Robert Amsterdam has a strong track record in countries facing rule of law challenges, offering a unique multi-disciplinary approach to complex issues. For over thirty years he has represented high-profile clients in commercial, corporate and political cases internationally. He is experienced in managing, litigating and arbitrating disputes, and through the extensive network he has created he is able to put together “virtual firms” of the best minds in their fields to handle disputes and crises under the best possible representation within the context of both local and international law.
Past clients include numerous mining and energy companies operating in emerging markets. In 2003, Robert was retained by Amnesty International-recognized prisoner of conscience Mikhail Khodorkovsky, once Russia’s most prominent oil executive, to defend him against political persecution by the Russian government. In 2008, he joined the defence team for Eligio Cedeño, a businessman and political prisoner in Venezuela who was later successfully released into freedom. Robert serves as counsel to prominent opposition leaders such as Dr. Chee Soon Juan in Singapore. In 2010 he was appointed by the former Prime Minister of Thailand Thaksin Shinawatra to defend members of the Red Shirt pro-democracy movement and, in 2013, he was retained by the Internet mogul Kim Dotcom.
Robert represents former President of Zambia Rupiah Banda and his son Henry, with respect to unlawful harassment and persecution by the new government. In Nigeria, he has represented prominent public figures, having developed an extensive network of political and business leaders that dates back more than three decades. Among other notables, he has acted for the former Executive Director of Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, as well as the former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory in Abuja. In early 2013, Robert won a landmark decision before the United Nations Dispute Tribunal on behalf of a pro-bono client, Dr. Georges Tadonki, whose contract with UNOCHA was not renewed due to political events related to Zimbabwe.
As a prolific columnist and blogger, Robert’s writings have been published in the International Herald Tribune, the Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, and theFordham International Law Journal, among other publications. He has delivered keynote speeches to groups such as Chatham House, University College of London, Cato Institute, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and numerous energy, mining, and international investment conferences. Robert has made several television appearances, was nominated to the “Hot 100” by the UK publication The Lawyer, was named “Lawyer of the Week” by the Times in London, and was most recently profiled in the US magazine The American Lawyer.
According to the former British Ambassador to Russia, Andrew Wood, “The word that best describes Bob is courage, both moral and actual. He raises questions that are not always welcome, and that is often the proper business of a lawyer.”
Robert is a member of the Canadian and International Bar Associations, and is licensed as a Solicitor-Advocate in the United Kingdom. He earned his BA from Carleton University in Ottawa, and studied law at Queen’s University in Ontario.