Fountain Court Chambers has announced that Lord Peter Goldsmith KC, a former Attorney General in the Blair administration, will rejoin the set on his retirement from Debevoise & Plimpton in January 2026.
Goldsmith, who is also a former chair of the Bar Council, served as Attorney General from 2001 to 2007, before joining the US firm upon leaving government. He is currently co-managing partner of Debevoise’s London office and chair of the firm’s European and Asian litigation practice. Before entering public life, he was a prominent silk at the set from 1972 until 2001.
Goldsmith is also vice-chair of the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre, which is co-chaired by his former Debevoise colleague and former International Bar Association president, David Rivkin, now an arbitrator.
Goldsmith said he would continue to practise as leading counsel as well as an arbitrator, saying: “I practise globally in arbitration and litigation, and the opportunity to return to Fountain Court to sit both as counsel and arbitrator at this juncture aligns perfectly with both my experience and the evolving needs of international disputants.”
Peter Furci, presiding partner at Debevoise, said: “Peter has been an outstanding lawyer and colleague since joining Debevoise, and we are grateful for his many contributions to the firm and our clients.
“As a leader of our London, European and Asian disputes team, he helped build the practice into one of the foremost in the market. Known by colleagues and clients for his keen legal mind and remarkable generosity, Peter will be missed by all. We wish him the best in his future endeavours, and we look forward to continued collaboration with him in his new role.”
Under Goldsmith’s watch Debevoise has developed a strong bench of disputes partners, with Samantha Rowe, Tony Dymond and fellow silk Jeff Sullivan KC prominent among them. Sullivan joined the firm from Gibson Dunn in 2023 as co-chair of the international arbitration practice.
The firm declined to comment on who would undertake his leadership roles, with Goldsmith sharing management duties in London with tax partner Richard Ward.
He founded the Bar Pro Bono Unit (now Advocate), as well as initiating the Attorney General’s pro bono committees. He was appointed chair of the board at the national pro bono charity LawWorks in September, which celebrated Pro Bono Week earlier this month.
He is also a founding member of the Access to Justice Foundation, previously chaired by the newly-appointed Mr Justice Mansfield, who stood down on appointment to the bench, with Andrew Seager acting as interim chair.
Also joining the set is Sir Nicholas Underhill, the former Lord Justice of Appeal and vice president of the Civil Division of the Court of Appeal. Having earlier practised at Fountain Court for nearly three decades before going to the bench, Underhill will practise as an arbitrator and mediator, bringing extensive experience in complex commercial matters.
Underhill became a High Court judge in 2006, sitting both in the Queen’s Bench Division and the Chancery Division. Between 2009 and 2011, he served as president of the Employment Appeal Tribunal, before being promoted to the Court of Appeal in 2013 and becoming vice president in 2018. He has presided over appeals covering the full range of the court’s civil work, including the commercial, employment and pharmaceutical fields.
The move comes as two of Underhill’s former colleagues rejoined 7 King’s Bench Walk earlier this week as arbitrators.
Responding, Fountain Court’s head of chambers, Richard Handyside KC, said: “On behalf of chambers, I am delighted to welcome Sir Nicholas Underhill and (in due course) Lord Goldsmith KC back to Fountain Court.
“Sir Nicholas and Lord Goldsmith are hugely distinguished, experienced and respected legal figures, and together they will significantly enhance our ability to serve clients in the most complex global disputes,” he added.
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