Craig Miles
is a partner in King & Spalding’s International Arbitration Group, residing in the Houston office. In 2011, Mr. Miles was named to Global Arbitration Review’s “45 Under 45” listing of the world’s leading international arbitration practitioners under the age of 45.
His practice focuses on representing foreign investors in disputes with host governments, primarily before the World Bank’s International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), and private parties in commercial disputes before the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the American Arbitration Association (AAA), and other domestic and international arbitral institutions. Mr. Miles has first- or second-chaired dozens of arbitral hearings involving disputes throughout North and South America, Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East, with particularly strong experience in bilateral investment treaty (BIT) disputes in the oil & gas and infrastructure sectors and in Latin America. Among his recent cases are some of the largest ICSID BIT awards and settlements ever obtained by foreign investors, against the likes of the governments of Argentina, Bolivia, Egypt and Venezuela. He also acts as lead external counsel to the Arbitration Committee of the USA Rice Millers Association, a trade group that has administered dozens of arbitrations involving the rice industry worldwide.
Mr. Miles regularly appears in peer-reviewed rankings such as Chambers, Who’s Who, Best Lawyers in America, Legal 500 and Latin Lawyer. Who’s Who notes that Mr. Miles enjoys a “formidable reputation” as a “smart and focused” advocate. Chambers USA describes him as “a young partner who impresses observers with the scope of his practice” and who “handles both investor-state and commercial cases with equal aplomb,” while Chambers Latin America calls him “an impressive, responsive, and helpful lawyer” who is “distinguished by peers for his quality work in the field.” In addition, Chambers Global has labeled him an “up and comer” who is “tipped for greatness by peers,” and “the man behind a lot of the recent success of the group.” Mr. Miles frequently speaks and publishes on international arbitration issues, occasionally in Spanish, in which he is proficient along with French. Among other practice-area appointments and membership, he currently serves on the Investment Arbitration Committee of the Latin American Arbitration Institute (ALArb), the Arbitration Committee of the International Bar Association (IBA), on the Advisory Board of the Institute for Transnational Arbitration (ITA), and on the Board of Editors of Juris Publishing’s Journal of Damages in International Arbitration. He formerly served on the ICC’s Task Force on Investor-State Arbitration.
Publications
Mr. Miles is the author of a number of publications and speeches relating to domestic and international arbitration and litigation, including:
Quantum Quarterly: The Damages Newsletter, a regular publication of King & Spalding’s International Arbitration Group (co-editor)
“Advocacy Regarding Damages in International Arbitration,” in The Journal of Damages in International Arbitration, Vol, 1, Issue 1, 2014
“Book Review: Third Party Funding in International Arbitration,” in Global Arbitration Review, February 13, 2013
Contributor, “Public Policy versus Private Interest: Has Balance Been Maintained in Investment Protections in the Asia-Pacific Region?’, Chapter 10 in Investment Treaty Arbitration and International Law, JurisNet 2012 (Ian A. Laird and Todd. J. Weiler, eds.)
“Recent Developments in Class-Action Arbitrations,” Paper presented at the U.S.-Mexico Bar Association’s 2011 Annual Meeting and CLE Conference in Houston, November 2011 (co-author with Ndanga Kamau)
“Book Review: Global Administrative Law: Towards a Lex Mercatoria,” in Global Arbitration Review, Vol. 4, Issue 6, July 2011
“Advocacy Regarding Damages in International Arbitration,” Chapter 24 in The Art of Advocacy in International Arbitration (Second Edition), Juris Publishing 2010 (R. Doak Bishop and Edward G. Kehoe, eds.)
“The Consent of States and Article 25(4) of the ICSID Convention,” in The Agreement to Arbitrate, Volume IV of the Collection on International Arbitration of the Peruvian Arbitration Institute 2010 (in Spanish) (co-author with Silvia M. Marchili)
“Sovereign Immunity,” Chapter 2 in Enforcement of Arbitral Awards Against Sovereigns, Juris Publishing 2009 (R. Doak Bishop, ed.)
