Catherine Airfare Rejoins Debevoise From the State Department

Debevoise is pleased to announce that Catherine Amirfar has returned to the firm as a partner in the International Dispute Resolution Group in New York, following a two-year stint as Counselor on International Law to the Legal Adviser at the U.S. Department of State. She will focus on international commercial and treaty arbitration, public international law, and international and complex commercial litigation, strengthening the firm's market-leading international disputes practice even further.

During her tenure as Counselor, Ms. Amirfar advised the State Department on its most significant litigation matters involving international law and foreign relations, and liaised with senior officials of the Departments of Justice and Defense, the National Security Council and the Office of White House Counsel. She represented the United States before international bodies and broadly advised the State Department on international legal issues arising in the areas of human rights, armed conflict, sovereign and diplomatic immunity, international claims settlement and the intersection of U.S. and international law. Ms. Amirfar received the State Department’s Superior Honor Award in recognition of her contributions to the Department.

Throughout her career, Ms. Amirfar has represented multinational corporations, sovereign states and international organizations in both U.S. courts and before international arbitration tribunals.

Debevoise maintains one of the world’s foremost international arbitration practices. The group’s lawyers handle a wide range of the most challenging disputes and lead professional organizations dedicated to arbitration, including the International Council for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA). In the words of The Legal 500 US 2010, Debevoise is “in a class of its own in the US, and among the top five internationally.”