Curtis Mallet-Prevost Colt & Mosle has promoted Azerbaijani Fuad Zarbiyev to counsel in New York.

Zarbiyev has been an associate with Curtis since joining the firm in 2011. He was recently part of the team that represented Venezuela in an attempt to disqualify two arbitrators in the expropriation claim brought by ConocoPhillips. His promotion became effective on 5 October.

He is also defending Venezuela against a claim by ExxonMobil and India against a claim by satellite investor Devas.Zarbiyev tells GAR of the “uniquely rewarding” experience he has had at Curtis to date and describes the firm`s chairman George Kahale as an “inexhaustible law school by himself” and "an exceptional mentor in the noblest sense of the word.”

“I have had the privilege to get involved in some of the biggest and most interesting cases in the field with a team of exceptionally talented lawyers, representing sovereigns," he says. "For the public international lawyer that I am by training, that is a tremendous opportunity."

Coming from an academic background, Zarbiyev says he values "intellectual rigor and consistency” and is “proud to be part of a firm that is as much committed to principles as it is to excellence in advocacy”.

Before joining Curtis, Zarbiyev was a senior research fellow at the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva and at the New York University School of Law. While at the Graduate Institute, he served as legal advisor to the Costa Rican government in a dispute with Nicaragua before the International Court of Justice over rights to the San Juan river.

Kahale says, “Fuad has a combination of impressive intellect, depth and breadth of knowledge of international law, and an extraordinary work ethic that is rarely seen.”

Zarbiyev has published several works on international law issues. He was awarded the James Crawford Prize for his article on judicial activism in international law, published in the Journal of International Dispute Settlement. Earlier this year, he also wrote a chapter for the book Interpretation in International Law published by Oxford University Press, entitled “A Genealogy of Textualism in Treaty Interpretation”.

He received his LLB from Baku State University and his LLM from Harvard Law School. He also holds a PhD in International Law from the Graduate Institute, and a diploma from the Hague Academy of International Law. He is fluent in Azerbaijani, English and French.

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