Arbitrators

Alison is recommended in this field for her “Extraordinarily impressive advocacy”; clients say that “her rapport-building capabilities with witnesses and the tribunal alike are second to none. She is an absolute delight to work with, a true team player, and has an incredible brain.”

She has two decades of experience in international arbitration, beginning in the early 2000s, when she was part of the legal team representing Argentina in a number of legally significant investment arbitrations and annulment applications, including Vivendi II, Siemens, CMS and Azurix. Since then she has acted in numerous significant and high-value cases for a wide range of States, companies and individuals. She is experienced at acting in teams with international law firms, firms local to the State of the dispute, and in-house corporate and Government advisers. As an experienced courtroom advocate, she is regularly instructed to deal with the cross-examination of factual and expert witnesses, as well as the legal and strategic aspects of the case.

Because of Alison’s practice in public international law, she is often brought into arbitrations which raise questions of international law, for example concerning state succession, disputed territory or human rights issues. She has also acted in some of the most significant inter-State arbitrations of recent years (see above). Alison has a particular interest in the application of international law in the domestic courts, and has been instructed in a number of cases relating to the enforcement of arbitral awards against State assets, including questions of State immunity. She also regularly advises investors and States on legal issues relating to the making and structuring of investments, and the strategic handling of emerging disputes.

Chambers & Partners 2025, Civil Liberties & Human Rights:

“She is one of the most compelling advocates I have come across in my career.”

“Alison is brilliantly clever and masterful at drafting.”

Chambers & Partners 2025, International Arbitration: General Commercial & Insurance:

“She’s super knowledgeable about public international law and extremely friendly.”

“Alison is a delight to work with.”

“She reads the tribunal really well and doesn’t get riled up.”

“Alison Macdonald is an extremely clever, analytical, forensic and measured advocate.”

Chambers & Partners 2025, International Human Rights Law:

“She is one of the most compelling advocates I have come across in my career.”

“Alison is brilliantly clever and masterful at drafting.”

Chambers & Partners 2025, Public International Law:

“Alison is brilliantly clever, masterful at drafting, and a very compelling advocate.”

“Death by a thousand pinpricks is her style – it’s impressive to watch her lure experts into her lair.”

“Alison is masterful with a tribunal; I have never seen anyone build rapport in the same way.”

“Alison is a very effective advocate before the International Court of Justice and a consummate team player.”

“She is extremely impressive and experienced.”

“Alison is a force to be reckoned with.”

Chambers & Partners 2025, Public International Law: The English Bar:

“One of the most intelligent people I have ever met.”

“She shows intellectual confidence.”

Legal 500 2025, Business and regulatory crime (including global investigations):

“Alison is an intellectual powerhouse and able to identify the killer point in the most complex of cases. She is a joy to listen to in court, and judges hang on her word. She is engaged with every detail.”

Legal 500 2025, International human rights and criminal law:

“Alison is an outstanding human rights advocate. She has a strategic approach and an expert understanding of international human rights law, international criminal law and public international law. She is a creative and innovative thinker, and an ability to communicate sophisticated legal concepts in clear and concise terms. She is also highly personable and accessible – a real pleasure to work with.”

Legal 500 2025, International arbitration: counsel:

“Alison has incredibly depth of knowledge when it comes to arbitration. She adds specialist knowledge where required both on arbitration and human rights issues. She’s also a real pleasure to work with – her cooperative, helpful approach has been much appreciated by the whole team.”

Legal 500 2025, Public international law:

“Alison is an outstanding international law advocate. She has a strategic approach and an expert understanding of international human rights law, international criminal law and public international law – a real pleasure to work with.”

Chambers & Partners 2024, Public International Law:
“She shows intellectual confidence.” “One of the most intelligent people I have ever met.”

Chambers & Partners 2024, International Human Rights Law:
“Alison led an outstanding team and was very accessible, responsive, strategic and a pleasure to work with.” “A really stellar advocate.”

Legal 500 2023, Administrative & Public Law:
“An experienced advocate with expertise across international law and human rights.”

Legal 500 2023, Business & Regulatory Crime:
“A brilliant Silk – tremendously able with huge international skills and a delight to work with.”

Legal 500 2023, International Arbitration: General:
“Extremely bright, and very easy to work with – we brought her in for her arbitration expertise, and she did not disappoint. Willing to pull her sleeves up and deal with the detail.”

Legal 500 2023, Public International Law:
“Exceptionally hard-working, diligent and collegial. A meticulous and very effective cross-examiner. Calm and convincing under pressure. A true team player and overall a delight to work with.”