“Where’s My Umbrella? An ‘Ordinary Meaning’ Approach to Answering Three Key Questions That Have Emerged from the ‘Umbrella Clause’ Debate,” Chapter 1 in Investment Treaty Arbitration and International Law, JurisNet 2008 (TJ Grierson Weiler, ed.)
“Arbitration Roadmap: A Guide to Clauses, Procedures and Hearings,” TexasBarBooks 2007 (co-author with Mina A. Brees and R. Doak Bishop)
“Principles of Persuasion,” Paper presented at the University of Houston’s Litigation and Trial Tactics Course in Houston and Dallas, November-December 2007 (co-author with R. Bruce Hurley)
“Lost Profits and the Discounted Cash Flow Method of Calculation,” World Arbitration & Mediation Review Vol. 1, No. 1, 33-42 (2007) (co-author with R. Doak Bishop)
“International Arbitration,” Monthly Column in Latin Lawyer 2006-2007 (co-author with R. Doak Bishop and Roberto Aguirre Luzi)
“International Tax Arbitrations,” Article in Latin Lawyer September 2006 (co-author with R. Doak Bishop and Roberto Aguirre Luzi)
“Arbitration,” Chapter 4 of the State Bar of Texas’s 2003 Alternative Dispute Resolution Handbook (co-author with R. Doak Bishop)
“Strategic Options Available When Catastrophe Strikes the Major International Energy Project,” 36(4) Texas International Law Journal 636 (2001) (co-author with R. Doak Bishop and Sashe D. Dimitroff)
Speaking Engagements
“Damages,” Panelist at Center for International Legal Studies (CILS) International Arbitration Symposium in Salzburg, Austria, May 2014
“Awarding Damages: Proportionality, Contributory Fault, and Arbitral Tribunals’ Discretion or Toss of a Coin?”, Panelist at Juris Conferences’ Eight Annual Investment Treaty Arbitration Conference in Washington, DC, March 2014
“Jurisdictional Overlaps Arising Out of Treaty Obligations,” Panelist at Columbia Arbitration Day 2014 in New York City, March 2014
“Damages in International Arbitration — from Case Filing to Arbitration Award,” Panelist at Juris Conferences’ Second Annual Damages in International Arbitration Conference in Washington, DC, November 2013
“Practice and Procedure,” Panel Moderator at the LCIA’s Symposium on International Arbitration in Bogotá, February 2013
“How Much is Prevailing Worth?”, Panelist at Juris Conferences’ Damages in International Arbitration in New York City, October 2012
“Using International Law as a Tool to Prevent Disputes,” Presentation at Local and International Protection of Investments in Natural Resources: Preventing Socio-Environmental Conflicts seminar in Quito, Ecuador, May 2012
“Keeping It Fair and Just: Dealing With Testimonial Evidence and Lawyer Strategies in an International Arbitration Context,” Panelist at the ITA’s 8th Annual Americas Workshop: The Merits Hearing: Getting the Message to the Tribunal in Santiago de Chile, April 2012
“Disputes Arising out of, or Related to, Overlapping Contract and Treaty Obligations: Procedural Issues,” Presentation at Columbia Arbitration Day 2012 in New York City, March 2012
“Recent Developments, Trends and Significant Decisions in International Arbitration,” Presentation at the U.S.-Mexico Bar Association’s 2011 Annual Meeting and CLE Conference in Houston, November 2011
“Unique Considerations Regarding Damages in Investment and Commercial Arbitration,” Presentation at Arbitration Forum 2011: Arbitration and the Recovery of Damages and Loss of Income: The Mexican Legal Regime and International Practice in Mexico City, September 2011
“Using Investment Treaties and Investment Arbitration to Protect Investments,” Presentation at the California and San Diego International Bar Associations’ Doing Business in the Emerging Markets of Russia, India and the Middle East in San Diego, May 2011
“International Investment Law,” Presentation at International Law Weekend ─ West of the International Law Association (American Branch)’s 2021: International Law Ten Years From Now in Los Angeles, February 2011
