The Legal 500

Over the last decade, more than a dozen Latin American nations have introduced legislative or regulatory changes facilitating the use of arbitration, be it domestic or international. Unsurprisingly, its popularity throughout the region as an alternative to the courtroom continues to grow. This maturation of the market manifests itself in a number of ways: local arbitral practice has continued to grow in both volume and sophistication; new fora, such as Mexico’s new Construction Industry Arbitration Centre (CAIC), have facilitated increasing specialisation; a raft of relevant regional practitioners have emerged, notably Gilberto Giusti, Andrés Jana, Guido Tawil, Claus von Wobeser and Eduardo Zuleta; and the growth of inter-regional cases has fostered the steady growth in Spanish and Portuguese language arbitration. In terms of the legal market, the hiring of former public officials has gained pace, particularly by firms looking to move into the sector, for example Winston & Strawn’s re-hiring of Swiss-Peruvian Franz Stirnimann, or Steptoe & Johnson LLP’s incorporation of Brigida Benitez from the Inter-America Development Bank (IDB). The viability and proliferation of boutiques in the sector would also appear to be established: in the wake of Astigarraga Davis and Chaffetz Lindsey LLP, the more recently founded Volterra Fietta is establishing a presence, and behind it are others, such as the Miami-based Smith International Legal Consultants. P.A., which recruited former Argentine counsel Diego Gosis; the eponymous firm established by former K&L Gates LLP associate Alfredo de Jesús O, with offices in Paris and Caracas; or the Santiago-based DJ Arbitraje, founded in by Dyalá Jiménez.

There are, necessarily, counter-currents to the generally healthy state of the sector. At the level of the practice as a whole, one can point to evidence of the growth of corrupt practices, in particular, the abuse of the arbitral process for money laundering purposes (e.g. the case of Moldova’s Agroindbank). In regional terms, Latin America has seen the successive withdrawal of Bolivia (2007), Ecuador (2009) and Venezuela (2012) from the ICSID convention (and, in the case of Bolivia, from its bilateral investment treaty (BIT) with the United States); as well as the implementation of non-payment strategies, as in the case of Argentina, which in March 2012, found itself suspended from participation in the United States’ General System of Preferences (GSP), until it honoured an arbitral award to the Bank of America. And jurisprudentially, there is the Chevron case, where an arbitral process threatens to interfere in the judicial processes of a sovereign state. Columbia Law School professor George Berman has suggested ‘cataclysmic’ implications were the arbitral tribunal to decide to overturn the judgement, a step that ‘may call into question the legitimacy of the entire system’.

Debevoise & Plimpton fields a global international dispute resolution group of more than 65 lawyers, including 13 partners, distributed across eight offices. A truly broad practice, it undertakes public international law matters and, when necessary, litigation about arbitration, as well as investor treaty work and commercial cases. The firm has been active in Latin America for over 40 years and the regionally focused disputes team is ‘simply excellent’. Working out of the New York office and with both Spanish and Portuguese-language capability, it ‘offers long-term strategic vision, quick reactions before changes in circumstance, and all round reliability’. The lead partners’ extensive litigation experience is highlighted by clients, pointing to their depth of knowledge of contentious issues and their management as the bedrock of the team’s capabilities. Its current caseload in investor/state work includes representing Perenco against the Ecuadorian state in a $1bn ICSID claim, and representing Holcim, in an expropriation case against Venezuela that is presently suspended pending the fulfilment of a negotiated settlement agreement. On the commercial side, the team has been involved in the upswing of Brazil-related work, particularly ICC cases seated in Sao Paulo. The team is also currently co-ordinating domestic arbitration proceedings on behalf of clients in Brazil, Chile, Peru and Uruguay. ‘Certainly one of the best arbitration lawyers in the world’, Donald Francis Donovan has ‘a wonderful view of the niceties of foreign law systems’. His ‘strategic capacity and ability to overcome the problems that arise is impressive.’ Donovan’s reputation precedes him: he recently became the first non-Mexican to receive the Mexican Bar Association’s Premio Nacional de Jurisprudencia for his work in both international arbitration and human rights; and was appointed one of only two non-Brazilian vice presidents of the Centre for arbitration of the Canada-Brazil Chamber of Commerce, a leading Brazilian arbitral institution. He recently sat as the claimant-appointed tribunal member in SGS v Paraguay. His fellow co-chair of the firm’s international dispute resolution group, David Rivkin, is the lead lawyer in Occidental vs Ecuador, a high-profile $3bn ICSID case concerning the state’s expropriation of Occidental’s assets. In another investor treaty case against Ecuador, he is representing one of the co-owners of El Universo in a case filed under the US-Ecuadorean BIT agreement. On the commercial side, his current caseload includes representing a Singaporean client against a Brazilian counterpart in a AAA arbitration relating to ship construction contracts and related financial agreements. ‘Very hands on’ Catherine Amirfar ‘deals with the smallest details with ease and efficiency, and always pays great attention to the client’. She continues to represent UPM in connection with its $1.3bn green-field investment in a pulp mill project in Uruguay and on issues related to the ICJ decision in Argentina v Uruguay (Case Concerning Pulp Mills on the River Uruguay). Recently appointed partner, the multi-lingual Dietmar Prager worked on the Holcim v Venezuela case. A member of the executive board of the Institute for Transnational Arbitration (ITA), and of the Comitê Brasileiro de Arbitragem (CBAr), his present caseload includes two commercial ICC cases seated in Sao Paulo on behalf of Brazilian clients. Notably, the firm has also produced an international arbitration protocol that seeks to offer its clients a guarantee of efficiency throughout the arbitral process.

With ‘a brilliant practice’, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP has long enjoyed a leading reputation in Latin American international arbitration. The Latin America-specialised team has been in place since 2001 and part of its ‘considerable strength’ lies in the fact that it has experienced minimal turn over, with many of its members having worked together for 8-10 years. Almost 30-strong (including seven partners/counsel), the practice operates primarily out of New York and Washington DC but also draws support from the firm’s European offices, particularly London, Rome, Paris and Madrid. While not focused on any given sector as a matter of policy, the ‘consistently recommended’ team is ‘hugely experienced in the energy sector’, where it advises an enviable client list including BG, BP, CMS Energy, ConocoPhilips, Repsol and Total. Its current investor-side workload includes representing Bureau Veritas against Paraguay, Burlington Resources against Ecuador, Saint Gobain against Venezuela, and GDF Suez in a pair of cases against Argentina. On the state side, the team is representing Guatemala against Spanish energy giant Iberdrola, and the firm also has a considerable commercial caseload, particularly in relation to the Brazilian market. The practice was also handling a UNCITRAL case, Petrobras Argentina against Ecuador, but this was recently settled with a negotiated compensation settlement that will see the Republic pay a sum of $217m. Head of both the US and Latin American international arbitration groups Nigel Blackaby is a greatly ‘admired and respected figure’ who has participated in more than a 100 arbitral cases, and is ‘universally acknowledged as a leading practitioner in his field’. His headline cases included representing Crystallex International case in a $3.8bn ICSID claim against Venezuela, concerning expropriated gold mine investments. Crystalex has now obtained court-approved debtor-in-possession (DIP) funding and the case appears set to proceed. Blackaby and his team have also just picked up a second mandate against Venezuela in the gold mining sector, this time representing Rusoro Mining. He has been referred to as ‘a one-man wrecking crew’, and while this points to his leading role, it also tends to down play the relevance of a team that is impressive not solely on a global basis (where it can draw on names such as Jan Paulsson, Lucy Reed, and Georgios Petrochilos), but also specifically in terms of Latin America. The region is Alexander Yanos’ primary focus and he is currently engaged in a number of the largest cases in the hydrocarbons sector. ‘Reliable, experienced and able’, he was also part of the team that achieved a complete victory for Total against Argentina in a $966.5m ICSID case. The damages phase of the proceedings is currently pending. Both Brian King and Sylvia Noury are also 50% Latin America focused. King has been working on a number of cases in the hydrocarbons and energy sectors, and Noury, appointed partner in 2011, ‘undoubtedly has profile in the region’. She recently assisted Blackaby in defeating Argentina’s attempts to vacate a $54m award to National Grid. Recently appointed counsel, Argentine national Noiana Paula Marigo has moved from the firm’s Paris office to New York. Her current workload includes advising Burlington Resources on its 2008 ICSID claim against Ecuador; acting for Pan American Energy in its expropriation claim against Bolivia; and representing Guatemala in a number of ICSID cases. Long ‘Blackaby’s right hand man’, counsel Lluís Paradell is ‘gaining profile’ and is active on GDF Suez’s cases against Argentina. Alexander John Wilbraham was also recently appointed counsel. With experience in investment treaty disputes, he has a strong Brazilian aspect to his practice and recently participated in an ICC case concerning one of the largest corporate disputes in the country’s history. Based in the Paris office, senior associate Luiz Claudio Aboim is also primarily Brazil-focused.

