Samantha ROWE

Samantha J. Rowe is a partner in the International Dispute Resolution Group whose practice focuses on international arbitration and public international law, and a member of the firm’s ESG leadership team. Ms. Rowe has represented private clients and States across multiple jurisdictions in arbitrations and before international courts and tribunals. She has experience across a broad range of industries and sectors, including energy, mining, construction, financial services and pharmaceuticals. She advises clients on a broad range of international law and evolving ESG issues.

Ms. Rowe has been named to The Lawyer’s Hot 100 list, which recognizes the profession’s most innovative and inspirational lawyers. The magazine noted the “precedent-setting cases” she advises on. She was also named a Rising Star for international arbitration by Law360, a UK Rising Star, and a Rising Star in the Commercial Arbitration practice category at the inaugural Euromoney Legal Media Group Europe Rising Stars Awards. Ms. Rowe is listed in The Legal 500’s International Arbitration Powerlist, and by Who’s Who Legal (2024) as a thought leader for arbitration. Chambers Global (2024), Chambers UK (2025) and The Legal 500 UK (2025) recommend her for International Arbitration, with the guides noting that she is “an excellent lawyer with a clarity and expression of thought that enables complex matters to be understood quickly.” She is said to be “everything that you would ever want in a lawyer,” “extremely professional and knowledgeable” and “really high quality.” The Legal 500 UK (2025) further recommends her for Public International Law where clients have noted that she is “an excellent communicator with deep knowledge of international law” and “pleasure to work with.” The Legal 500 Latin America (2023) also recommends her for International Arbitration, with clients noting that she “is super-talented, demonstrates excellent client management skills and excels at cross-examination.”

Ms. Rowe is a solicitor of the Senior Courts of England & Wales and is admitted to the New York bar.

Ms. Rowe is a highly active member of the arbitration, public international law and business and human rights communities. She is Vice Chair of ICC UK’s Arbitration & ADR Committee, a member of the ICC Global Commission on Arbitration and ADR, and sits on the International Centre for Dispute Resolution’s European Advisory Council. She also serves on the Editorial Board of the European Investment Law and Arbitration Review. Ms Rowe is a member of the British Institute of International and Comparative Law’s Public International Law Advisory Panel and an inaugural Honorary International Practice Fellow of the Institute. She serves on the Board of the Business and Human Rights Lawyers Association, and is a member of the ICC’s Global Commission on Anti-corruption and Corporate Responsibility.

Ms. Rowe speaks and writes regularly on topics impacting her clients. She has appeared on The Law Show on BBC Radio 4, discussing energy transition disputes under the Energy Charter Treaty, and an International Bar Association podcast exploring the ESG and sustainability landscape. Ms. Rowe has also authored or co-authored a number of publications in her fields, including: “The Energy Charter Treaty and Its Role in the Energy Transition,” ESG and Disputes: Flash in the Pan or Game Changer? (November, 2024); “European Union Finally Adopts Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive,” Compliance & Enforcement (June, 2024); “Umbrella Clauses,” Elgar Encyclopedia of International Economic Law (March, 2024); “Revised OECD Guidelines Key In Shaping Business Standards,” Law360 (November, 2023).

Ms. Rowe is an editor of Debevoise’s ESG Weekly Update, which provides an overview of breaking ESG issues around the world every week. She was also a lead editor on “UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights at 10,” a landmark report commissioned by the United Nations Working Group on Business and Human Rights and presented to the UN Human Rights Council, which examined how judicial and quasi-judicial bodies across the globe used and referred to the UNGPs in reaching their decisions.

Ms. Rowe received her B.A. (Hons.) with First Class Honours in English Law and French Law from the University of Oxford, Wadham College, a Certificat Supérieur de Droit Français from the Université de Paris II Panthéon-Assas and an LL.M. in International Legal Studies from New York University. She was a scholar of Wadham College and received a Dean’s Graduate Award at NYU.