Christian Vandergeest is a senior associate in Freshfields’ disputes group based in New York.
He represents clients in complex commercial disputes, including international and domestic arbitrations and litigation in state and federal courts. He advises clients in a wide variety of sectors, including technology, financial services, oil and gas, and mining. He has particular expertise in post-M&A disputes and has acted in arbitrations under the UNCITRAL, ICC, AAA, and ICDR rules.
Christian is an active member of Freshfields’ pro bono team, and has represented trafficking victims, indigent defendants, and asylum seekers in New York and federal courts.
Christian received his JD cum laude from Harvard Law School and is admitted to practice in New York and several federal courts in the United States.
- Representing BuzzFeed, Inc. and certain of its directors and officers in a pair of AAA arbitrations and litigation in Delaware courts addressing claims brought by shareholders in relation to the company’s IPO.
- Representing Next Fifteen Communication Group in defending a post-M&A claim brought by a seller regarding entitlement to an alleged $300 million earnout payment under a Delaware-law purchase agreement.
- Representing a private equity fund in two separate post-M&A disputes concerning breaches of representations and warranties under share purchase agreements.
- Representing a consortium of oil and gas supermajors in a commercial arbitration with the Nigerian state-owned oil company arising under a production sharing contract.
- Representing several defendants, including BBVA, Inteligo, and a structured investment vehicle, in clawback litigations brought by the Bernie Madoff bankruptcy trustee.
- Representing a multinational electronics company in a AAA arbitration with a patent licensor concerning alleged breaches of a licensing agreement.
- Representing affiliates of multiple international oil companies in actions against the Nigerian state-owned oil company to recognize and enforce multi-billion-dollar arbitral awards set aside at the seat of arbitration.