Chambers & Partners 2023, Public International Law:
“She is fiercely intelligent and extremely quick. She fights very hard for her clients and her rapport-building ability with the tribunal is second to none.” “She brings to bear the skill of being a real court advocate in a way few PIL practitioners can.”  “She has a fearsome intellect and her writing is so concise and crisp, it really gets to the point. Her oral advocacy is astonishing.”

Chambers & Partners 2023, Administrative & Public Law:
“She is really fantastic; incredibly strategic, great with clients and easy to work with. She knows the law inside out.”

Chambers & Partners 2023, Civil Liberties & Human Rights:
“She is incredibly strategic and great with clients; she knows the law inside out.”

Chambers & Partners 2022, Civil Liberties & Human Rights:
“She has great strategic vision, is excellent with clients and is very responsive.” “Alison is excellent in court and she really knows what she is talking about.”

Chambers & Partners 2022, Administrative & Public Law:
“She is an extremely good advocate who knows a lot, if not everything, in several fields of law.” “She has great strategic vision, is excellent with the client and very responsive.”

Chambers & Partners 2022, Public International Law:
“She is razor sharp, well prepared and all over the detail.” “She produces work of a high calibre. Her commitment to her cases is admirable, and she makes herself available to discuss issues whenever needed.”

Chambers & Partners 2022, International Human Rights Law:
“She has great strategic vision, is excellent with clients and is very responsive.” “Alison is excellent in court and she really knows what she is talking about.”

Legal 500 2022, Business & Regulatory Crime:
“An excellent lawyer: pragmatic and a practical problem solver, she takes full ownership of cases and is one of the nicest people you will meet”

Legal 500 2022, Civil Liberties & Human Rights:
“An experienced advocate with expertise across international law and human rights”

Legal 500 2022, International Arbitration: General:
“Very diligent and collegiate. Equally strong advising on matters of strategy as well as substance. Calm and convincing as an oral advocate”

Legal 500 2022, Public International Law:
“Alison is a shining star, and one of the smartest, most charming advocates at the Bar”

Chambers & Partners 2021, Civil Liberties & Human Rights:
“A smart and impressive barrister.”

Chambers & Partners 2021, Public International Law:
“Alison is a truly wonderful advocate and is excellent at interventions before the ICJ. She is the consummate professional and answers questions excellently.” “She is a superstar. She’s phenomenally bright and is the best-prepared advocate. Her rapport-building ability is fantastic.”

Legal 500 2021, Business & Regulatory:
“An outstandingly bright silk. Methodical, clear and precise. She has great client care skills and the client is very happy to follow her sage advice.”

Legal 500 2021, Civil Liberties & Human Rights:
“Experienced advocate with expertise across international law and human rights.”

Legal 500 2021, International Arbitration: Counsel:
“A tremendous addition to Essex Court – delightful to work with, exceptionally clever with great intuition for international work and relationships.”

Legal 500 2021, Public International Law:
“Classy, and brilliantly smart, a pleasure to work with and adored by clients for her ability to pull together a flawless case.”

Chambers and Partners, 2020:
“Extraordinarily impressive advocacy and her rapport-building capabilities with witnesses and the tribunal alike are second to none. She is an absolute delight to work with, a true team player, and has an incredible brain.”

“I was blown away by her advocacy. She’s so calm and persuasive; she knows the best points and gets them across in a way that really instils confidence.”

“She’s very good on both legal argument and advocacy, and I’ve been really impressed with her innovative approach.”

“She has a very well-judged style and wins the confidence of the court.”

Legal 500, 2019:
“A brilliant oral advocate who performs exceptionally well before the most prestigious international courts and arbitral tribunals.”

“She is incredibly bright and comes up with innovative solutions at every turn.”

“One of the key advocates in complex appeals raising novel points of law.”

Chambers and Partners, 2019:
“An asset to the Bar. She is extremely approachable, intelligent and always quick to help out where she can. She gets the issues and delivers a first-class service.”

“Simply amazing, fantastically bright, personable, approachable and delivers a truly outstanding and effective service.”

“She is ferociously clever.”

Chambers and Partners, 2018:
“Her knowledge of the area is vast and her experience is blatantly obvious. She has an excellent advocacy manner which is compelling and effective and perfectly judged, and she is brilliant with the client. An impressive operator.”

“Able to take complex legal arguments and present them in a very simple and straightforward way”

“She is excellent, her written work is brilliant.”

“A very clever, smart advocate.”

Legal 500, 2018:
“An excellent barrister – responsive and a true team player”

“A valuable asset in the litgation team”

Chambers and Partners, 2017:
“She’s first rate, incredibly bright and capable of dealing with complex issues by turning them into understandable concepts”

“She has a relaxed and measured style that is compelling.”

