HKA, a leading global consultancy in risk mitigation, dispute resolution, expert witness and litigation support services, announces today that it has made another senior appointment in its Forensic Accounting and Commercial Damages (FACD) practice, as Who’s Who Legal Global Elite Thought Leader, Patrick Hébréard, joins the firm as Partner based in Paris working alongside six other Partners in the firm’s EMEA region.

Patrick has 20 years of experience acting as expert witness and adviser in the energy industry and has been appointed as testifying expert in many complex and high value arbitration proceedings. Specialising in international arbitration, Patrick has  assisted major companies and leading law firms in various regions across the world, including Europe, Africa, Middle East and South America. He has worked on large and complex cases where damages claimed have exceeded $1bn.

“I am thrilled to welcome Patrick, a highly experienced commercial damages and international arbitration expert, to our team based in Paris. With six FACD Partners now in post across EMEA along with a growing support team, our FACD practice is moving quickly to achieve its ambitions and growth agenda in this space, and to which Patrick’s wealth of experience will be invaluable.”

Amanda Clack – Partner and Regional CEO, EMEA

Patrick acts as a commercial damages expert and also as an energy industry expert, providing opinion on industry practice and market standard regarding contracts and project development, notably in relation to supply contracts, transportation matters, market dynamics and infrastructure development. He has been working recently on various matters in different regions of the world: the termination of a gas pipeline concession agreement in South America, the termination of a hydropower plant project in Southern Europe, a litigation in France over Force Majeure in a power sales contract during the Covid pandemic, a LNG price review in Southern Europe, a maritime border dispute in Africa, a gas pricing dispute in South East Asia, and the termination of a gas transportation contract in South East Asia.

In addition to his work as expert witness, during his career Patrick has also acquired significant experience of the gas/LNG and power markets and has negotiated multiple long-term supply and purchase, transportation and tolling agreements. Having acted as buyer, seller, producer, shipper, regasification capacity holder, pipeline operator and shareholder, he enjoys a broad and unique perspective on the commercial, contractual, regulatory and financial issues at play.

“Patrick provides further capabilities to our rapidly growing bench of world class financial and economic experts.  His depth of experience in the energy sector, including for gas pricing disputes, and ability to testify in three different languages (English, French and Spanish) are immensely valuable.”

Colin Johnson – Partner and FACD Lead, EMEA

Patrick is a trained engineer with a Master of Science, specialised in Energy and Aeronautics. He also holds a Master’s degree in Marketing and a Master’s degree in Arbitration Law.

Patrick is fluent and works in English, French and Spanish.

View Patrick’s full expert profile

Patrick said: “I am very pleased to join the team at HKA where I will be focusing on the energy sector, in both disputes and the advisory side. I am very excited to be part of the ambitious development of our expert dispute practice in EMEA and to be working with such an amazing group of talented and experienced professionals.”

ABOUT HKA

HKA is a leading global consultancy in risk mitigation and dispute resolution, using our multi-disciplinary expertise to provide a comprehensive set of specialist services:

• Expert, Claims and Advisory services for the capital projects and infrastructure sector
• Forensic Accounting and Commercial Damages services for all types of contracts, including commercial and investment treaty disputes.
• Consulting services to support companies working on US Federal Government contracts.

Headquartered in the UK, HKA brings a proud record of excellent service and high achievement to bear on today’s challenges. As trusted independent consultants, experts and advisers, we help clients manage disputes, risk and uncertainty on complex contracts and challenging projects.

We work with government agencies, local authorities, contractors, legal firms, and other professional service providers, as well as owners and operators, financial institutions and insurers. Clients have access to leaders and problem-solvers who decode complexity through collaborative working and innovative thinking, making the best possible outcomes a reality for our clients, every time.

As well as more than 500 expert witnesses, HKA now has in excess of 500 advisors and consultants – across 40+ offices in 18 countries – with the skills and experience that are essential to get to the heart of even the most complex issues. Our people have vast first-hand experience spanning all major industries and the world’s most complex megaprojects, as well as an international track record of achieving successful outcomes.

HKA’s global portfolio includes some of the world’s largest and most prestigious commissions across a wide range of industries including buildings, industrial and manufacturing, power and utilities, resources, transportation infrastructure, technology, financial services, government contracts and non-profit.

Media contact:

Name	Suzanne Rayson
Title	Marketing & Communications Director, Europe
Number	+44 1928 756 500
Email	SuzanneRayson@hka.com