Bruce Macaulay

Bruce Macaulay focuses on international arbitration and commercial litigation. Skadden’s London arbitration practice is ranked in the first tier for international arbitration by Chambers UK and The Legal 500. Mr. Macaulay is recommended as a leading individual in both publications, being described in Chambers UK as an “unflappable” lawyer who is “rock solid” and “tenacious,” and a “financial disputes expert.”

Mr. Macaulay concentrates on ICSID, ICC, LCIA, LMAA and ad hoc arbitrations, mediation, and expert determination. He is a solicitor advocate (and has rights of audience in the High Court); a member of the Legal Advisory Task Force to the Energy Charter Secretariat; and a member of the London Court of International Arbitration. Mr. Macaulay lectures regularly on arbitration, mediation, expert determination, enforcement and investment treaty issues.

His experience includes:

• acting for an international investment bank in the defence of claims for in excess of US$500 million concerning complex financial products;
• advising South Sudan in the defence of an ICSID claim (in excess of US$1 billion) filed by Sudapet, the national oil company of the Republic of Sudan;
• acting for a subsidiary of the Shacolas Group, a leading private group operating in a diverse range of industries, including retail, logistics and telecommunications, in a dispute over retail operations at Paphos and Larnaka Airports (Cyprus);
• acting for South Sudan in the recovery of substantial sums representing the proceeds of shipments of crude oil misappropriated by the Republic of Sudan;
• acting for an international investment bank in connection with disputes arising under certain structured finance products involving proceedings in London and New York (in excess of US$1 billion);
• acting in the prosecution of a claim for specific performance under an option agreement in LCIA arbitration in London (in excess of US$250 million);
• acting in the prosecution of a claim under a shareholders agreement in an LCIA arbitration in London (in excess of US$1 billion);
• acting in the defence and counterclaim of a dispute under a share sale agreement brought by Yukos in LCIA arbitration in London (US$18 billion);
• advising on the prosecution of an arbitration under the Energy Charter Treaty against the government of Georgia (ICSID);
• acting in an expert determination for an oil major in connection with a share sale agreement;
• acting in the prosecution of a claim under a share sale agreement (London High Court), and advising on related arbitral proceedings and court actions in a number of jurisdictions concerning the protection of minority shareholder interests;
• acting in an expert review in connection with a share valuation dispute under a shareholder’s agreement;
• acting for an oil company against a Kazakh company in an oil supply dispute resolved by UNCITRAL arbitration administered by the LCIA in London, with elements of English and Kazakh law;
• acting for an international bank in disputes arising in New York and London in connection with certain trading counterparties;
• advising in relation to a dispute between two oil majors under a long-term gas supply agreement, including an arbitration in Oslo under Norwegian law, and representing the same party in a related expert determination;
• acting for the government of Georgia in an ICSID arbitration brought by an international consortium of construction and project finance companies. The dispute was related to the construction and operation of a hydroelectric power station in Georgia and was subject to Georgian law;
• advising on bilateral and multilateral investment protection treaty issues (most recently, the Energy Charter Treaty, the Greece/Georgia BIT and the Iran/Turkey BIT);
• acting for a European bank in relation to a dispute arising out of a share transfer agreement in LCIA arbitration in London, subject to Czech law; and
• acting for an Indian telecommunications company against a North American public company in ICC arbitration in London, subject to New York state law.

Mr. Macaulay is regularly invited to speak at oil and gas-related conferences on international arbitration and bilateral and multilateral investment treaty issues.

Presentations

• “Upstream Oil and Gas,” (2006) a substantive workshop on dispute resolution and the impact of the Energy Charter Treaty and Bilateral Investment Treaties in the energy context;
• “Optimizing PSC’s and JOA’s for Sustained E&P Growth” Seminar (2005), a presentation on Bilateral and Multilateral Investment Treaties;
• “Contract Risk Management in Upstream Oil and Gas Europe 2005,” substantive workshop on international arbitration and dispute resolution for contractors and operators;
• “How to Optimise PSCs and JOAs for Sustained E&P Growth,” (2004), a presentation on the examination of investment treaty protection for the Bilateral and Multilateral Treaties;
• “Contract Risk Management for the LNG Supply Chain,” (2004), a presentation on managing conflict before it spirals out of control: dispute resolution and mediation;
• “How to Manage the Evolving Relationship between NOCs and IOCs Through Effective Production Sharing Agreements,” (2004), a substantive workshop on arbitration and dispute resolution in the PSA context;
• “Oil, Gas and Power in Europe - The New Challenges,” (2003), a presentation on LNG from a litigator’s perspective;
• “Contract Risk Management for Oil and Gas in the Middle East,” (2003), a substantive workshop on dispute resolution and ADR in the Middle East;
• “Gas to Liquids VI,” (2003), a presentation on political risk and managing disputes in the context of the GTL industry;
• “LNG conference,” (2003), a presentation on managing risk in the LNG contractual chain.

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