Le Monde Profiles Robert Amsterdam

He is a kid from the Bronx, a tireless traveler and also a compulsive reader. While in transit in Paris, he carries around a heavy suitcase. What do you find in it? Books: "Capitalism without Democracy", "Philosophy and Politics of Czech Dissidence from Patocka to Havel", "The International Law of Occupation", as well as a long article on Indian strategy on foreign policy.

Robert Amsterdam has made himself a reputation in business law since long time but he imposed himself in the international press since 2003 when he started defending Mikhail Khodorkovsy. The former CEO of Yukos group, the Russian oil group is serving an 8 year sentence for financial offences. He was spared nothing: a parody trial, imprisonment at the other end of the Federation, harassment.

Robert Amsterdam was himself arrested in September 2005 and then forced to leave the country within 24 hours. Mr. Amsterdam hopes the new President, Dmitri Medvedev, will be more lenient. "Mikhail Khodorkovsky's liberation would be the sign of a change in the relationships between the State and the people, moving away from the legal nihilism", he says, using the new the President's own words.

In September 2006, the lawyer created his own blog (www.robertamsterdam.com). It is available in 5 languages and is designed as an information platform - with a critical tone - on Russian and the former Soviet area. The main topics are: energy and Human Rights. Robert Amsterdam shares his incisive analysis and hosts contributions from personalities such as journalist Grigory Pasko, or the opponent Chee Soon Juan, whom he defends pro bono against Singapore. The site counts 25.000 to 50.000 visits per day.

Russian politics is Amsterdam's passion, but he is neither sentimental nor romantic about Human Rights. His involvement and open-mindedness came early. In high-school, in Toronto, where his family moved during his childhood, he took part in the creation of the school newspaper that had to stop under the pressure of the administration, after the publication of an interview with Abbie Hoffman, famous anarchist of the 70's.
He traveled to Europe with his mother when he was 15 years old. While she was trying to cure her asthma in Czechoslovakia, he took the opportunity to visit the continent. Year after year, his passport was full of new exotic stamps, from Africa as well as the Soviet Union.

His step-father finally managed, by miracle, to send him to College. In class, he was best at Marxism-Leninism. "I was one of the best specialists in Canada", he says seriously.
When he was 19, he thought of becoming a journalist or a teacher. His sister, who is now a lawyer, advised him to study law. In law school, he met his future partner, Dean Peroff. "He used to spend the night reading philosophical bullshit, while I devoured the People's Daily" he remembers. "We both had understood that we were not made for this wasp school".

Mr. Peroff recalls Mr. Amsterdam's 'phenomenal energy', "Robert already thought about our future partnership, while I was just wondering how to finish school! He was going through a transition, after his fascination for politics from the East, he was developing a new point of view on business."

In 1980, the two created their own law firm in Toronto. They succeed in a niche: business law in emergent countries in South America and Asia.

For Robert Amsterdam, law is a chess game. In many countries, cheating exists, so we must invent ways to defend ourselves. He writes technical articles on the evolution of relationships between the business world and the states, especially since September 11th.

"The business world is attacked but it does not attract public sympathy. I have a very negative opinion of the war against terrorism. We used and extended repressive laws; we sent massive police forces against big corporations and their managers. This dilution of our laws and of our values is far more serious than the financial crisis."

Robert Amsterdam defines himself as 'an old school guy, follower of the Ten Commandments', and he has a particularity in the profession: he works more outside the court than within the court. Anthony Julius who shares several cases with him says: "he is full of ideas, and he has quite an unusual way of understanding political matters beneath legal affairs. He understands that a lawyer's job is not only in the court and uses the media as a new kind of forum."

King of lobbying, networking, building strong teams of specialized lawyers, Robert Amsterdam works in 10 countries and on all the continents. "Since the Khodorkhovsky case, I spend more time with politicians than with judges." His critics point to his non-conformist approach of defense, the blurring of lines. He has only one instrument of measurement: efficiency.

"Commercial entities have the right to be defended, just like individuals", says Peroff. But this does not go without risk. One day, in Lagos, Nigeria, while he was dealing with a commercial dispute about a telecom company, there came his opponent with 30 armed men. In certain countries, the penal code is less important than the viril code

In 2002 Amsterdam defended the interests of The Four Seasons hotels in Venezuela when the hotel in Caracas had to be closed down. A fierce battle went on in domestic courts then in American courts for the control of the hotel. Venezuelan business men even considered taking it by force: "they thought they would scare the gringos away", said Amsterdam, smiling, "but we had our own private security force".

Since then, all along his various trips, Amsterdam always stays in one of the Four Seasons hotels, for free. The one in Moscow is still under construction. But it is not certain that he will be invited as one of the first guests.

Sidebar:

Career:
January 1956 Born in New York.
1980 Creates Amsterdam & Peroff law firm in Toronto (Canada)
2005 His client, Mikhail Khodorkovsky is sentenced to 8 years in prison.
2005 Arrested in Moscow on September 22nd, he is forced to leave the country.
2006 September 4th, creates his blog: robertamasterdam.com
2008 In August, his request for the liberation of Mikhail Khodorkovsky is rejected.