Speaker details

Biography

Catherine Amirfar is Co-Chair of Debevoise’s International Dispute Resolution Group and the Public International Law Group. Her practice focuses on public international law, international commercial and treaty arbitration, and complex international commercial litigation. She served on Debevoise’s management committee from 2019 to 2025. With over 25 years of experience, Ms. Amirfar has argued before U.S. courts, as well as international courts and arbitration tribunals sitting around the world, including the International Court of Justice. She has deep expertise representing countries, international organizations, and multinational companies. Ms. Amirfar is consistently recognized at the very top of her field by the major legal directories. She is ranked in Band 1 in both Chambers Global (Global Market Leaders) and Chambers USA for International Arbitration and is a Star Individual in Public International Law. Ms. Amirfar is a member of the Governing Board of the International Council for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA), the leading global organization of international arbitrators and arbitration practitioners, the Court of Arbitration of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre, and served as Co-Chair of the ICCA-ASIL Task Force on Damages in International Arbitration. In 2021, Ms. Amirfar was appointed Deputy Co-Chair of the High Level Panel of Legal Experts on Media Freedom, an independent body that was established in July 2019 by the United Kingdom and Canada to provide advice to the 50 countries that are members of the Media Freedom Coalition. In 2014, Ms. Amirfar was selected by Chambers USA as the Pro Bono Private Practice Lawyer of the Year. In 2026, she was named the IBA Outstanding International Woman Lawyer. Prior to rejoining Debevoise in 2016, Ms. Amirfar spent two years as the Counselor on International Law to the Legal Adviser at the U.S. Department of State, and received the State Department’s Superior Honor Award in recognition of her contributions. During her tenure as Counselor, Ms. Amirfar represented the United States before international bodies and advised the State Department on international legal issues arising in the areas of human rights, armed conflict, sovereign and diplomatic immunity, international arbitration and claims settlement, and the intersection of U.S. and international law. Ms. Amirfar has written extensively on international arbitration, the relationship between international law and U.S. domestic law, international human rights and humanitarian law; investor-state disputes; and the law of consular and diplomatic immunities. She is a frequent lecturer on international law and has guest-lectured at Yale Law School and NYU Law School, among others.