Tomas is a Partner specialising in international commercial and investment arbitration. He represents investors, States, state-owned entities and commercial clients in high-value, complex and often politically sensitive disputes.

He has particular experience in matters involving Eastern Europe, Central Asia and Africa. Tomas acts as counsel and advocate in commercial and investment-treaty arbitrations under the ICSID, ICC, LCIA, SCC and UNCITRAL Rules, as well as in related court proceedings.

His practice includes disputes concerning energy and natural resources, infrastructure, construction, telecommunications, financial services, commodities and joint ventures. He has particular experience in investment treaty arbitration and public international law, including disputes arising under bilateral investment treaties and the Energy Charter Treaty.

Tomas regularly advises on pre-dispute strategy, investment structuring and treaty protection. His work includes disputes concerning petroleum, mining and renewable energy, as well as complex shareholder, joint-venture and contractual disputes.

Prior to joining Carter-Ruck, Tomas founded and ran Vail Dispute Resolution, a specialist international arbitration practice. He previously practised in the international arbitration teams at Freshfields and White & Case in London.

Tomas also sits as arbitrator. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and has been appointed in more than a dozen commercial disputes, often as sole arbitrator. His appointments have included commercial disputes concerning petrochemicals, energy, mining, manufacturing and international sale contracts.

Tomas is qualified as a Solicitor of England and Wales and an attorney in New York. He is a native speaker of English and Russian and is fluent in French.

Tomas is ranked by Chambers UK 2027 in Band 4 for both Public International Law and International Arbitration: Investor-State Arbitration.

Clients describe him as “an experienced and talented arbitration practitioner with great instincts regarding case strategy.” They also praise his understanding of clients’ needs and flexibility in finding ways to meet them.

Chambers sources describe Tomas as “a very experienced and sophisticated lawyer, always capable of looking at the case outside the box and providing bespoke, elegant solutions.”

They also note that he “excels at navigating arbitral proceedings with clarity, discipline and procedural finesse, while never losing sight of the broader context of a dispute.”

Legal 500 describes Tomas as “a standout partner” who is “extremely detail-oriented, highly experienced, and an effective strategic partner.”

Tomas is also recognised by Lexology Index: Arbitration, Best Lawyers and Thomson Reuters Stand-out Lawyers.

Tomas’s representative experience includes:

  • Representing a Lithuanian investor in an ICSID arbitration against Belarus under the Lithuania–Belarus investment treaty concerning the design and construction of a luxury hotel and associated infrastructure at Minsk airport.
  • Representing a Dutch investor in an SCC arbitration against an Eastern European state under the Energy Charter Treaty concerning photovoltaic projects and the renewable-energy support regime.
  • Acting as arbitration counsel for the general partner of an investment fund in two London-seated LCIA arbitrations concerning ownership, governance and control of a major integrated power utility.
  • Representing an energy company in an SCC arbitration seated in Stockholm concerning performance of an English-law energy-supply agreement, together with parallel court proceedings. Following the award, acting with Swedish counsel in challenge proceedings at the seat raising issues of mandatory EU sanctions law.
  • Representing a consortium of energy companies in UNCITRAL tax and fiscal-stabilisation disputes with Kazakhstan arising from a production-sharing agreement, including the negotiation of a multibillion-dollar settlement with State authorities.
  • Representing a contractor in a high-value LCIA arbitration concerning the construction of an FPSO.
  • Representing a global commodities trader in an ICC joint-venture dispute concerning a processing plant in Eastern Europe.
  • Acting for refinery shareholders in an LCIA joint-venture dispute in the Middle East, obtaining document-production relief under the Arbitration Act 1996 and a final award of specific performance.
  • Acting for a company in the enforcement of an arbitral award arising from a real-estate and construction dispute.
  • Acting in ICC expert-determination proceedings concerning a major power-plant complex in the Middle East.