Offering clients truly global capability, King & Spalding LLP’s ‘well known and well reputed’ international arbitration practice involves a 50-strong team spread across ten offices. The firm’s long history of engagement with Latin America is reflected in a workload where nearly half its pending cases involve a Latin American element and eight members of the team are from the region. Handling predominantly investor-state, as opposed to commercial, arbitration, the practice attends disputes in all industrial sectors. There is little doubt, however, that, reflecting the firm’s Texan roots, hydrocarbons and infrastructure are its strongest suit and that much of its Latin American international arbitral activity has long been handled out of the Houston and (to a lesser degree) New York offices. Of late, however, the firm’s London office has been boosted substantially. Currently representing a Mexican client in a distribution agreement dispute seated at the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA), Tom Sprange adds ‘extensive commercial arbitration expertise’ to the team’s arsenal. In addition, Jane Player and Sarah Walker both joined from Bird & Bird, where Player served as joint head of the international dispute resolution group. This substantially increases a European capacity previously centred upon the Paris office, led by former Secretary General of the ICC’s International Court of Arbitration, Eric Schwarz. In the US, internal advancement also saw both the Houston-based Wade Coriell, a ‘young advocate of real quality’, and the ‘outstanding’ Caline Mouawad in the New York office make partnership. Among its notable successes, the team secured a provisional measures decision in the Chevron v Ecuador (Lago Agrio) investment arbitration; obtained $30m and $75m awards for Impregilo and El Paso Energy, respectively (both in ICSID cases against Argentina); and gained a favourable partial award for an energy investment fund in an intellectual property rights arbitration heard at the Centro de Arbitraje y Mediacion (CAM) in Santiago, Chile. With ‘a well-deserved reputation as a top international arbitration attorney, especially in investor-state arbitration,’ Doak Bishop ‘not only has complete command of international arbitral practice, but is also one of the most client-friendly attorneys around’. He is ‘both a gentleman and a ruthless opponent – a great strategist, a great practitioner and a great guy’. A former counsel and general counsel at the ICC International Court of Arbitration, the New York-based Guillermo Aguilar-Alvarez is ‘absolutely first class’. A Mexican national, his previous experience includes the negotiation of chapter 11 of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which contains provisions designed to facilitate the settlement of investment disputes. He and the ‘recognised’ Craig Miles are currently representing Exterran (and its subsidiary, Universal Compression) in a $500m series of cases against Venezuela. Thoroughly focused upon Latin America for approaching a decade, Argentine national Roberto Aguirre Luzi is a ‘serious player’ who maintains a public international law aspect to his practice. Other work at ICSID included representing Teinver against Argentina in a $1.2bn dispute concerning the nationalisation of two airlines; and acting for Mobil, Sempra and Enron, all also in cases against Argentina. UNCITRAL cases include representing RENCO in a $800m case against Peru concerning a metallurgical smelter, and acting for Murphy Oil against Ecuador.

