Gibson Dunn & Crutcher hires Judge Robert Spano in London

Gibson Dunn & Crutcher hires Judge Robert Spano in London

His term ended as president of the European Court of Human Rights

US firm Gibson Dunn & Crutcher has hired Judge Robert Spano as a counsel to advise clients on multi-national disputes related to digital rights, public international laws and investor-state arbitration. He will also deal with matters related to business and human rights, environmental, social and governance and government affairs, and public policy.

His arrival is the latest in a series of hires the firm has made in Europe over the past year as it seeks to grow its London office.

Philip Rocher, the head of the London dispute resolution group at Gibson Dunn, remarked, "Judge Spano has overseen transformational change at the court, and has presided over a period of multiple generational human rights challenges for Europe. His role has involved extensive diplomatic and policy engagement with the governments of individual signatory states within the Council of Europe and with the EU institutions, in particular the European Commission."

Born in Iceland, Judge Spano has been at the European Court of Human Rights since 2013. He became the vice president in 2019 and in 2020 was appointed the president. His term at the court ended in October.

Prior to that, Judge Spano was the parliamentary ombudsman and a professor of public law at the University of Iceland. An expert in digital rights, he has been involved in a range of policy works related to challenges in several areas including disinformation, online content moderation, and freedom of expression.