals, including as counsel before arbitral tribunals and standing international courts. His arbitration practice has included cases governed by a range of applicable laws spanning international law and both common law and civil law legal systems, and it has covered various industry sectors with particular experience in disputes arising in the energy and financial sectors.

Ryan’s recent experience includes acting as counsel for:

  • Crescent Petroleum in two multibillion-dollar commercial arbitrations arising out of the National Iranian Oil Company’s failure to supply gas under a long-term contract
  • A group of minority shareholders in a multibillion-dollar commercial arbitration arising out of a dispute between shareholders in a Korean life insurance company
  • An international commodities trader in a commercial arbitration involving early determination proceedings
  • A European sovereign defending a confidential investment treaty claim brought by a Russian investor
  • The Sultanate of Oman in ICSID annulment proceedings brought by a Turkish investor
  • The Kingdom of Bahrain in parallel cases against Qatar before the International Court of Justice regarding the jurisdiction of the ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organisation) Council

Before joining Three Crowns, Ryan completed a doctorate in Public International Law at the University of Oxford, where he also taught Public International Law and English Contract Law.  He was formerly a Judge’s Clerk at the New Zealand Court of Appeal and a Teaching Fellow in Law at Victoria University of Wellington.

Ryan was educated in New Zealand at the University of Canterbury, where he received first class honours degrees in both Law and Arts (Ancient History), and then at Magdalen College, Oxford, where he was a Rhodes Scholar and received a Bachelor of Civil Law (Distinction) and a Doctor of Philosophy.

Ryan is admitted as a Barrister and a Solicitor in New Zealand.

Penny Martin

Penny, counsel in the Singapore office, has more than a decade of experience in international commercial arbitration, public international law, and international human rights law. Her primary focus has been on energy-related disputes, including disputes relating to long-term oil and gas agreements (including environmental, abandonment and decommissioning, and cost recovery issues), renewable energy, gas pricing, licensing, and intellectual property.

Penny’s experience includes:

  • Representing an oil major in a dispute relating to a sale and purchase agreement and pre-emption rights in the UK North Sea
  • Representing an oil major in a decommissioning dispute against a South-Asian State under two concession agreements adopting the 1946 ICJ Rules
  • Representing a leading European wind turbine manufacturer in a dispute relating to the effect of the termination of a cross-licensing agreement governed by Illinois law on certain licenses relating to patented wind turbine technology
  • Representing a major European State-owned gas supplier in various disputes relating to gas pricing and pipeline operational issues, including set-aside proceedings in Sweden
  • Representing an international consortium of oil and gas companies defending cost recovery and related accounting claims relating to operations in a Middle Eastern State
  • Advising an oil major in respect of the termination of two production sharing agreements with a Middle Eastern State and related end of production sharing agreement issues, including cost recovery and decommissioning issues
  • Representing an international consortium of oil and gas companies defending environmental, technical, and operational claims of US$800 million arising out of historical operations by the Ministry of Oil & Minerals of a Middle Eastern State

Penny also has a background in academia and co-authored the leading text on the appointment of international judges entitled Selecting International Judges: Principle, Process, and Politics (Oxford University Press, 2010), which examined the process for appointing judges to the International Court of Justice, International Criminal Court, and other international courts and tribunals.  Recently, Penny assisted in the preparation of the Report of the UN Human Rights Council Advisory Committee recommending measures to improve gender balance in international human rights bodies and mechanisms. Her pro bono work has included assisting with an amicus brief submitted in Moore v. Texas (US Supreme Court).

Penny was named a “Rising Star” in International Arbitration in The Legal 500 UK having been previously recognised as “Highly Regarded”. She received her BA/LLB (Hons) from Monash University and LLM in Public International Law (with Distinction) from the University of Glasgow. Penny is admitted to practice in England and Wales and Victoria, Australia.

Jonathan Fernandes

Jonathan, an English-qualified solicitor advocate and Counsel based in the London office, has extensive experience acting as counsel in complex, high-value international commercial and investment treaty arbitrations across a wide range of sectors (including energy, aerospace, commodity trading, mining, finance, construction, and insurance) under all major arbitration rules. His most recent representative matters include:

  • Representing a US aerospace multinational in a billion-dollar ICDR arbitration, seated in New York, against a Latin American aerospace company arising out of the termination of agreements to establish and operate joint ventures in the commercial and defence aviation sectors
  • Representing a leading oil and gas major in a billion-dollar Stockholm-seated UNCITRAL arbitration against a former Soviet State arising from breaches of a profits tax stabilisation clause in a production sharing agreement resulting in the overpayment of taxes
  • Representing two consortiums of leading oil and gas investors in several distinct Stockholm-seated UNCITRAL arbitrations against a Central Asian State relating to the division of profits, the recovery of costs, and the State’s use of its tax audit and other regulatory powers
  • Representing mining investors in a Singapore-seated UNCITRAL/PCA arbitration against an African State under the Investment Protocol of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Treaty in relation to the confiscation of mining rights and a subsequent international denial of justice
  • Representing a power generation company in a London-seated UNCITRAL arbitration against an African State, concerning the State’s wrongful termination of an emergency power purchase agreement to relocate, re-install, and operate two existing combined-cycle power plants
  • Representing a French business owner in a Toronto-seated ICCPR arbitration with a US dental company arising from a post-M&A dispute
  • Representing a consortium of leading oil and gas companies in a Hague-seated UNCITRAL arbitration against a South American State arising out of tax liabilities and threats to take control of an oil pipeline
  • Representing a major wind power supplier in a Hague-seated UNCITRAL arbitration against a Western Asian State under a bilateral investment treaty and national investment law, relating to liability under certain performance bonds

Jonathan recently completed a one-year secondment as Legal Counsel at one of the world’s leading independent commodity trading and logistics houses, where he provided legal and strategic advice on several high-stakes disputes while working closely with their in-house and commercial teams.

Jonathan has published pieces on topics of international interest, such as sovereign immunity and arbitration on the African continent.