1. Home
  2. People
  3. Pouliot, Darren

Darren Pouliot

Senior Associate

London

Darren Pouliot is a Senior Associate in the International Arbitration group who brings a trial-oriented focus to his matters. Darren has significant experience in the preparation of cases for trial across jurisdictions and understands the importance of having a trial-ready mindset from the outset. 

Darren is a dual-qualified American lawyer and solicitor-advocate of England and Wales. He has an established record of working closely with clients across the finance, commodities, energy, life sciences and technology industries on all stages of disputes.

He represents clients in international arbitral proceedings under the major arbitral institutions' rules, as well as in American federal and state courts. He also holds Higher Rights of Audience with the Senior Courts of England & Wales. Darren maintains an active pro bono practice with a focus on criminal, habeas, and constitutional cases on appeal.

Darren also has direct in-house experience, having undertaken secondment to the fast-paced litigation department of one of the world's largest investment banks. He worked closely with the in-house team to assess litigation risk, advise stakeholders, and manage ongoing global litigations. He now frequently works with clients to develop their dispute resolution terms, processes, and trainings for other in-house functions.

Prior to joining Orrick, Darren earned his Juris Doctorate from Columbia Law School where he led the Columbia Business Law Review as its Editor-in-Chief and extensively studied federal constitutional, administrative, and criminal law. While there, he was a judicial intern in multiple levels of the U.S. federal judiciary, including the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, the Southern District of New York, and the District of New Jersey.

  • Commercial Arbitrations

    ICC Arbitrations. Darren has acted in numerous ICC arbitrations and related domestic proceedings including:

    • Representing a global commodities trader in ICC London arbitration in relation to a joint venture dispute arising out of a major infrastructure matter
    • Representing an international EPC Contractor in ICC London arbitration arising out of the construction of a power plant in the Caribbean, where Orrick acted as both advocates and counsel
    • Representing an international grid project developer in ICC London arbitration arising out of the construction of a power plant in the Middle East
    • Representing a joint venture contractor in ICC London arbitration arising out of a North American renewable power project
    • Representing a specialised materials supplier to the oil and gas sector in ICC London arbitration arising out of the sale and purchase agreement 

    LCIA Arbitrations. Darren has also acted on behalf of global commodities traders in several complex LCIA arbitrations arising out of structured finance transactions and frequently requiring navigation of novel legal issues.

    Mass Torts and Product Liability

    Johnson & Johnson Talc Litigation. Darren was part of the Orrick team serving as counsel for J&J in national talc litigation. In particular:

    • Member of the trial team which successfully secured a defence verdict following a month-long trial in Kentucky;
    • Member of the team which led a multi-defendant coordinated defence against a California Proposition 65 action and successfully obtained summary judgment in the defence's favour;
    • Worked on multiple high-stakes appeals defending defence wins below and elsewhere arguing for corrective relief;
    • Worked extensively on cross-disciplinary issues involving scientific, medical, economic, legal, and regulatory expertise.

    Union Carbide Corporation. Darren was part of the Orrick trial team representing Union Carbide in an Ohio product liability trial.

    Criminal, Appellate, and Pro Bono

    Criminal/Appellate. Darren combines a passion for just criminal representation with a deep interest in evidential, constitutional, and federal procedural issues to represent clients pursuing post-conviction relief. In particular:

    • Working on behalf of a Texas capital defendant at every level of state post-conviction proceedings and in seeking further federal relief;
    • Representing a client before the New York appellate courts in direct appeal proceedings, including as oral advocate before the Appellate Division;

    Immigration. Darren worked closely over a multi-year period with a client to successfully obtain asylum in the United States.