White & Case LLP successfully advised on the first ICSID arbitration registered against a Latin American state (Santa Elena vs Costa Rica, 1996) and has remained a leading player in the sector to date. With regional offices in Mexico City (1991), and Sao Paulo (1997), the former a leading local player in its own right, the firm has a genuine Latin American footprint. The Latin American international arbitration team is 70 lawyers strong and includes more than 30 Spanish and/or Portuguese speakers and nationals from more than ten of the region’s countries, bringing not only civil law capability but also genuine bi-cultural and bi-lingual comprehension and sensibilities to the practice. Indeed, peers speak of ‘an outstanding group of practitioners in their Washington DC and New York offices’. The team’s ‘profound experience’ in disputes in the region, particularly in investor-state cases is reflected in its having handles some 19 ICSID cases involving ten different nations. The last 12 months has seen the team obtain positive resolutions in two of the most significant cases of recent years. In the much-commented $1.3bn Abalcat case, the Tribunal acknowledged both the admissibility of and its jurisdiction over, a case that in effect constitutes the first-ever mass claim in investment arbitration. In the hugely complex project dispute Quiport et al vs Ecuador, it successfully advised Quiport and a consortium of major multinationals in a complex $1.5bn ICSID dispute involving the construction of a new international airport in Quito (Ecuador), and a pursuant to a 30-year concession even as the Ecuadorian government sought to withdraw from the ICSID convention. In other work, the firm has successfully represented a Mexican firm in an AAA arbitration and related court proceedings; acted for Canadian mining company Gold Reserves in a $1bn case against Venezuela; advised US electricity company TECO against Guatemala in one of various cases being handled under the framework of the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA); and advised testing and certification services group Société Générale de Surveillance, against Paraguay. On the state side, it is representing Peru in both a Spanish language ICSID case brought by Argentine investors under BIT legislation and relating to a Lima toll road, and in an UNCITRAL case brought by holding company Renco Group and relating to a metallurgical facility. The latter is the first investment dispute to be brought under the US-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement (2009). ‘Bilingual and a great negotiator’, Jonathan Hamilton is ‘spot on’. The head of the firm’s Latin American arbitration practice, he has very much led from the front, undertaking the Quiport case against Ecuador and leading on the practice’s multiple cases representing the Republic of Peru, including the successful and high-profile case against Yale University concerning the return of cultural artefacts to the country. With over 15 years’ Brazilian experience, practice head and ‘intellectual powerhouse’ Paul Friedland recently led on the successful representation of SGS in a $57m claim against Paraguay, a case that will impact upon the debate regarding ICSID tribunals’ jurisdiction over contract claims. Washington DC-based Carolyn Lamm and Abby Cohen Smutney are both hugely experienced international arbitration practitioners although both have global, rather than Latin Amercian-focused practices. Lamm’s ICSID experience was crucial to the firm’s strategy in the Abalcat case, however, and Smutney is leading on the representation of Gold Reserve against Venezuela. Paraguayan national Rafael E Llano Oddone recently made partner. ‘Highly dedicated’, he splits his time between the firm’s Mexico and New York offices. Ank Santens is vice-chair of the arbitration committee of the International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution (CPR) and is deemed ‘highly capable’.

Arnold & Porter LLP has historically had a very strong focus on Latin America. The arrival of Paolo di Rosa and his team from Winston & Strawn LLP some 5 years ago gave both impetus and critical mass to the firms international disputes team. Working primarily out of the firm’s Washington DC office, the international arbitration practice has built upon the firm’s long-standing relations in the finance and corporate sectors, and successfully grown its presence and activity in the region, particularly as regards sovereign side representations. Here the team has developed considerable experience and it was recently appointed to represent the Government of Costa Rica in an ICSID case. Sovereign side work is, to some degree, the hallmark of the practice; it has also counselled Chile, Venezuela, Colombia, Panama, Guatemala, and Dominican Republic during the course of the last year alone. Regarded as providing ‘comprehensive and timely advice at reasonable rates’, the 35-strong department incorporates more than 