Sarah Z. Vasani
United Kingdom
Vasani International Arbitration Ltd
1 Paternoster Lane
London
EC4M 7BQ
Tel: +44 20 7367 3703
Email:
sarah.vasani@vasaniarbitration.com
Web:
www.vasaniarbitration.com
Sarah Vasani is the founder of Vasani International Arbitration (VIA), a London-based chambers from which she serves as a full-time independent arbitrator. With more than 20 years of experience in international commercial arbitration and investor-state disputes, she now sits exclusively as arbitrator and no longer accepts instructions as counsel.
Sarah has extensive experience in high-value and complex international disputes conducted under the rules of ICSID, UNCITRAL, LCIA, ICC, SIAC, ICDR, SCC, HKIAC, and DIAC. Her work has involved a wide range of common and civil governing laws, bilateral investment treaties, and other international investment agreements. She has particular experience in disputes involving States and state-owned entities and in matters arising from major cross-border investments and projects.
Her sector experience spans agriculture, aviation, commodities, energy, oil and gas, renewables, mining, public procurement, and infrastructure. Over the course of her career, Sarah has worked on substantial projects and disputes across Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, the Indian Subcontinent, Latin America, and other international markets. Her approach as arbitrator emphasizes proactive case management and proceedings tailored to the circumstances of the parties and the dispute.
Before establishing VIA, Sarah was Co-Head of the International Arbitration Group and Head of Investor-State Dispute Resolution at CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP. In those roles, she led significant disputes spanning the UK, Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Türkiye, Singapore, and Latin America. She previously headed Investor-State Dispute Resolution at Addleshaw Goddard and spent nearly a decade with King & Spalding, working from its Houston, Washington, D.C., and London offices.
Sarah is internationally recognized for her work in arbitration. She is one of a small group of arbitrators ranked in Band 1 by Chambers UK for 2026 and has been recognized for more than a decade by Who’s Who Legal, Global Arbitration Review, and their successor rankings, including as a Global Thought Leader. The Legal 500 has also recognized her among the leading practitioners of her generation.
Alongside her work as an arbitrator, Sarah regularly speaks and writes on international arbitration and cross-border dispute resolution. Her areas of commentary include energy disputes, arbitration efficiency, climate change and the transition to net zero, disputes involving States and state-owned entities, enforcement of arbitral awards, corruption, and diversity within international arbitration.
Sarah is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and frequently lectures on investor-state dispute settlement and international commercial arbitration. She is dual-qualified in England and Wales and the United States, with admissions in Texas and Washington, D.C., and is a Solicitor-Advocate of the Higher Courts of England and Wales. She works fluently in English and Spanish.
Acting as presiding arbitrator in a high stakes dispute valued at around USD 70 million between a global energy company and a US-based refinery arising under a Crude and Feedstock Supply Agreement, and pertaining to matters concerning, inter alia, crude nomination procedures and the determination of freight charges. The arbitration is governed by the 2020 LCIA Arbitration Rules, seated in London, and governed by New York law.
Acting as presiding arbitrator in a dispute concerning the transport and sales of 40,000 MT of gasoil. The dispute concerns UK and Ghanian parties and is being conducted under the 2020 LCIA Arbitration Rules, with English law governing the substance and procedure of the dispute. The matter involves a nonparticipating respondent party, and parallel Ghanian court proceedings.
Acting as sole arbitrator in an LCIA arbitration arising out of a Mandate Agreement pursuant to which the claimant was appointed as the exclusive financial, strategic, and management advisor in relation to the respondent’s housing and energy projects for the United Nations Office for Project Services. The matter involves Emirati and Singaporean parties, is governed by English law, and is seated in the DIFC.
Acted as sole arbitrator in an LCIA arbitration concerning the sale and supply of certain commodities, including fertilizer. The matter involves Zambian and Emirati parties and is being conducted under the 2020 LCIA Arbitration Rules, with English law governing the arbitration’s substance and procedure.
Acted as presiding arbitrator in a consolidated multi-party (Swiss, Cypriot and Russian) LCIA arbitration arising out of a Memorandum of Understanding and Personal Guarantee concerning payments under a loan agreement. The dispute is being conducted under the 2020 LCIA Arbitration Rules, with English law governing the arbitration’s substance and procedure. The dispute involved numerous procedural applications, including requests for bifurcation, emergency measures, and the withdrawal of certain claims and parties, as well as the issuance of an interim cost award in advance of the final award.
Acted as sole arbitrator in a dispute arising from back-to-back aircraft purchase and sale agreements. The arbitration was conducted under the 2014 LCIA Rules and seated in London, with English law governing the procedure and substance of the dispute. The matter involved a non-participating respondent party, and parallel U.S. state court proceedings in Oklahoma.
- ICC International Court of Arbitration, Court Member for the United States of America
- LCIA Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Task Force, EDI Champion & Steering Committee Member
- Queen Mary University of London, School of International Arbitration, Guest Lecturer
- International Bar Association (“IBA”) Task Force
- Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (“CIArb”)
- 2025 CIArb Professional Practice Guidelines on Third-Party Funding in International Commercial Arbitration, Task Force Member and Drafting Committee
- Institute for Transnational Arbitration, Executive Committee Member and Co-Chair of the Strategic Planning Committee (2025-Present)
- London International Disputes Week (LIDW), Finance and Sponsorship Committee
- International Arbitration Charity Ball Committee
- Arbitral Women
Education
- Vanderbilt University Law School: Juris Doctorate (2006)
- Michigan State University:
- Bachelor of Arts, International Relations (2002)
- Bachelor of Science, Agriculture & Natural Resources Communications (2002)
- Certified Specializations: Latin American & Caribbean Studies, Environmental Economics
Admissions
- Solicitor-Advocate of the Higher Courts of England and Wales (Civil Division) (2016)
- Solicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales (2013)
- Washington D.C. (2008)
- Texas (2006)
“Sarah Vasani is a standout international arbitrator with deep experience in both commercial and investor-State disputes. Her background across major institutions, diverse governing laws, and complex cross-border matters gives her a particularly strong foundation for handling high-value proceedings involving States, investors, and major projects.”