Paris partner Yas Banifatemi, founder and head of the firm's public international law practice, was named to The American Lawyer's "45 Under 45" list of outstanding women lawyers. Banifatemi, who joined the firm in 1997 after earning an LLM from Harvard Law School and a PhD in International Law from Université Panthéon-Assas (Paris II), quickly established a global reputation as both counsel and arbitrator. She is lead counsel, alongside Emmanuel Gaillard, head of the firm's international arbitration practice, in the USD 104 billion arbitrations brought by the majority shareholders of former Yukos Oil Company against the Russian Federation. Her PIL expertise was instrumental in securing a favorable award for the firm's clients in the jurisdictional phase of what has been described as the largest arbitration ever.

Banifatemi is also increasingly solicited to act as an arbitrator. "Those appointments, say colleagues in the field, point up greater recognition of her abilities among her peers," the article points out. In addition to her work as a practice leader, as counsel and as arbitrator, Banifatemi is praised for setting up an international trainee program in the area of international arbitration, which is widely recognized as the best of its kind.