20 native speakers, a significant resource that has permitted the practice to undertake cases entirely in Spanish (including briefs, presentations and cross-examinations), on behalf of Chile, Panama and the Dominican Republic among others. Moreover, many of the team’s members have extensive experience in public sector roles both in the US and in their respective home states. One notable recent victory, albeit in an international litigation rather than arbitral case, saw the complete dismissal of a $17bn case against the Colombian government for breach of contract and other issues pertaining to a salvage operation. It also counselled Guatemala in a $65m ICSID case brought by the Railroad Development Corporation for alleged indirect appropriation, the first-ever arbitration filed under DR-CAFTA; and, in conjunction with Carey y Cia, counselled Chile in the Victor Pey Casado case, the longest-running case ever to be heard at the institution and the first filed against Chile at ICSID. This depth of experience representing states should not obscure the fact that the team also has a proven track record representing commercial entities. It recently advised Electricité de France in two investment treaty arbitrations, of $1.4bn and $260m respectively, and has also advised clients such as CGE and Minera Andes. Described as ‘a team leader with a remarkable capacity to identify the salient issues and raise the important issues’, departmental head Di Rosa has ‘a genuine focus on Latin America’ and is ‘really very good’. The departure of David Orta, who left for Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP is an undoubted blow but the return of Eli Whitney Debevoise after three years at the World Bank is certainly the recovery of an important asset; he participated in the Guatemala case noted above. Gaela Gehring Flores’ ‘increasing profile’ in the region stems from concerted activity; she has historically led on the team’s Venezuelan mandates and most recently represented the state in an international financial dispute involving a civil claim. Formerly at Facio & Cañas and Sidley Austin LLP, ‘impressive’ counsel Patricio Grané combines his international arbitration practice with activity in the international trade sector. A Costa Rican national, he formerly acted as counsel to the country’s permanent WTO delegation. A former general Counsel to the IAIC, Raul Herrera’s practice was traditionally more focused upon finance issues but he has an increasing role in arbitration matters and recently acted as lead counsel to the Dominican Republic. With a postgraduate qualification in international law, associate José Antonio Rivas ‘has a bright future’. A Colombian national and former director of foreign investment at the Colombian Ministry for Trade, he was responsible for the drafting and updating of the new Colombian Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) Model during his tenure.

Astigarraga Davis has proven the efficacy of a boutique platform for international disputes work in the Americas. The 16-strong team is 100% focused on contentious work in all its aspects, but is best known for its activity in the private international commercial arbitration and litigation areas. Clients laud the firm’s ‘excellent levels of service’, and peers recognise its ability in complex and highly sensitive cases. The firm’s boutique format has not only facilitated the development of a profoundly experienced team but also permits flexibility on fee arrangements tailored to clients’ requirements. This combination of concentrated expertise, agility and discretion has earned the firm an enviable reputation. As one client who uses the firm for internationally focused litigation and arbitration matters comments ‘It is my go-to firm on all Latin American matters. I have not found a comparable firm’. With a clientele that includes some of the foremost multinationals and “multilatinas”, the team has developed considerable experience in the management of simultaneous proceedings in multiple countries, including obtaining awards on behalf of General Electric in a case that was heard concurrently at a federal district court in New York, a Brazilian court and at IACAC arbitration. A vice president of the LCIA, founding director of the Latin American Arbitration Association and vice chair of the Institute for Transnational Arbitration’s Americas Initiative, name-partner José Astigarraga is ‘a recognised leader of the arbitration bar’ and ‘brings tremendous expertise to all sorts of situations’. The firm is also developing a second tier of note: the trilingual Rodrigo Da Silva has a specialisation in asset recovery and financial fraud issues; Eduardo De la Peña is a dual-qualified (US & Mexico) international arbitration specialist who has handled cases at the ICC, ICDR, AAA, IACAC, ICSID, CANACO and CAM as well as under UNCITRAL rules; and bi-cultural, native-Spanish speaker Maria Cristina Cárdenas is also beginning to gain profile.

