People
James Castello, a global disputes partner in Paris, has advised and represented clients in a wide range of commercial and investor-state arbitrations under multiple rules. Based in Europe for 20 of his 33 years in practice, James serves as both counsel and arbitrator. According to Chambers Global, he is "an excellent lawyer" who is "highly praised by clients for his ‘extensive, in-depth experience’ in international arbitration" and “praised by market commentators as an ‘absolutely open, thorough, fantastic lawyer.’”
James has represented European, Middle Eastern, African and Asian clients, especially in large infrastructure or energy disputes, including contested control of a refinery, privatization of a power plant, and gas price readjustments. He and a K&S team recently won one of the largest ICSID awards ever - over $2 billion - against Egypt for curtailing long-term gas supply. According to International Who's Who of Commercial Arbitration, James "has a ‘great brain’ and is ‘one of the reasons [King & Spalding] is so good in Paris.’”
A longtime member of the U.S. delegation to the Arbitration Working Groups at UNCITRAL (the UN Commission on International Trade Law), James has actively participated since 2001 in drafting or revising all of the UNCITRAL instruments relating to arbitration or mediation. James has also written extensively on UNCITRAL's Arbitration Rules in books published by Oxford, Kluwer, and Juris.
Appointed in 2007 to the London Court of International Arbitration, James sat on its subcommittee that drafted the 2014 LCIA Rules and now serves on the LCIA's Board of Directors. He serves as well on the International Advisory Board of the Vienna International Arbitral Centre and as Executive Committee Vice Chair at the Institute for Transnational Arbitration.
From 1995 to 2001, James left private practice to serve in the Clinton administration, first as Deputy Counsel to the President at the White House and then as Associate Deputy Attorney General in the Justice Department, where his portfolio included such international issues as immigration and human rights.
J.D., University of California, Berkeley, 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
October 8, 2020
Le Point Magazine Recognizes King & Spalding Among the Top Law Firms in France
July 28, 2020
James Castello highlighted for being on an SCC arbitration tribunal
July 10, 2020
King & Spalding Earns Top Spot on Global Arbitration Review’s GAR 30 Ranking
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
October 8, 2020
Le Point Magazine Recognizes King & Spalding Among the Top Law Firms in France
July 28, 2020
James Castello highlighted for being on an SCC arbitration tribunal
July 10, 2020
King & Spalding Earns Top Spot on Global Arbitration Review’s GAR 30 Ranking
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
October 8, 2020
Le Point Magazine Recognizes King & Spalding Among the Top Law Firms in France
July 28, 2020
James Castello highlighted for being on an SCC arbitration tribunal
July 10, 2020
King & Spalding Earns Top Spot on Global Arbitration Review’s GAR 30 Ranking
J.D., University of California, Berkeley, 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