Jeffrey F. Pryce, vice-chair of Steptoe's international arbitration practice, counsels clients on international legal issues and represents them in proceedings to resolve international disputes. He brings an extensive background in arbitration, litigation, government, and diplomacy to a practice focused on successfully resolving complex and multi-jurisdictional legal problems.

International Law and Litigation

International Arbitration. Mr. Pryce has represented clients involved in arbitration before ICSID, the ICSID Additional Facility, the ICC, and other international arbitral fora, as well as cases under UNCITRAL and other ad hoc procedures. He has particular experience in investor-State arbitration, having represented major US corporations in successful nine- and ten-figure arbitrations against foreign governments under bilateral and multilateral investment treaties. He also has extensive experience in international commercial arbitration, particularly in disputes arising out of energy, infrastructure, and telecommunications contracts. His practice includes arbitration conducted entirely in Spanish.

Jeffrey Pryce is Professorial Lecturer in International Law at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), where he teaches “The Role of International Tribunals in Dispute Resolution: Investment Arbitration, War Time Damages, Territorial Claims, and the Maritime Boundaries of Fish, Gas and Oil.” Mr. Pryce is also Adjunct Professor of Law at Georgetown University Law Center, where he teaches International Investment Law.

Cross-Border Litigation. Mr. Pryce has extensive experience in cross-border litigation, particularly representing US companies operating internationally. His practice includes US-court litigation implicating issues of international jurisdiction, conflicts of law and foreign law, and the simultaneous management of parallel proceedings in foreign courts or international arbitration. He has represented high-technology clients involved in major litigation in the Bombay High Court and the courts of Geneva. He is experienced in cross-border service of process, international evidence-taking, and the enforcement of foreign judgments.

Public International Law and International Criminal Law. Mr. Pryce advises clients on public international law, including issues of sovereign immunity, diplomatic immunity, treaty law, and the law of war. He also counsels clients on international criminal law.

International Law and Regulation Affecting High Technology. Mr. Pryce has significant experience in international treaties and foreign law affecting electronic communications and e-commerce, and has appeared in hearings on international regulation of electronic networks at the invitation of the EU and the CoE.

Appellate Litigation

Mr. Pryce also is an experienced appellate litigator, appearing before the US Supreme Court in certiorari proceedings, amicus filings, and argued cases, as well as before the federal Courts of Appeal and State Supreme Courts.

Government Experience

Prior to joining Steptoe, Mr. Pryce served for five years in the House and Senate as a staffer responsible for foreign policy, defense, and judiciary issues.

From 1993 to 1999, Mr. Pryce served as a senior official in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. As Special Counsel for International Affairs, he was the lead negotiator or a member of the negotiating team for the successful conclusion of nuclear disarmament agreements with Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and Kazakhstan. As Special Assistant and Counselor to the Under Secretary for Policy he had responsibility within the Department for the interagency policymaking process, congressional hearings, and public statements of US international security policy. He participated broadly in bilateral diplomatic discussions, particularly on European security matters, and in internal management of the Department. As Counselor, Mr. Pryce assumed additional lead responsibility for important cross-cutting international issues, including those arising in multilateral diplomacy. He was assigned to be the senior Defense representative on the US delegation to the Rome Conference on the ICC, and led the US delegation to NATO EAPC talks on controlling the proliferation of small arms and light weapons.