’Responsive to clients concerns’ and offering ‘outstanding service at reasonable cost’, Covington & Burling LLP has built a well-earned international arbitration profile, particularly on the investor side of investor-state cases. Part of the firm’s success in the region lies in its long-standing emphasis on ensuring it recruits lawyers trained in both civil and common law. Operating principally out of the firm’s Washington DC office, the team has ‘complete command of international arbitration and consistently gives comprehensive, in-depth and sound advice. As for strength-in-depth, it is not a just a firm led by excellent lawyers, it is a firm with unparalleled depth in excellent lawyers’. Current headline mandates include representing Mobil Cerro Negro and Mobil Corporation in ICC and ICSID cases, respectively, both against Venezuela. The tribunal in the ICC case handed down a $900m award to the firm’s client in December 2011, while the ICSID case is presently awaiting the filing of post-hearings briefs. The team also provides preventative advice and is presently counselling companies in the oil services, food, consumer goods and industrial products industries on potential claims against Latin American states and on the optimal investment structures to maximise investment-treaty protection. With his ‘complete knowledge of international arbitration, be it commercial or investor-state’, practice-head Oscar Garibaldi is ‘an emblematic figure’, appreciated for his fluency in both civil and common law legal codes as well as in English and Spanish. With oral and written advocacy skills described as ‘thorough, convincing, sophisticated and eloquent’, he is ‘an ideal choice to present cases before international panels, especially in disputes with Latin American companies or governments’. His currently caseload includes acting for LG&E Energy Corp against Argentina and sitting as a co-arbitrator in an ICC case involving a concerning an oil project in Colombia. London-based partner Gaëtan Verhoosel is co-chair of the firm’s international arbitration practice and has sat as arbitrator in both commercial and treaty cases as well as acting as counsel. Having already ‘developed a very solid reputation’, he is regarded as ‘one of the stars of his generation’. Supported by ‘noteworthy’ senior associate Carmen Martinez, he is currently leading the team acting as co-counsel to Occidental and Perenco in a pair of ICSID cases against Ecuador relating to alleged breaches of BIT and production-sharing agreements. Miguel López Forastier is ‘rapidly making his way towards the top echelons of international arbitration lawyers’, and offers ‘thorough analysis, insightful advocacy, and consistently reliable judgement’. He is currently involved in representing maritime oil industry services-company Tidewater against Venezuela, again at the ICSID. Senior partner and ‘outstanding strategist’ Eugene Gulland and the ‘client friendly and completely dependable’ Thomas Cubbage, while not specifically Latin America focused, also both undertake work in the region, most recently in Mobil’s cases against Venezuela. As one client concluded ‘working with the firm on international arbitration matters has been a very satisfactory experience – its knowledge of the issues and response time has helped us take decisions opportunely’.

Chadbourne & Parke LLP has developed strongly in this sector since absorbing much of Thacher Profitt & Wood’s Latin American practice in 2008. With over a third of its 50-strong international dispute resolutions group dedicating their practices to Latin America, the firm’s clear commitment to the region is further vouchsafed by its maintenance of regional offices in Sao Paulo and Mexico City. Undertaking both commercial and investor-state cases, the contentious team demonstrates ‘extensive experience handling legal disputes involving Central and South America.’ The firm is particularly associated with a number of industry sectors, primarily financial services and insurance, pharmaceuticals, and energy/renewables (where it counts ENEL, PEMEX and Inergy Soluciones Energeticas among its clients). It also has an important foothold in the increasingly specialised construction sector. ‘Particularly adept at “bridging the gap” between US dispute resolution practice and that of Latin America,’ the ‘top-notch’ Oliver Armas has ‘a wealth of experience in disputes’ in the region according to clients who highlight not only his ‘responsiveness and collegial manner’ but also his ‘invaluable knowledge of the relevant cultures and legal systems’. He is presently leading on cases in both the construction and insurance sectors, the latter being a sector where the London-based Christopher Cardona adds important strength to the team. The increasingly prominent Ignacio Suárez Anzorena has largely been responsible for driving the firm’s sovereign side practice. However, he also has experience on the investor side, as evidenced by his recent success at the ICC on behalf of Italian utility group ENEL regarding control of an El Salvadorian renewable energy producer. ‘A great arbitration attorney who knows how to integrate a group of professionals and make them deliver’, Luis Enrique Graham is the key disputes figure at the firm’s increasingly important Mexican office. He is presently representing Mexican state-owned oil company PEMEX against German-Korean joint venture Conproca in a $1.5bn ICC case with over 25,000 discrete claims. Since Anzorena’s arrival in 2010, the team has continued to grow. Most notably, in terms of its Latin American practice, is the arrival of the experienced Michael Socarras from McDermott Will & Emery LLP. Other key figures include experienced bi-lingual counsel, Thomas Pieper, who is trained in civil and common law traditions.

