Whitney Debevoise's practice involves international financial transactions, public policy, international arbitration, multijurisdictional litigation, banking, and international trade. Mr. Debevoise rejoined the firm in 2010, having served as US Executive Director of the World Bank from 2007.
Mr. Debevoise has extensive experience in major international financial transactions and the capital markets, including five Brady Plan restructurings and other more recent sovereign restructurings (Belize, Greece, Argentina), numerous major privatizations, Eurobonds, and lending facilities with bilateral or multilateral credit support. He has handled significant International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) arbitrations and served as an arbitrator in commercial and investor-state cases. In addition, Mr. Debevoise functions at the forefront of trade liberalization, advising with respect to World Trade Organization (WTO) accession and panel proceedings, and regional trade integration.
As US Executive Director of the World Bank, a presidentially appointed and Senate-confirmed position, Mr. Debevoise represented the United States on the Boards of Directors of four institutions of the World Bank Group: the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the International Development Association, the International Finance Corporation, and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency. In addition, he represented the United States at meetings of the Administrative Council of the World Bank Group's fifth institution, ICSID.
During Mr. Debevoise's tenure, the World Bank increased its financial operations significantly in response to the successive food, fuel, and global financial crises affecting developing countries. Mr. Debevoise had a leading role in capital increase and share realignment negotiations and participated in preparations for G-8 and G-20 summits.
Mr. Debevoise has written articles on securities regulation, WTO dispute resolution, debt restructuring, international banking, US export controls, and sovereign immunity. He has lectured at the Harvard and Yale Law Schools, the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, the Lauder Institute of the University of Pennsylvania, and the Hungarian Institute for the Training of Bankers.
Mr. Debevoise is a summa cum laude graduate of Yale University, with departmental honors in history and Latin American studies, and a graduate of Harvard Law School. He holds an honorary degree from the Vermont Law School.