Hogan Lovells strengthens its market-leading International Arbitration practice with team hire in Paris ahead of combination with Cadwalader

Sébastien and his team join from Hughes Hubbard & Reed, where he was Managing Partner of the Paris office and Head of the firm’s Europe, Africa and the Middle East International Arbitration practice.

Sébastien brings a strong international market reputation in commercial arbitration, with a particular focus on construction, infrastructure, energy and mining disputes in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. He regularly acts as both counsel and arbitrator in proceedings under the major arbitral institutional rules, including ICC, ICSID, LCIA and LMAA. He is also registered on the prestigious ICC France list of arbitrators.

The team's arrival marks another significant milestone in the continued growth and momentum of Hogan Lovells’ Paris arbitration practice. Under Melissa Ordonez’s leadership, the existing Paris arbitration team has continued to strengthen its position in the market through a series of high profile mandates in both investment and commercial arbitrations. Recent highlights include successfully representing the Republic of Colombia in ICSID proceedings involving claims exceeding US$350 million – a success which contributed to the firm receiving GAR’s inaugural “Latin America Practice That Impressed” award, as well as several significant commercial arbitration mandates.

Together, Sébastien and Melissa will lead the Paris arbitration practice to compete at the highest level with a team composed of over a dozen fee earners able to fully handle cases in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Greek.

Des Hogan, Global Head of the Disputes practice group at Hogan Lovells, commented: “Sébastien is a well-known, first-class arbitration practitioner with an exceptional reputation in commercial and construction disputes. His arrival builds on other recent hires both in the arbitration team in Asia, and disputes promotions this year, as well as the recent broader additions of high-profile teams to our disputes team in Washington, D.C. and in London last year. Coupled with our existing strengths, this hire positions our Paris team, and more broadly our global team, to continue to compete at the very highest levels for our clients’ most sophisticated mandates. Paris is a very important market for our practice, and the region we call FRIS (France, Italy and Spain) is one of key hubs of our firm.”

Xenia Legendre, Paris Office Managing Partner, added: “We are delighted to welcome Sébastien and his team to Paris. His arrival reflects the ambition and momentum of our arbitration practice in France and across the firm. Paris is one of the world's most important arbitration hubs, and together with the strength of our dynamic existing team, this further positions us as a destination platform for top clients".

Sébastien Bonnard noted: “Hogan Lovells has built one of the world's most compelling international arbitration platforms, combining premier disputes capabilities, deep sector expertise, and global reach. The strength and momentum of the Paris team, together with the firm’s upcoming transformational combination with Cadwalader  make this a particularly exciting moment to join. I look forward to finding opportunities for collaboration with colleagues in other key G20 markets, including New York and London.”

The team's arrival follows the recent promotions of several partners and counsel internationally and further underscores the continued growth and momentum of Hogan Lovells’ global International Arbitration practice, as the firm continues to invest in its practices and key hubs ahead of its combination with Cadwalader on 1 July 2026.