Concentration

International litigation and arbitration; federal civil litigation and appeals

Summary

Ryan Bull’s practice focuses on the resolution of international disputes through litigation in the United States, or through arbitration. He has been actively involved in commercial arbitrations on behalf of major American, Russian, Chinese, French, and Korean companies. He has also prosecuted and defended claims raising a wide range of international and commercial legal issues in U.S. trial and appellate courts. Mr. Bull is proficient in Russian, and from 1994 to 1997 worked as a management consultant in Ukraine on the privatization of medium-scale and large-scale enterprises in various industrial sectors.

Following graduation from law school, Mr. Bull served as a law clerk to the Honorable Fortunato P. Benavides of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

Representative Engagements

• Defense of sovereign state in UNCITRAL arbitration under the Energy Charter Treaty regarding alleged expropriation and violations of other substantive provisions involving an amount in dispute alleged to exceed US$50 billion
• Defense of U.S. and Bermuda investment funds in an ICC arbitration between U.S. and Bermuda funds and Malaysia companies involving alleged violations of Korean law with an amount in dispute exceeding US$600 million
• Defense of sovereign state in Stockholm Chamber of Commerce (SCC) arbitration under a bilateral investment treaty regarding alleged expropriation 
• Defense of multibillion-dollar fraud and breach of contract claims against a Chinese telecoms equipment manufacturer in an international arbitration governed by the American Arbitration Association’s International Centre for Dispute Resolution rules
• Prosecution of an international arbitration claim valued at in excess of US$50 million on behalf of a French agricultural corporation in proceedings before the American Arbitration Association, as well as successful defense of attempts to enjoin the arbitration in U.S. federal court
• Prosecution of US$150 million commercial dispute on behalf of U.S. federal agency under American Arbitration Association Commercial Arbitration Rules, and related judicial proceedings concerning efforts to compel arbitration
• Defense of a commercial contract arbitration on behalf of a major Korean company before the Korean Commercial Arbitration Board
• Defense of the Russian Federation and its ministers in a fraud and expropriation action brought by foreign investors in a U.S. court
• Prosecution of fraud and fraudulent conveyance actions on behalf of a chapter 7 trustee in a complex liquidation bankruptcy proceeding requiring the location of significant assets concealed offshore through the use of aliases, nominees, and bearer share corporate entities
• Defense of a US$160 million False Claims Act suit brought by a qui tam relator against a large South American construction firm following completion of a major public works project
• Defense of a multibillion-dollar RICO and common law fraud action against a foreign political figure and his family in U.S. federal trial and appellate courts

Publications, Speeches and Presentations

• Chapter on United States Arbitration in GAR Reference, 2010-11 (Michael P. Lennon, co-author)
• “North American Overview,” The International Comparative Legal Guide to International Arbitration, 2008-09 (Jay L. Alexander, co-author)
• “Bankruptcy Crimes,” Federal Sentencing Guidelines, Lexis Publishing, 2002 (Jay L. Alexander, co-author)
• “Operation of the New Article 9 Choice of Law Rules in an International Context,”Texas Law Review, February 2000