Velislava Hristova

Velislava Hristova holds dual qualifications as an Attorney-at-law in Bulgaria and a Solicitor in England and Wales. She specialises in investor-State arbitration, complex commercial disputes, and public international law. With over eight years of post-qualification experience, Velislava brings a wealth of experience, having worked with the international arbitration teams of leading US law firms in three of the major arbitration hubs in Europe – London, Vienna and Stockholm – and two of the largest law firms in Bulgaria. She participated in disputes across a range of industries under various institutional rules and involving parties from Europe, Asia, and Africa.

Velislava holds an LL.M. in International Commercial Arbitration Law from Stockholm University (Sweden) and an LL.M. from the University of National and World Economy (Bulgaria). Velislava specialised in Arbitration and International Commercial Law at Pace University (US) and attended the Paris Arbitration Academy (France), the ICC Summer course in International Arbitration organised by the International Chamber of Commerce (France) and the Advanced course on ICSID Arbitration organised by the International Investment Law Centre Cologne (Germany).
Velislava serves as a Vice-Chair of the International Arbitration Committee of the ABA’s International Law Section, Chair of Young Bulgarian Arbitration Practitioners, Senior Editor of the EFILA Blog, Peer Reviewer of the Journal of International Dispute Settlement and Founder of the Energy Related Arbitration Practitioners (Bulgaria).

Velislava frequently publishes and speaks on international arbitration topics. In 2022, she won first place in the Young Practitioners and Scholars Essay Competition of the European Federation for Investment Law and Arbitration, and in 2023, she won the CPR Institute’s Outstanding Professional Short Article Award.