Shearman & Sterling has successfully acted for former shareholders of the Yukos oil company in the largest arbitration award in history, defeating the Russian Federation – a client of Baker Botts and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton – in the process.

The Hague’s arbitration court today (28 July) unanimously ruled that Russia must pay $50bn (£29.5bn) in damages to Yukos’ shareholders GML, following a decade-long legal battle.