Patrick Taylor is a partner in the London office of Debevoise & Plimpton, Co-Chair of the firm’s Africa Practice Group and member of the firm’s France Desk. His practice focuses on commercial and investment treaty arbitration, with particular experience in the pharmaceuticals, energy, and telecommunications & technology sectors.
Qualified in England & Wales and Ireland as a solicitor-advocate, Mr. Taylor has advised and represented clients in disputes throughout the world.
Mr. Taylor’s practice is geared towards advising clients in the most high-stakes, complex and valuable disputes, and he regularly advises clients on investment protection and investment dispute settlements in high-risk jurisdictions; shareholder, joint venture, collaboration, distribution, licensing, post-M&A and general contractual disputes; tax-related disputes; fiscal and legislative stabilisation rights; and complex damages nalysis.
Mr. Taylor frequently sits as an arbitrator.
Mr. Taylor is recommended as a leading lawyer for arbitration in Chambers Global (2024) and Chambers UK (2024), where he is described as “tenacious and very committed to his clients.” He is said to be “a highly effective and commercially minded lawyer” with “exceptional advocacy skills” and “a fantastic strategic mind” who is “extremely hands-on, practical and smart when handling very complex cases.” He receives further praise for his “superb knowledge of international dispute resolution mechanisms,” and is said to be “incredibly thorough and detail-focused, with the ability to provide advice in a pragmatic and comprehensible way.” The guide has also described him as “a class act” whose “tenacity is absolutely loved by clients,” and “a fantastic advocate, and a well-rounded lawyer for international arbitration.” He is listed as a Litigation Star in Benchmark Litigation Europe (2021), which has described him as “excellent.” He is included in The Legal 500’s International Arbitration Powerlist, and noted as a leading individual for International Arbitration in The Legal 500 UK (2024). The guide also recommends him for his public international law practice and for his work in emerging markets. He is also recommended by The Legal 500 Latin America (2024) for international arbitration, and listed by Who’s Who Legal (2024) as a Thought Leader for arbitration.
Mr. Taylor is a member of the IBA Arbitration Subcommittee on Investor State Arbitration, a past member of the IBA Arbitration & Insolvency and IBA Arb40 Subcommittees, and a regular speaker at conferences on arbitration-related topics.
Mr. Taylor graduated with an LL.B. honours law degree from Cambridge University in 2001 and was admitted as a solicitor in England & Wales in 2005 and in Ireland in 2017. He is bilingual in English/French and fluent in Spanish.