William O'Brien, Esq.
Will O’Brien guides clients through high-stakes international arbitration and litigation. He serves as lead counsel before all major arbitral institutions and US courts. Will develops global dispute resolution strategies for clients, with a focus on multi-jurisdictional and parallel disputes involving sovereign immunity/FSIA, laws of war, non-signatories, enforcement of arbitration awards and judgments, government contracts, treaties, Section 1782 discovery actions, joint venture and commercial contractual disputes, money laundering and fraud or corruption allegations, among other areas. He regularly manages high-profile cases in politically charged or hostile environments.
As lead counsel, Will has successfully handled matters spanning more than 40 countries throughout North America, Asia, Africa, Australia, Europe, the Middle East and Latin America. For more than 25 years, he has represented multinational companies in aviation/aerospace and defense, security, manufacturing, automotive, construction, energy, government, chemicals and plastics, telecom, transportation and infrastructure.
Will currently serves as a member of Eversheds Sutherland's Global Board of Directors and as the Co-head of the firm's Industrials Sector. Clients report to Chambers USA that “he is the most universal and versatile attorney I have ever worked with” and that "we prize Will above all others for his experience, efficiency and especially practicality."
Will writes and speaks regularly on international arbitration and litigation issues and has launched an initiative to foster greater use of artificial intelligence in cross-border disputes working in partnership with companies curating new technologies to serve the legal community. He is an adjunct professor of law at the Georgetown University Law Center, teaching international commercial arbitration with a focus on sovereigns and best practices in international contracting. Will also serves as faculty at the International Law Institute, educating lawyers from around the world on issues of comity, immunity and enforcement of treaties in international disputes.
He is a member of the International Chamber of Commerce’s (ICC) Commission on Arbitration and ADR, the International Bar Association’s Arbitration Committee, and the Steering Committee on international arbitration for the US Council on International Business.
Will strongly supports and provides pro bono counseling to the Global Fairness Initiative, an organization dedicated to helping raise the standard of living for the world’s working poor, and is a founding member of the American Cancer Society’s Judicial Advocacy Initiative, which is dedicated to protecting the rights of those with cancer.