Neerja Gurnani

Neerja Gurnani is an Associate in Quinn Emanuel’s London office and a member of the firm’s international arbitration and litigation practice groups. Her practice focuses on complex commercial disputes, investor-State arbitration, and inter-State matters, acting for multinational corporations, sovereign states, and high net worth individuals in high stakes, cross-border disputes.

Neerja has experience across a range of sectors including financial services, restructuring & insolvency, energy, mining, insurance and technology. She has acted in arbitration proceedings under ICSID, UNCITRAL, ICC, PCA and LCIA rules, and in commercial litigation proceedings before the English High Court and the Court of Appeal, as well as onshore and offshore courts in the UAE.

Her recent matters include Alta Trading v Bosworth & Ors, a $335 million Commercial Court fraud trial; NMC Health v EY, a $2.7 billion professional negligence claim listed in The Lawyer’s Top 20 Cases for 2025 (involving parallel proceedings before the ADGM Courts); and Phones 4u v EE & Ors, a landmark £1 billion competition claim.

She has also acted in several major investment treaty arbitrations including AS PNB Banka v Latvia, Igor Boyko v Ukraine, and Cairn Energy v India, engaging with complex issues concerning jurisdictional challenges, treaty interpretation, sovereign immunity, enforcement and intra-EU objections. Her commercial arbitration experience spans complex contractual disputes including shareholder disputes, breach of warranty claims, insurance claims and licensing issues.

Dual qualified as a solicitor of England and Wales and an Indian advocate, Neerja brings unique cross-jurisdictional insight to her practice, particularly in matters involving Indian parties or legal issues. Her cross-border expertise extends to advising on disputes with connections to the Middle East, including before the ADGM and DIFC Courts.

Neerja holds an MPhil in Law (Distinction) and a Bachelor of Civil Law (BCL) from the University of Oxford, where she specialised in international arbitration and commercial dispute resolution. She was awarded the Oxford HRH–Rhodes University Fellowship and the Salve Scholarship.

She has interned at the Supreme Court of India and High Court of New Delhi, along with top Indian law firms, and remains active in the pro bono sphere, including working with RCJ’s Citizen Advice & Law Centre and Oxford Pro Bono Publico. She also serves as a long-standing judge for the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition.