Kabir Duggal

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Dr. Kabir Duggal is a partner in Akin Gump’s international arbitration team, based in New York. He is widely regarded as one of the leading figures of his generation in international arbitration and public international law.  Dr. Duggal has extensive experience as counsel in complex, high-stakes investor–state and commercial arbitrations across regions and industries. His practice spans disputes arising under bilateral and multilateral investment treaties, as well as sophisticated commercial contracts, involving states, state-owned entities, and multinational corporations. He has acted in matters across the energy, infrastructure, mining, telecommunications, financial services, construction, and technology sectors, and has played a central role in disputes involving aggregate claims exceeding USD 80 billion. His work reflects deep familiarity with treaty drafting, regulatory frameworks, and sovereign decision-making, informed by training in international law, common law, and civil law traditions. In addition to his counsel practice, Dr. Duggal frequently serves as an expert on international arbitration and public international law issues before courts and arbitral tribunals around the world.

Alongside his counsel work, Dr. Duggal maintains a substantial and internationally active practice as an arbitrator and mediator. He has served as arbitrator in more than 70 disputes involving parties from all regions of the world and across a broad range of industries. He is recognized as a “Chartered Arbitrator,” the highest professional designation awarded by both the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and the Asian Institute of Alternative Dispute Resolution, and is also a “CEDR-accredited mediator.” He is a member of the National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals and is listed on, or appointed to, the rosters of leading arbitral institutions worldwide. His arbitral appointments reflect sustained confidence from parties and institutions in his independence, judgment, and ability to manage complex, high-value proceedings.

Dr. Duggal is a prolific scholar and widely cited authority in international arbitration and investment law. He is Managing Editor of The American Review of International Arbitration and an editor of investmentclaims.com hosted by Oxford University Press. His publications include Evidence in Investment Arbitration (Oxford University Press), Principles of Evidence in Public International Law as Applied by Investor-State Tribunals (Brill), International Investment Law and Arbitration in Central Asia (Wolters Kluwer), U.S. Supreme Court Precedents on Arbitration: Shaping American Arbitration Law and Practice (Brill), and multiple edited volumes addressing treaty practice, force majeure, and investment protection under regional instruments. His work has been cited by arbitral tribunals and by the Supreme Court of Switzerland. He serves as Associate Editor and peer reviewer for ICSID Review and as Associate Editor for Brill-Nijhoff’s Perspectives in International Investment Law and Arbitration.

Beyond practice and scholarship, Dr. Duggal is deeply engaged in arbitration policy, institution-building, and capacity development. He serves as a Consultant to the United Nations Office of the High Representative for Least Developed Countries on the creation of the Investment Support Program, a flagship initiative shortlisted by Global Arbitration Review for Best Developments, and continues to serve on its Steering Committee. He works closely with the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Commercial Law Development Program and has advised and trained governments and institutions worldwide on treaty negotiation, dispute prevention, and arbitration strategy. His prior public international law experience includes work with the World Bank Group, UNICEF, and service as a judicial clerk to a judge of the Supreme Court of India.

Dr. Duggal’s professional standing is reflected in sustained and detailed recognition across the leading global ranking and awards platforms. He is consistently ranked by Chambers Global and Chambers USA, Legal 500, LawDragon, Best Lawyers, and Experts Guides. He has been named a Global Leader and Thought Leader by Who’s Who Legal in every edition since 2021 and, in addition to his Global Elite Thought Leader distinction, has been repeatedly recognized for excellence in both practice and scholarship. His awards include the Smit-Lowenfeld Prize, the Burton Law360 Distinguished Legal Writing Award, the Albert S. Pergam International Law Writing Competition Prize, Lexology’s Client Choice Award for New York (2026), the CPR Outstanding Contribution to ADR Award, Prime Dispute’s Equality and Diversity Award, and ArbitralWomen’s “Champion for Change” Award. He has also received the Hind Rattan (“Jewel of India”) Award and multiple international honors recognizing professional leadership and impact.

Dr. Duggal holds numerous leadership and governance roles within the arbitration community. These include senior positions with the American Arbitration Association and ICDR, the Institute for Transnational Arbitration, the American Society of International Law, the New York City Bar Association, and the Juris Conference on Investment Treaty Arbitration. He currently serves as Honorary President of the Bucharest International Arbitration Court and sits on several institutional, academic, and advisory boards, reflecting sustained peer confidence and influence in shaping international arbitration practice.

Dr. Duggal holds degrees from the University of Mumbai, the University of Oxford, NYU School of Law, Leiden Law School, and Harvard Law School. He is admitted to practice in New York, the District of Columbia, England and Wales, and India.