Lauren Friedman is a partner in the New York office of King & Spalding and co-leads the firm’s energy transition disputes group.  She is a member of the International Disputes group, which won “International Arbitration Group of the Year” from Global Arbitration Review in four of the past five years, and is ranked by Chambers as Band 1 in the USA.   Lauren appears as lead counsel and as part of large case teams before tribunals and courts around the world.  

Lauren is consistently recognized as a leading partner by the top publications, including Chambers USA (2022-2024), Legal 500 Latin America (2020-2022), Benchmark Litigation (2020-2022), and Who's Who Legal (2019-2023).  In 2021, Who’s Who Legal selected Lauren as one of the 10 “Most Highly Regarded” partners in the Americas under the age of 45.  Chambers USA recently published that “she's incredibly smart and she's just one of those lawyers who is a gifted advocate for her client,” “I think very highly of her. She's really smart, focused, determined, and serious about what she does,” and “she's done a great job getting key decisions for us as a company.”  Who's Who Legal reports that she is “a favorite among international commentators” and “she is the first person I call with a difficult question of law,” and she is commended for her “outstanding capacity to generate and execute well defined and complex arguments,” her “great energy,” and her “very technical, thorough and professional” approach.  

Lauren has experience in a wide range of sectors, including electricity, water, oil & gas, LNG, banking, private equity, petrochemical, accounting, pharmaceutical, M&A, and construction and infrastructure.   

As a result of her 15 years of experience with environmental disputes in the energy space, Lauren is actively focused on the legal challenges that arise in response to the energy transition and climate change.  She has represented and advised clients on unique challenges related to the rapidly-development legal framework on the environment, including exit strategies and stranded assets.  She works actively with the Sabin Center for Climate Change at Columbia University to address the barriers to the development of renewable energy within the United States.

Publications

• Co-author with D Bishop, “The Past, Present, and Future of Energy Disputes: How the Doctrines of Traditional Energy Arbitrations Will Guide Green Transition Cases,” GAR Energy (2025)
• Co-author, Reform to Mexican Electricity Law to Come into Effect, Texas Lawyer (March 2021)
• Contributor, “Hot Topic: Investor-Treaty Arbitration,” Corporate Disputes (January 2020)
• Co-author with D Bishop, “Time after Time: Using Data to Inform the Decision to Disqualify an Arbitrator”  6 BCDR International Arbitration Review, Issue 1, pp. 149-174 (2019)
• Co-author, Supreme Court Rejects “Wholly Groundless” Exception to Contractual Delegation of Arbitrability Decisions to Arbitrators (January 2019)
• Co-author, EU-Mexico Trade Agreement: What Lies Ahead for the Future of ISDS?, New York Law Journal (May 2018)
• Co-author, Tariffs May Violate Investment Treaty Protections, Law 360 (April 2018)
• Co-author, “The Top-5 News in International Arbitration in 2017,” CIAR Global (January 2018)
• Co-author, “Creditors’ Options In Venezuela’s Disorderly Default,” Law360 (November 2017)
• Co-author, “Strategic Considerations in Selecting Emergency Arbitration,” Law360 (October 2017)
• Co-author, "Recent U.S. Supreme Court Decision Underscores the Importance of Planning to Protect Overseas Investments," Mondaq (May 2017)
• Co-author, “Towards a Resolution of Outstanding Nationalization Claims Against Cuba,” Transnational Dispute Management (April 2016)

Seminars

• Speaker, Bifurcation - Achieving Balance for the Efficient and Fair Resolution of Disputes, CPR Annual Meeting (2025)
• Speaker, Navigating the Grey: Conflicts of Interest in International Arbitration, Canada Arbitration Week (2024)
• Speaker, A Cross-Jurisdictional Review: Sovereign Immunity & Enforcement Actions, New York International Arbitration Center (2024)
• Faculty, 2022 ABA International Arbitration Masterclass (2022)
• Selecting and Challenging Arbitrators in Investor-State Arbitration, Columbia University Institute for Sustainable Investment: Executive Training on Investment Arbitration for Government Officials (2019)
• Strategies for Early Resolution of Investor-State Disputes: Alternative Methods of Resolving Investor-State Disputes, co-hosted by Columbia University Institute for Sustainable Investment and Kirkland & Ellis (2019)
• Guest Lecturer, “Introduction to Investment Treaty Arbitration,” University of Chicago Law School (2017)
• Speaker, “Appointing and Challenging Arbitrators” at Columbia University Institute for Sustainable Investment: Executive Training on Investment Arbitration for Government Officials (2017)
• Co-speaker, “Best Practices for Drafting Arbitration Clauses,” Ministries of Peru (2017)
• Co-speaker, “Strategic Responses to Third Party Funding” at Columbia University Institute for Sustainable Investment: Executive Training on Investment Arbitration for Government Officials (2017)
• Moderator, "The Future of Environmental Claims in International Arbitration," New York State Bar Association (2017)
• Panelist, “Utilizing International Arbitration to Maximize the Effectiveness of Cross-border Investments,” Hong Kong Corporate Counsel Association Conference (2017)
• Panelist, “The Call for Specialized Arbitrators, Forums and Procedures in Energy Arbitration,” 4th ITA-IEL-ICC Joint Conference on International Energy Arbitration (2017)
• Panelist, “Damages in International Arbitration,” Columbia Law School (2016)
• Speaker, “Liability for Regulatory Conduct Under Investment Treaties” at Columbia University Institute for Sustainable Investment: Executive Training on Investment Arbitration for Government Officials (2016)
• Speaker, “Investment Arbitration: Lessons Learned for States and Investors” at the 16th International Seminar on Regulation for Public Services, Panama City (2016)
• Moderator, The Politics of Investment Treaties: Discussion and Book Launch (2016)
• Panelist, “Navigating the Relationship Between Regulators and the Regulated” at the 15th International Seminar on Regulation for Public Services in Argentina (2015)
• Speaker, “Liability for Regulatory Conduct Under Investment Treaties” at Columbia University Institute for Sustainable Investment: Executive Training on Investment Arbitration for Government Officials (2015)
• Speaker, “Settlement of Pending Claims Between the U.S. and Cuba: Outlook and Possibilities” at New York University Law School (2015)
• Speaker, “Settlement of Pending Claims Between the U.S. and Cuba: Outlook and Possibilities” at Harvard University Law School (2015)
• Panel Member, “The Restoration of U.S.-Cuba Relations” at American University Law School (2015)

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