A dual-qualified U.S. – India lawyer, Ishaan Madaan represents clients in complex international disputes and cross-border enforcement matters, delivering strategic counsel across two of the world’s most dynamic legal and business markets.
As Counsel in the Firm’s International Disputes & Enforcement Practice Group, Ishaan advises clients along the U.S.–India business corridor. With nearly fifteen years of experience practicing in both the United States and India, he brings a rare combination of legal, cultural, and commercial fluency to high-stakes, multi-jurisdictional matters.
His practice spans the full lifecycle of a dispute—from emergency relief and arbitration proceedings to litigation, investigations, and the global enforcement of awards and judgments. Ishaan regularly represents clients in complex international arbitrations and related court proceedings, as well as in coordinated, multi-jurisdictional enforcement strategies.
He has achieved significant results for clients across industries including life sciences, digital assets, pharmaceuticals, construction, and financial services. His experience includes securing a $115 million arbitral award in a life sciences M&A dispute and a $55 million award in a digital assets matter, alongside leading global asset-tracing and recovery efforts.
A substantial portion of Ishaan’s practice is dedicated to matters involving the U.S.–India corridor. Prior to joining Mandelbaum Barrett PC, he spent more than four years at a New York-based international law firm, where he handled complex international arbitrations, litigation, and enforcement actions. He previously practiced in India for eight years, where he appeared in more than 100 matters, co-founded a boutique law firm, and served as an arbitrator appointed by the Delhi High Court.
This bicontinental experience, combined with strong relationships across leading Indian law firms, chambers of commerce, and in-house legal departments, allows Ishaan to guide clients through cross-border disputes and enforcement challenges with practical, business-oriented insight.
Ishaan is an active contributor to the international disputes community. He is the founder of Arbinsol, a platform focused on the intersection of arbitration and insolvency, and serves on the Steering Committee of the International Institute for Conflict Prevention & Resolution (CPR) Y-ADR program. He frequently acts as an arbitrator in leading moot court competitions and is a published author with Kluwer Arbitration Blog and Wolters Kluwer.
He earned his LL.M. from the University of Miami School of Law, where he focused on international arbitration and contributed to an amicus brief in GE Energy v. Outokumpu, a case in which the U.S. Supreme Court adopted a position consistent with the brief.
Ishaan is admitted to practice in New York and India.
Member, Y-ADR Steering Committee of The International Institute for Conflict Prevention & Resolution (CPR).
Founding Board Member, FDI Moot Alumni Association
Young ICCA
Founder, Arbinsol
South Asian Bar Association of New York (SABANY)
Crossroads of Insolvency and Arbitration, edited by Ishaan Madaan and Christian Campbell, A Wolters Kluwer Book
Insolvency and International Arbitration – An Alternate Perspective, Kluwer Arbitration Blog
A Dialogue on International Arbitration and Insolvency, Kluwer Arbitration Blog
India, Brazil Ink Novel Investment Treaty: Is Dispute Prevention the Way Forward?, Kluwer Arbitration Blog
Observer Representative at United Nations Commission on International Trade Law’s Working Group II (Dispute Settlement), Working Group III (Investor-State Dispute Settlement Reform), and Working Group V (Insolvency) Sessions in New York, 2021-present.
Guest lecturer, George Washington University Law School on Insolvency in the context of arbitrations, 2022 and 2023.
Co-host and Moderator, London International Disputes Week’s event on Arbitration and Insolvency – An Inescapable Clash of Cultures, 2021.
Guest Lecturer, UPES School of Law’s Workshop on International Commercial Arbitration, 2020-2022.
Central Organizing Group member at 2021 Chartered Institute of Arbitrator’s YMG ADR World Tour – Arbitration and Mediation as a Global Force for Good, moderating and hosting events in Asia, Caribbean and India, 2021.
Organizer-moderator, Arbinsol’s webinar on International Arbitration in the post-pandemic world, 2020.
Organizer-moderator, ‘A Dialogue on International Arbitration and Insolvency’ mini-series featuring leading academics and international arbitrators, 2020.
Organizer-moderator, The Big Third-Party Funding Debates featuring top third-party funders, academics and counsel, 2020.
Organizer-moderator, Diversity in International Arbitration – Broadening the Scope, 2020.
Speaker at FDI Prague Pre-Moot Roundtable on Investment Arbitration, 2020.
These stories are successful case results from our attorneys. Please note that results may vary depending on your particular facts and legal circumstances.
Arbitration
Life sciences M&A dispute (ICC, Chicago seat): Secured a US$115 million final award representing a healthcare company in an ICC arbitration its Indian subsidiary and prominent shareholders. Obtained emergency relief, including a rare TRO. Assisted in the successful federal court confirmation of the award and led global asset-tracing and enforcement strategy.
Bitcoin-mining licensing disputes (JAMS, Kentucky seat): Represented a digital-assets company in a JAMS arbitration involving licensing and operational issues. Secured a US$55 million award. Also led related federal litigation, obtaining injunctions to protect client equipment and enforce standstill obligations.
Pharmaceutical licensing arbitration (ICC, Singapore/New York): Represented a licensee in an arbitration involving deficiencies in a critical clinical assay. Through emergency proceedings, preserved contractual dispute mechanisms, and leveraged mediation to obtain a favorable settlement without a merits hearing.
Danish award enforcement (U.S. federal court): Represented the award creditor in a successful confirmation proceeding of a multimillion-dollar Danish arbitral award in Virginia.
State-court litigation involving default judgment: Represented a non-resident defendant in successfully vacating a New York default judgment tied to parallel UAE enforcement.
Construction/manufacturing dispute (ICC, Boston): Defended Austrian and German entities in a Massachusetts-law-governed international arbitration.
DIFC construction arbitration: Advised on strategy for a respondent in a DIFC-seated arbitration, resulting in the rejection of the claimant’s request for arbitration.
Assisted clients in OFAC and DOJ investigations.
Spearheaded investigative efforts, including site inspections and equipment inventories in a US$100+ million crypto dispute, and advised on alter-ego theories to expand recovery avenues.
Served as first chair in multiple arbitrations in India, including a US$7 million BOT dispute and a major real-estate development dispute. Managed pleadings, evidence, witness examinations, and strategy, achieving complete victories and settlements through innovative regulatory levers.
Pro Bono: Represented asylum seekers in immigration actions; represented client against landlord in housing repairs case.
Assisted in an LCIA commercial arbitration relating to the construction of a tram system in the Middle East.
New York
India
LL.M., International Arbitration, University of Miami School of Law 2019
FDI Moot Scholar
University of Pune