Chambers and Partners, 2016:
“She is an intellectual giant, works incredibly hard, is very cool under pressure and will never back down when she knows she is right on an issue”

“She’s a brilliant lawyer. She works incredibly hard and is very cool under pressure”

“She is a fantastically good tactical leader who combines a strong knowledge of international law with killer litigation instincts”

Chambers Global 2016, Public International Law:
“Extremely good and one of the very few barristers who works at the confluence between criminal, public and commercial law”

1999: Elected a Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford

1999-2000: Visiting Lecturer in Public Law, King’s College London

2000: Called to the Bar (Gray’s Inn)

2017: Appointed Queen’s Counsel

BA (Law), Queens’ College, Cambridge, 1998: starred first; came top of year and was awarded the Slaughter & May prize for the best performance in law finals and the George Long prize for jurisprudence

BCL, Wadham College, Oxford, 1999 (first class)

Gray’s Inn Bedingfield Scholarship 1999-2000

Bar Vocational Qualification, 2000

1998: Slaughter and May Prize for best performance in law finals, University of Cambridge.

1998: George Long Prize for Jurisprudence, University of Cambridge.

2000: Bedingfield Scholarship, Gray’s Inn.

• “International law: what commercial practitioners need to know”, panellist, London International Disputes Week, June 2024
• “The full spectrum of international dispute resolution: from peaceful settlement to coercive measures and armed conflict”, American Society of International Law, Geneva, June 2024
• “When international arbitration meets the rule of law”, panel co-chair, Bocconi University International Arbitration Conference, Milan, May 2024
• “International law for commercial practitioners”, lecture, Commercial Bar Association, London, May 2024
• “The theory and practice of repurposing sanctioned assets”, panellist, Chatham House conference “Making Transgressors Pay”, May 2024
• “Deep Inside a Parallel Universe: multimodal dispute resolution”, panellist, American Society of International Law Annual Meeting, Washington DC, April 2024
• “Issues of fraud and ethics”, panellist, Paris Arbitration Week, March 2024
• “Human rights, children’s rights and climate change”, lecture, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, February 2024
• Conference on the establishment of a Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine, panellist, London, February 2024
• “30 Years of UNCLOS: Past, Present and Future”, panel chair, workshop by Debevoise & Plimpton and Essex Court Chambers, November 2023
• “International law in domestic and European courts and tribunals”, panel chair, October 2023
• “Does ISDS enhance the rule of law?”, panel chair, ArbFest, Scottish Arbitration Centre, Edinburgh, September 2023
• “Managing complexities in parallel criminal, civil and regulatory proceedings”, panellist, Fraud Lawyers’ Association Annual Conference, June 2023
• “Cross-examination for arbitration lawyers”, panellist, Dutch Arbitration Day, Amsterdam, June 2023
• “Using international law in climate change cases”, panellist, Essex Court Chambers and Hogan Lovells Climate Change Conference, London International Disputes Week, May 2023
• “Disputes involving States arising out of war”, panellist, London International Disputes Week, May 2023“Emerging issues in Energy ISDS”, panellist, British Institute of International and Comparitive Law (Investment Treaty Forum), April 2023
• “The role of international courts during armed conflict”, panellist, Harvard International Arbitration Conference, March 2023
• “ESG in investment arbitration: status and trends”, panellist, Swiss Arbitration Association, Zurich, February 2023
• “A challenge to our generation: Ukraine and accountability under international law”, panellist, New York Arbitration Week, November 2022
• “The impact on business of Governments’ climate change commitments”, chair, Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law and Jones Day, October 2022
• “Civil and criminal fraud: the international dimension”: lecture to London Solicitors Litigation Association, July 2022
• “The rise and rise of state power in international disputes”: panellist, London International Disputes Week, May 2021
• “Enforcement against States: hot topics in Europe”: panellist, French Arbitration Committee’s under 40 group (CFA40), December 2020
• “State responsibility for aiding and assisting”, panellist, London Conference on International Law, October 2019
• “The Limits of International Law as an Agent of Change”: lecture, Annual Conference of the International Law Association (British Branch), April 2019
• “Adjudicators, Negotiators, and the Evolution of Maritime Delimitation Law”, panellist, Annual Meeting of the American Society of International Law, April 2018
• “The Use of Force in relation to Sovereignty Disputes over Land Territory”: panellist, British Institute of International and Comparative Law, March 2018
• Contributing author, Canons of Construction and other Interpretive Principles in Public International Law (Kluwer, 2018)
• “Doing business with states: recent lessons learned”, Journal of International Banking and Financial Law (2018)
• Co-author, with Tim Owen KC, Prison Law (5th ed, Oxford University Press, 2015) Contributor to Fox and Webb, State Immunity (Oxford University Press, 2013)
• General Editor, with Ben Emmerson KC and Professor Andrew Ashworth KC, Human Rights and Criminal Justice (3rd ed, Sweet and Maxwell, 2012)