CMS boosts international arbitration offering with BCLP co-head hire

BCLP’s arbitration co-head George Burn is leaving to join CMS after more than eight years at the firm.

Burn brings more than two decades of cross-border disputes experience to CMS, whose international arbitration practice spans more than 100 partners globally.

He joined BCLP in 2017 from Vinson & Elkins in London where he was also a partner. At BCLP, Burn served as co-head of the firm's arbitration practice and advised on disputes across sectors including energy and natural resources, infrastructure and construction.

International platform

Burn pointed to CMS’ international footprint as a key driver behind the move. 

“With colleagues on the ground in key markets across Central and Eastern Europe, Asia and the Middle East, CMS offers exactly the kind of platform that international arbitration work demands,” he said. 

BCLP exited Asia last year, with several of its partners later joining CMS across Hong Kong and Singapore.

What they said 

“George's appointment is a clear statement of our ambition to continue building one of the world's leading international arbitration teams,” said CMS’ head of international arbitration Philip Norman.

Burn joins CMS on 1 June.