Dr. Yas Banifatemi is a founding partner of Gaillard Banifatemi Disputes. Prior to that, she was co-Head of the International Arbitration group of Shearman & Sterling, alongside late Professor Emmanuel Gaillard.
She acts as counsel, arbitrator and expert, in both commercial and investment arbitration. She also advises and represents clients on public international law and State-to-State disputes. She is ranked in Band 1 of the Global Market Leaders by Chambers & Partners.
Dr. Banifatemi is a member of the SIAC Court of Arbitration, a former Vice-President of the ICC International Court of Arbitration and a former member of the LCIA Court. She is listed on the ICSID panel of arbitrators, appointed by the Chairman of ICSID’s Administrative Council.
She is the President of the International Arbitration Institute (IAI).
Dr. Banifatemi has authored numerous publications on international arbitration and public international law. She teaches at Harvard Law School, Yale Law School and Panthéon-Sorbonne University. In 2019, she gave a course at The Hague Academy of International Law on the powers of the arbitrators. She co-founded and was the first Secretary-General of the Arbitration Academy.