Although international arbitration boutique practices barely existed a decade ago, there are now dozens of international arbitration boutiques throughout the world.

A boutique law firm is a specialized legal practice composed of a small number of lawyers, who are experts in a certain field of law. The cost of their legal services is usually more competitive than those of large international corporate firms, although this is not always true.

International arbitration boutiques tend to focus solely on disputes capable of being resolved via arbitration, although some practices call themselves boutique arbitration practices while also practicing other fields of law.

Boutique arbitration practices are typically based in cities which are popular seats of arbitration, such as Paris or London. Most boutique practices provide legal representation for clients in any jurisdiction, however, so firms in Geneva, Paris or London often serve as legal counsel for arbitrations with their seat in Hong Kong or New York, and the opposite is also true.

As international arbitrations take place via correspondence except for oral hearings, which are few and far between, there is almost never a need for clients to use a boutique arbitration practice located in a given seat of arbitration, except when particular language skills are required that cannot be found elsewhere.

Some arbitration boutiques are just emerging on the market, while others such as Aceris Law, Hanotiau & van Den Berg and Three Crowns are well-established.

Below is a list of the primary international arbitration boutique practices in the field of international arbitration, as of June 2018.

• • Aceris Law LLC (Geneva, Paris, London, Singapore)

  • Andreas Reiner & Partners (Vienna)

  • Appleton Luff (Brussels, Geneva, Washington, Warsaw, Singapore, Kampala)

  • ArbLit (Milan)

  • Arias SLP (Madrid)

  • Archipel (Paris, Geneva)

  • Armesto & Asociados (Madrid)

  • Belot Malan et Associés (Paris)

  • Billiet & Co Lawyers (Brussels)

  • Birch Reynardson & Co (Oxfordshire)

  • BeecheyArbitration (Hong Kong)

  • Betto Seraglini (Paris)

  • Cabrera Cammarota PLLC (New York)

  • Chaffetz Lindsey (New York)

  • Chang Law (Los Angeles)

  • Cooke, Young & Keidan (London)

  • Dan Tan Law (London)

  • David Gold & Associates (London)

  • Derains & Gharavi (Paris, Washington, Beirut)

  • Enyo Law (London)

  • Gabriel Arbitration (Zurich)

  • Hanotiau & van Den Berg (Brussels)

  • Humphries Kerstetter LLP (London)

  • Almoguera Abogados (Madrid)

  • Kirby (Paris)

  • Lazareff Le Bars (Paris)

  • Levy, Kaufmann & Kohler (Geneva)

  • Petsche Pollak (Vienna)

  • Quinn Emanuel Trial Lawyers – Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP (London)

  • Rana IDRS (London)

  • Signature Litigation (London)

  • SDG International Law Firm (Milan, Warsaw, La Romana)

  • Teynier Pic (Paris)

  • Thayananthan Baskaran (Kuala Lumpur)

  • Three Crowns LLP (London, Paris, Washington)

  • Valença Galíndez (São Paulo)

  • Volterra Fietta (London)

  • Wagner Arbitration (Berlin)

  • Zaiwalla & Co Solicitors (London)