“Foreign Investors vs. Host States: Shifting Trends in Investment Arbitration?”, Debate at the Columbia International Arbitration Association/Vale Columbia Center on Sustainable International Investment’s Events Series in New York City, November 2010
“Comparison Between the 2004 US Model BIT and an Analysis of the Awards Under the US-Argentina BIT,” Presentation (in Spanish) at the Third Forum on Investment Arbitration in Mexico City, September 2010
“Public Policy versus Private Interest: Has Balance Been Maintained in Investment Protections in the Asia-Pacific Region?”, Presentation at Juris Conferences’ Fourth Annual Investment Treaty Arbitration ─ A Debate and Discussion: Investment Treaty Arbitration in the Asia-Pacific Region in Washington DC, April 2010
“Dealing With Damages,” Presentation at the American Bar Association International Law Section’s 2009 Fall Meeting in Miami, October 2009
“Provisional Measures in Investment Arbitration,” Presentation (in Spanish) at the Ecuadorian-American Chamber of Commerce’s Fourth Conference on International Arbitration in Quito, Ecuador, September 2009
“Psychology of Persuasion,” Presentation at the University of Houston’s Litigation and Trial Tactics Course in Dallas, March 2009
“Expropriation Damages and Methodologies, Fair Market Value and Discrete Damages Problems,” Panel Moderator at Remedies in Commercial, Investment and Energy Arbitrations, University of Texas School of Law CLE Program in Houston, April 2008
“Contract Claims and Umbrella Clauses,” “Appointment of Arbitrators,” and “Damages in Investment Treaty Arbitrations,” Presentations at International Arbitration Seminar at the Center of Excellence in Finance in Ljubljana, Slovenia, January 2008
“Guarantee Security Of Investment Through Bilateral And Multilateral Treaties” and “Workshop A: Enhance the Stability of Your Contracts Through an In-Depth Understanding of the Dispute Resolution Options,” Presentations at Optimising Production Sharing Contracts and Joint Operating Agreements for Sustainable Exploration & Production Growth, Energy IQ Conference in London, December 2007
“The Initiation of an Investment Arbitration: How to Get Off to a Good Start,” Panel Moderator at Commercial and Investment Arbitration in Latin America: New Challenges for Governments, Corporations and Practitioners, Cameron May Conference in Quito, Ecuador, November 2007
“Stage II: Answer to the Request for Arbitration,” Presentation at Fourth Annual Seminar on International Commercial Arbitration: How to Handle Oil & Gas Industry Cases, Arbitration Program at Washington College of Law at American University in Washington DC, October 2007
“Dispute Resolution,” Presentation at Rocky Mountain Mineral Foundation’s International Energy Law, Contracts and Negotiation Midstream Course in Houston, October 2007
“Where’s My Umbrella? A Look Inside the Umbrella Clause Debate,” Presentation at Juris Conferences’ Investment Treaty Arbitration: A Debate and Discussion, Washington DC, May 2007
“International Arbitration of Foreign Investment Disputes,” Presentation at the Stanford Law School International Speaker Series in Palo Alto, California, March 2007
“LNG Projects and Unique Issues in Energy Arbitrations,” Presentation (in Spanish) in Buenos Aires, Argentina, September 2006
“Discovery and Evidence in International Arbitration,” Presentation at Texas Bar CLE’s Advanced Evidence and Discovery Law Course in Houston, May 2004
“Psychology of Persuasion,” Presentation at the University of Houston’s Litigation and Trial Tactics Course in Dallas, May 2004
“International Arbitration of Foreign Investment Disputes,” Presentation before the Houston Bar Association’s International Law Section, May 2004
“Enforcement of International Arbitral Awards,” “Interim Judicial Measures Pending Arbitration,” and “Employer Considerations in Implementing a Mandatory Arbitration Program for Employment Disputes,” Presentations at King & Spalding CLE seminars
