People
James Castello has advised and represented clients (and has arbitrated disputes) in a wide range of commercial and investor-state proceedings under multiple arbitral rules. Based in Europe for 22 of his 35 years in practice, James now serves as both counsel and arbitrator. According to Chambers Global, he is “praised by market commentators as an ‘absolutely open, thorough, fantastic lawyer,’” and is "highly praised by clients for his ‘extensive, in-depth experience’ in international arbitration."
James represents European, Middle Eastern, African and Asian clients, especially in energy disputes (e.g., contested control of a refinery, privatization of a power plant, gas price readjustments, conflicts on upstream development) and large infrastructure cases (road, tunnel, rail, industrial facilities). He and a K&S team recently won a $2+ billion award against Egypt for curtailing long-term gas supply. According to Who's Who of International Commercial Arbitration, James "has a ‘great brain’ and is ‘one of the reasons [King & Spalding] is so good in Paris.’”
As a U.S. delegate to UNCITRAL’s Arbitration Working Groups since 2001, James has assisted in drafting or revising each arbitration and mediation instrument adopted by the UN. James has written Commentaries on UNCITRAL's Arbitration Rules for books published by Oxford, Kluwer, and Juris.
James helped draft the LCIA’s Arbitration Rules of 2014 as a member of the London Court, and he now serves on both the LCIA’s Board of Directors and the International Advisory Board of Vienna’s International Arbitral Centre; he also co-chairs CILS' biennial Salzburg Arbitration Symposium and is Executive Committee Vice-Chair of the Institute for Transnational Arbitration.
For six years during the Clinton Administration, James held such senior legal positions as Deputy Counsel to the President at the White House and Associate Deputy Attorney General in the Justice Department, where his portfolio included immigration, hate crimes, and human rights. He began his legal career with clerkships at the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington D.C. and at the Iran-U.S. Claims Tribunal at The Hague.
J.D., University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, Order of the Coif
M.A. in Economics, University of California, Berkeley
B.A., Yale University
District of Columbia
New York
Paris
Law Clerk, Thurgood Marshall, Supreme Court of the United States
Law Clerk, William J. Brennan, Jr., Supreme Court of the United States
Law Clerk, Howard Holtzmann, Iran-United States Claims Tribunal
Law Clerk, Abner J. Mikva, U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
English
French
April 12, 2022
Legal 500 EMEA 2022 Ranks King & Spalding among the Top Firms in Europe, the Middle East and Africa
April 4, 2022
King & Spalding Named Top International Arbitration Practice Worldwide
March 17, 2022
Chambers Europe Recognizes King & Spalding Among Top International Law Firms in its 2022 Guide
Representing a supplier of heavy machinery in an ICC arbitration arising from an African port development project.
Representing a respondent in a UNCITRAL arbitration brought under a bilateral investment treaty (BIT) arising from disputed control of an oil refinery.
Representing a European energy company in an ICSID arbitration arising from its failure to receive gas under a long-term supply contract.
See more
July 30, 2020
Tokyo Dispute Resolution & Crisis Management Newsletter – July 2020
July 10, 2020
James Castello Joins Faculty for Annual Summer Course on International Arbitration at Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México
July 10, 2020
James Castello Appointed to Leadership Position in Institute for Transnational Arbitration
April 12, 2022
Legal 500 EMEA 2022 Ranks King & Spalding among the Top Firms in Europe, the Middle East and Africa
April 4, 2022
King & Spalding Named Top International Arbitration Practice Worldwide
March 17, 2022
Chambers Europe Recognizes King & Spalding Among Top International Law Firms in its 2022 Guide
Representing a supplier of heavy machinery in an ICC arbitration arising from an African port development project.
Representing a respondent in a UNCITRAL arbitration brought under a bilateral investment treaty (BIT) arising from disputed control of an oil refinery.
Representing a European energy company in an ICSID arbitration arising from its failure to receive gas under a long-term supply contract.
See more
July 30, 2020
Tokyo Dispute Resolution & Crisis Management Newsletter – July 2020
July 10, 2020
James Castello Joins Faculty for Annual Summer Course on International Arbitration at Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México
July 10, 2020
James Castello Appointed to Leadership Position in Institute for Transnational Arbitration
April 12, 2022
Legal 500 EMEA 2022 Ranks King & Spalding among the Top Firms in Europe, the Middle East and Africa
April 4, 2022
King & Spalding Named Top International Arbitration Practice Worldwide
March 17, 2022
Chambers Europe Recognizes King & Spalding Among Top International Law Firms in its 2022 Guide
J.D., University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, Order of the Coif
M.A. in Economics, University of California, Berkeley
B.A., Yale University
District of Columbia
New York
Paris
Law Clerk, Thurgood Marshall, Supreme Court of the United States
Law Clerk, William J. Brennan, Jr., Supreme Court of the United States
Law Clerk, Howard Holtzmann, Iran-United States Claims Tribunal
Law Clerk, Abner J. Mikva, U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
English
French