Sherina Petit is an international arbitration lawyer based in London, and leads the practice across Asia, Europe and the Middle East. She also heads the firm's India practice. Besides arbitration, she has significant experience in investor state disputes resolution, alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and litigation. In addition to acting as counsel in arbitrations, she regularly sits as an arbitrator.
Sherina has a wide range of experience in all key aspects of international arbitration, particularly relating to India, across a broad range of industries including energy, construction, oil and gas, trade, transport, pharmaceuticals, commodities, finance and technology. She represents clients across the globe in a wide variety of commercial and investment arbitration proceedings and has had numerous successes both in terms of settlement (including through ADR) and Arbitration Awards in her clients' favour. These include arbitrations before all major arbitral institutions including the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA), International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) as well as in ad hoc proceedings.
Sherina comes from a wide international background, having practiced across multiple jurisdictions. She qualified as an Advocate in India whilst working at a leading law firm in Mumbai (now non-practicing). She obtained her England and Wales qualification whilst training at a global firm in London and subsequently spent six years as an associate in the international arbitration team at another global firm in London before joining us in 2009.
Professional experience
Admissions
King's College London
Master of Law (LLM)
Solicitor, qualified in England & Wales
Advocate, qualified in India (non practicing)
Representative experience
Sherina has had numerous successes in arbitrations that she has handled both in terms of settlement (including through ADR) and Arbitration Awards in her clients' favour, notably:
An Indian engineering company which specialises in the manufacturing of high chromium wear, corrosion and abrasion resistant castings used in the cement, mining and thermal power generation industries - against its majority shareholder.(ICC, Indian Law, London seat)
A Middle Eastern satellite operator - in a dispute with a Canadian telecommunications provider concerning a transponder rights agreement. (ICC, English law, London seat).
An Indian airline - in relation to a multi billion dollar dispute between various shareholders concerning alleged breaches of a shareholders agreement. (LCIA, Indian law, New Delhi seat).
An Indian multinational oil and gas company and its international subsidiary - in three oil and gas related arbitrations against of an African state (UNCITRAL, Sudanese law, London and Dubai seats).
Rankings and recognitions
Awards
Sherina has received multiple awards, the most recent include:
Recognised as one of ten global "Power Players International Arbitration" - "Distinguished Advisers" by Financier Worldwide 2022;
Recognised as a "Global Leader" by Who's Who Legal Arbitration 2022;
Acritas Star for 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021. Acritas says that in their global research of senior in-house counsel, one or more of her clients has independently nominated her to be one of the most outstanding lawyers they have worked with. Another large Indian Pharmaceutical client described Sherina as a "star performer";
Leading Individual from England in the Who's Who Legal: Arbitration 2019, 2020 and 2021 being described as "a stand out name in the international arbitration space";
India Business Law Journal's A-list for 2019, 2020 and 2021 of the Top international lawyers for India related work;
"Dispute Resolution Star" for 2019 and "Litigation Star" for 2020 and 2022 by Benchmark Litigation Europe;
Featured in the 5th annual Global Business Edition of The Best Lawyers in the United Kingdom, 2020 and 10th Edition for International Arbitration, 2021 and 2022;
Featured in the Euromoney's Commercial Arbitration Expert Guide, 2021;
Featured in the Euromoney's Women in Business Law Expert Guide, 2021 and 2020 where she is nominated by her peers as "one of the top Commercial arbitration practitioners in the UK";
Featured in the Lawdragon 500 Global Litigation Lawyers guide, 2021;
Professional Adviser Award at The Indian Awards 2019, by the India Business Group at the House of Commons;
Legal 500's inaugural International Arbitration Powerlist for the United Kingdom;
Expert in Expert Guides' 2018 edition of the Commercial Arbitration Guide as "one of the world's leading practitioners in this field";
Client Choice Awards for the UK in the Arbitration & ADR category in 2017 and 2018 (as voted for by corporate counsel);
Who's Who Future Leaders in Arbitration for both 2017 and 2018, noting her as "a prominent name in the arbitration market ... widely endorsed for her extensive experience in energy and infrastructure disputes";
Corporate International Magazine Global Award for the "India Arbitration Lawyer of the Year in England" in 2017;
LMG Rising Stars as a "Rising Star for International Arbitration" in 2015 and 2016 which described her as "a key figure in developing the firm's India practice" and "a complete dynamo";
Legal Week's 2016 feature, "Rising stars: the new generation of litigators making their mark".
Directories
Sherina is ranked in several leading directories including:
Legal 500 UK 2022 as a "Leading Individual" in International Arbitration. Testimonials stated that "Sherina Petit is a brilliant lawyer and I have worked with her on many occasions – very robust drafting of disputes documents and she is very thorough in her work" and that she "has a deep and insightful understanding of what her client needs; she provides clearheaded, no-nonsense and sensible advice to clients, while helping them navigate the unfamiliar territory of international arbitration."
Band 1 in Chambers and Partners Asia Pacific, Dispute Resolution: International Firms - India 2020, 2021 and 2022. Testimonials state that "London-based Sherina Petit advises clients on a range of disputes matters, with expertise in handling both arbitration and litigation cases." A client notes: "Given her Indian background, Sherina can naturally connect with the Indian business mindset, understand cultural sensitivities and fully appreciate the market dynamics. I would recommend Sherina for her diligent and meticulous work." "She's one of the best arbitration lawyers I've ever come across; she knows her stuff and is very astute; she'll tell you when not to take things to court, which I found refreshing, and was taken aback with her candidness on defects in the case; hands down, I'd close my eyes and give every matter to her."
Chambers and Partners Global 2021: "Sherina Petit maintains her position at the forefront of complex Indiarelated arbitrations. She is sought after for her multi-jurisdictional expertise and knowledge of ICC and LCIA procedure. She is also adept at handling significant BIT claims." "Sherina is absolutely superb and a preeminent India specialist." "She is a very client-friendly lawyer and would do anything and everything to make sure any deadlines are met."
Publications
Sherina is a published writer and speaker on international arbitration. She has co-authored chapters of numerous books including:
"Arbitration in England" edited by Julian Lew QC;
"Enforcing Arbitral Awards in India" edited by Nakul Dewan;
"The Guide to Challenging and Enforcing Arbitration Awards" (two editions) edited by J Willian Rowley QC, Emmanual Gaillard and Gordon E Kaiser;
"Commercial Arbitration, International Trends and Practices" edited by Chirag Balyan and Yahraj Samant; and
"Arbitration in India" edited by Fali Nariman, Martn Hunter, Dushyant Dave and Marike Paulsson.
Memberships and activities
LCIA (board member)
ICC Indian Arbitration Group (board member)
SIAC Users Counsel (board member)
European Federation of Investment Law and Arbitration (EFILA) (Executive board member)
School of International Arbitration of the Queen Mary University of London (Advisory council member)
Steering Committee of the Pledge for Equal Representation for Women and the Chair of the India Pledge Committee (Committee member)
Sherina also acts as a mentor for law students including being part of the inaugural programme for mentorship of the Mumbai International Arbitration Centre (MCIA), the mentorship programme of the School of International Arbitration of the Queen Mary University of London and the Institute of Transnational Arbitration (ITA) at the Centre for American and International Law.
