Penny Madden KC

Penny Madden is an English qualified King’s counsel and partner in the London office at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. She is co-chair of the International Arbitration Practice Group and a member of the firm’s Transnational Litigation Practice Group.

She has a wide range of experience in all key aspects of international arbitration with particular expertise in shareholder, telecommunications, SPA, energy, international trade and insurance disputes. She represents clients across the globe in a wide variety of arbitration proceedings, including those before the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA), International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague (PCA) Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC), Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC) and London Maritime Arbitrators Association (LMAA), as well as in ad hoc proceedings. In addition to representing clients as counsel, Penny regularly sits as an arbitrator.

Her recent cases include representing two Middle Eastern oil and gas companies in multiple LCIA arbitrations arising out of a multi-billion oil and gas project in Kurdistan and disputed gas pipeline; representing a Middle Eastern oil and gas company in a multi-billion PCA administered arbitration against a state owned Middle East oil and gas company in a gas sales and pipe-line infrastructure project dispute; representing a telecommunications corporate in its US$17 billion dollar UNCITRAL investment treaty arbitration against a North African state for creeping expropriation and breach of the fair and equitable treatment standard; and representing shareholders in a major oil company with respect to multibillion dollar claims for expropriation under the Energy Charter Treaty against the Russian Federation.

She is a member of the LCIA, CIArb, the Financial Sector Arbitration Group and the editorial board of Commercial Dispute Resolution. She writes and lectures on a wide variety of arbitration issues and is the international arbitration specialist for the Diplomatic Book and Website for foreign Embassies and High Commissions. Penny is recognised for Public International Law, Oil & Gas and recommended as a leading individual for International Arbitration in The Legal 500 UK 2025. Chambers UK 2025, Chambers Global 2024 and Chambers Europe 2024 recommends Penny as a leading lawyer for International Arbitration, in which clients have recently noted: "she's a superb practitioner and leader who is fully devoted to her cases. She is trusted by clients for her commercial vision and her impeccable advocacy skills", “she has a presence in hearings which is impressive" and “Penny Madden is excellent to work with as co-counsel. She is responsive and respectful, and a pleasure to engage”. In previous years, clients have noted “she has a wonderful reputation and a wonderful commercial arbitration practice”, “she presents her case with depth and clarity” and “she is well respected”. She is described as “absolutely superb. She is no-nonsense, super smart and has excellent written advocacy skills”. She is also noted as a “strong advocate” who clients consider to be “extremely hard-working”. She is also noted as “very business-oriented” with “great analytical skills” and “always available for her clients”. Best Lawyers UK recommends Penny in the field of International Arbitration (2019-2025), she is listed as an expert in Arbitration in Who's Who Legal 2020, and is also ranked as a 'Litigation Star' for International Arbitration by Benchmark Litigation Europe 2022. Penny’s team won Arbitration Team of the Year 2020 in the British Lawyer Awards for its representation of a mining investor in relation to an ICSID investment treaty arbitration against a sovereign state. She is also ranked for International Arbitration and Litigation in the Lawdragon 500 Global Litigation Lawyers guide 2021 and named by Expert Guides to its 2022 Guide to World’s Leading Women in Business Law.

Penny received her Bachelor of Arts in 1990 from University of Oxford, St. Hugh’s College, and her Law Society Finals in 1992 from University of Law, Guildford. She took silk in 2016.

Capabilities

• International Arbitration
• Judgment and Arbitral Award Enforcement
• Litigation
• Privacy, Cybersecurity, and Data Innovation
• Tech and Innovation
• Transnational Litigation

Credentials

Education:

• University of Law, Guildford - 1992 Law Society Finals
• University of Law, Guildford - 1992 Common Professional Exam in Law
• University of Oxford - 1990 Bachelor of Arts

Admissions:

• England & Wales - Solicitor