News
Freshfields partner appointed as Queen’s Counsel
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (‘Freshfields’) partner Sylvia Noury has been appointed Queen’s Counsel by Her Majesty the Queen on the advice of the Lord Chancellor, following consideration by the independent Queen's Counsel Selection Panel.
Queen’s Counsel (also known as silk) are appointed because they have demonstrated excellence in advocacy in difficult cases in the higher courts of England and Wales, or in tribunals or arbitrations.
Sylvia, who heads Freshfields’ international arbitration group in London, is one of only five solicitor advocates to be included among the 101 silk appointments in this year’s list, and one of 45 women, an increase from 40 in the previous year.
Commenting on her appointment, Sylvia Noury said: “I am deeply honoured by this appointment and privileged to join the ranks of Queen’s Counsel. This achievement would not have been possible without the support and forbearance of many, but first and foremost my parents, husband and children. I am also grateful to my mentors and colleagues at Freshfields and in the arbitration community more broadly for their encouragement over the years, without which I would not have climbed this particular summit.”
“We are very proud that our partner Sylvia Noury has been appointed a QC. She is a fabulous advocate and an excellent leader of our international arbitration group in London,” said global co-heads of Freshfields’ international arbitration group Boris Kasolowsky and Nigel Blackaby QC.
Sylvia specialises in commercial and treaty arbitrations, particularly in emerging markets including Africa, India and Latin America. She has advocated before ICSID, UNCITRAL, ICC, LCIA and AAA tribunals in English and Spanish and has particular expertise in the energy, natural resources and telecoms sectors. Sylvia holds positions in a variety of arbitral institutions, including the Governing Board of ICCA, the Board of the SCC’s Arbitration Institute, the Advisory Board of the ITA and the Advisory Council of Africa Arbitration. She is the Founder and Co-Chair of the Global Steering Committee of the Equal Representation in Arbitration Pledge and, in 2019, she was included in the HERoes Global Top 100 Women Executives List.
Previous Freshfields partners to be appointed QC include Will Thomas QC, Nigel Blackaby QC, Nigel Rawding QC, Noah Rubins QC and Peter Turner QC.
To read more about Sylvia’s practice, see here.
