Steven Finizio's practice focuses on international dispute resolution. Mr. Finizio also serves as an arbitrator. He has particular experience with energy, financial services, shareholder, joint venture and M&A, and manufacturing issues. He has advised clients regarding disputes under the rules of most of the well-recognized international arbitration institutions and governed by the laws of jurisdictions in Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America and the US, as well as under bilateral and regional investment treaties. His pro bono work has included assisting a Central European government to draft new arbitration legislation and he was part of a team that won a landmark decision in the first freedom of expression case in the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights in Issa Loha Konaté v Burkina Faso.

Professional Activities

Mr. Finizio speaks regularly on international arbitration at conferences and seminars. He is Professor of Practice at SOAS University of London and Deputy Director of the SOAS School of Law Arbitration and Dispute Resolution Centre (SADRC). He is a founding member of the International Dispute Resolution Academy (IDRA) and is on the faculty at the Cologne Academy of Arbitration. He also has been on the faculty for the Foundation for International Arbitration Advocacy (FIAA) and the Africa International Legal Awareness (AILA) International Treaty Law and Arbitration Programme.

Mr. Finizio is a member of the GIAC Arbitration Council and a member of the Protem Committee for the AIAC Court of Arbitration. He also is a member of the Global Arbitration Review Editorial Board and the Lexis®PSL Arbitration Consulting Editorial Board, as well as a member of the Advisory Committee of the Institute for Transnational Arbitration (ITA).

He is a member of a number of arbitration and international law institutions and related associations, including the International Bar Association (IBA), Swiss Arbitration Association (ASA), American Society of International Law (ASIL), the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) and the International Council for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA). In addition, Mr. Finizio is a Member of the Board of Trustees for the Media Defence Legal Initiative and the Advisory Board of the Institute of Small and Micro States.

Publications

Mr. Finizio publishes extensively on issues relating to international dispute resolution. He is the co-author of "A Practical Guide to International Commercial Arbitration: Assessment, Planning and Strategy," (Sweet & Maxwell 2010) (second edition forthcoming), and "International Commercial Arbitration," in The Law of Transnational Business Transactions (Nanda, ed. Thomson Reuters updated 2020). See “Publications” under “Insights & News” for a full list of Mr. Finizio’s publications and articles.