Melissa StearGorsline

Melissa Stear Gorsline was counsel in some of the earliest and most cutting-edge investor-State arbitrations in International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) and United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) history, with a focus on public international law and treaty-based arbitration. Melissa played an integral role in some of the first international investment arbitrations brought under Chapter Eleven of NAFTA in the late 1990s. She has handled numerous investment arbitrations, including those setting important legal precedents on the rules of treaty succession and the scope of the "illegality" objection to jurisdiction. She has significant experience representing corporate clients and States in claims for denial of justice, denial of fair and equitable treatment, nationalistic discrimination, expropriation, and umbrella clause (contract) violations, as well as all manner of jurisdictional objections and merits defenses. In addition, Melissa has experience prosecuting and defending ICSID annulment applications, enforcement proceedings, and set-aside proceedings.

Melissa also has experience in complex international commercial litigation and arbitration in various courts and arbitral fora. She is experienced in Section 1782 discovery and other U.S. litigation related to foreign or international proceedings and matters.

Melissa is consistently ranked as a leading international arbitration lawyer and is described by clients as "a superhero in investment arbitration" (Legal 500).

Melissa has been appointed as a member of the U.S. ICC Commission on Arbitration and ADR. She is vice chair of the Virginia State Bar International Practice Section's Board of Governors and an adjunct professor of International Arbitration at the University of Maryland and the American University.