T: +1 212 909 7423
E: camirfar@debevoise.com
W: www.debevoise.com
Catherine Amirfar is a litigation partner in the International Dispute Resolution Group and Co-Chair of the firm’s Public International Law Group. Her practice focuses on international commercial and treaty arbitration, international and complex commercial litigation, and public international law.
Before 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, where she 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 U.S. 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 arbitration and claims settlement, and the intersection of U.S. and international law. She also received the State Department’s Superior Honor Award in recognition of her contributions to the Department.
Ms. Amirfar is recognized as a leading lawyer by:
- Benchmark Litigation:
- 2018 and 2017 ‒ which recognized her as one of its “Top 250 Women in Litigation”
- Chambers Global:
- 2018 ‒ where sources praise “her mastery of the relevant laws and her use of emotional intelligence to communicate effectively.”
- Who’s Who Legal: Arbitration:
- 2018 and 2017 ‒ where she was lauded as “absolutely first rate, with a spectacular breadth of experience.”
- The Legal 500 US:
- 2017 ‒ where she ranked as a “Leading Lawyer”
Ms. Amirfar is among the youngest advocates ever to argue before the International Court of Justice. She 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. She is a member of the American Law Institute, the Council on Foreign Relations, the Court of the Singapore International Arbitration Center, the State Department’s Advisory Council on International Law, and has served as Vice President of the American Society of International Law. She previously served as an officer of the Arbitration Committee of the International Bar Association.
Ms. Amirfar joined the firm in 2002 and became a partner in 2008. She clerked for the Honorable D.A. Batts, Southern District of New York (2000-2002). She received her J.D. cum laude from NYU Law School in 2000 and her B.A. with honors from Stanford University in 1995.
Last Updated July 2018
