Areas of Concentration
Steven A. Hammond specializes in international arbitration and litigation, advising and defending multinational and state enterprises in connection with a broad range of commercial activity. He co-chairs the firm’s International Practice from its head office in New York. Mr. Hammond has appeared as arbitrator or counsel in numerous ICC, UNCITRAL, IACAC and AAA/ICDR international commercial arbitrations, including proceedings conducted in English, Spanish and French, and has been recognized in such publications as Chambers Global, Chambers USA, Euromoney’s Guides to the Best of the Best (International Litigation), Commercial Arbitration, and Litigation; The International Who’s Who of Commercial Arbitration; The International Who’s Who of Business Lawyers (Commercial Litigation); and Benchmark Litigation Guide. In ranking him in the first tier of U.S.-based international arbitrators, recent editions of Chambers USA offered the following commentaries: “Steven Hammond is ‘quite simply a superb lawyer,’ and according to one globally renowned arbitrator, he ‘once performed one of the single greatest cross-examinations I have ever seen.’ A ‘talented multilinguist,’ interviewees agree that he is an ‘absolutely top-class arbitrator.’ [A]ccording to observers, he has a ‘low-key, thoroughly effective’ approach. As counsel he will ‘spend as much time as it takes to get things absolutely right.’ Clients admire his ‘willingness to do the legwork himself rather than delegate to associates.’ [C]lients ‘never cease to be amazed’ by the firm’s international practice co-chair. Serving as both counsel and arbitrator, ‘he has the experience to manage all aspects of major disputes.’”
Mr. Hammond is an honors graduate of Bowdoin College and Maine Law School, and received his LL.M., magna cum laude, in International and Comparative Law from the Free University of Brussels. He is a President d’Honneur of the Union Internationale des Avocats, and a recipient of the Medalla de la Federación Interamericana de Abogados.
Professional Activities
- Union Internationale des Avocats: President (1998-99); President d’Honneur (2000); NGO Delegate to the United Nations (1995‑ )
- Judicial Conference of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit: Executive Secretary, Planning Committee (1992-99)
- International Bar Association: Committees on International Litigation and Arbitration
- The Association of the Bar of the City of New York: Council on International Affairs; International Commercial Dispute Resolution Committee; Task Force on International Legal Services (Chairman)
- American Bar Association: Section on International Law and Practice
Awards and Professional Recognitions
- Fellow, College of Commercial Arbitrators
- Chambers Global
- Chambers USA (International Arbitration: Band 1)
- The Legal 500
- Euromoney’s Legal Guide to The Best of the Best (Litigation)
- Expert Guides: The Best of the Best USA (Commercial Arbitration)
- International Commercial Litigation’s Guide to Leading International Business Law Firms
- The International Who’s Who of Business Lawyers
- Euromoney’s Guides to the World’s Leading Litigation Lawyers
- Euromoney’s Guides to the World’s Leading Experts in Commercial Arbitration
- The International Who’s Who of Commercial Arbitration
- Benchmark Litigation, The Guide to America’s Leading Litigation Firms and Attorneys
- President d’Honneur, Union Internationale des Avocats
- Medalla de la Federación Interamericano de Abogados