A ‘visible’ firm with ‘a growing profile in the sector’, Dechert fields a team of over 25 dedicated arbitration specialists across seven offices. With considerable experience in investor-state work, it has adopted a strategy that has seen it focus on the region’s major economies (Brazil and Mexico) and to grow its commercial caseload. Investor-state work, where it has considerable experience, continues to dominate its recent caseload. On the sovereign side, the team’s workload includes representing Ecuador in a $3bn case brought by Occidental Petroleum as well as in a pair of ICSID cases brought by Burlington Resources and Perenco, respectively. It is also currently defending Bolivia in a $70m case brought by Quiborax (and others) arising from the nationalisation of mining concessions. This follows on from the team’s successful representation of the country against claims brought by Telefónica Italia subsidiary, ETI Euro Telecom, relating to the nationalisation of its $1bn holding in the country’s largest telecom operator, ENTEL. On the investor side, the team is representing Argentine construction group CCI, and its local Peruvian subsidiary, in an ICSID case against Peru for the wrongful termination of a highway construction and concession contract; and acting for a French engineering and construction group, and its Brazilian subsidiary, against a central American state-owned company in a Spanish-language ICC case (seated in Miami) and relating to the construction of a hydroelectric power station. The practice also has a substantial commercial caseload, particularly in Brazil. A former deputy secretary general of the ICC, Eduardo Silva Romero is ‘a known and respected figure’ in Latin American arbitration circles. A principally Brazil-focused practitioner, London based Daniel Gal has represented Bradesco and Brazil Telecom, among others. Elected to the firm’s partnership in 2011, the trilingual José-Manuel García Represa is undoubtedly an emerging figure in the field of Latin American international arbitration. A member of ALARB, he is qualified in Paris, London and New York and has already developed considerable experience and reputation. In the New York office, Dennis Hranitzky has a growing Latin American caseload: in addition to participating in the ENTEL nationalisation case, he is involved in proceedings to collect on defaulted Argentine sovereign debt on behalf of the largest creditor, an affiliate of fund manager Elliott Associates; and is representing a group holding debt issued by the Mexico-based global glass manufacturing conglomerate Vitro. The team can also call on the expertise of counsel Anne Marie Whitesell, formerly the secretary general of the ICC International Court of Arbitration from 2001 to 2007; as well as Alvaro Galindo, a former director of international arbitration at Ecuador’s Attorney General’s office, who joined the firm’s Washington DC office as international counsel in January 2012. The team is also developing real depth at the associate level with a growing number of experienced associates from various Latin American nations, such as Brazilian national Maria Claudia Procopiak, deputy counsel at the secretariat of the ICC International Court of Arbitration.

Two years on from the merger that produced Hogan Lovells, the firm is reaping the benefits of a 140-strong global international arbitration practice and a tradition of Latin America-focused work spearheaded from the firm’s Miami office and supported by a local presence in Caracas. The Latin American practice is predominantly engaged in commercial work and is currently handling matters in Brazil, Chile, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, Panama and Venezuela. An extensive array of engagements includes the defence of an ethanol supplier; a contractual case on behalf of an international electrical engineering group; and representing a Spanish construction firm in interim measures. Clients including Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), Petróleos Mexicanos (PEMEX), Statoil, and ExxonMobil in the hydrocarbons sector, ENI, Enel, and AES in the energy sector, along with infrastructure players Thyssen Krupp, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Siemens, give an impression of the scale and breadth of the practice. One highlight is the team’s engagement as external counsel to the Mexican Ministry of the Economy in successful arbitration before the WTO against the US Department of Commerce. Relating to the determination of antidumping duties, the team is now assisting on post-award compliance proceedings. ‘Talented’ co-head of the firm’s global arbitration practice, Daniel González has been involved in cases in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, El Salvador and Venezuela, among other nations and ‘can truly be considered a Latin American specialist’. Having formerly resided in Brazil, Chile and the Dominican Republic, the ‘sharp and savvy’ Richard Lorenzo, has profound knowledge of the region. He has handled cases in South and Central America as well as the Caribbean. With a specialisation in hydrocarbons, telecom and EPC disputes his practice is ideally focused for the current boom in energy and infrastructure in the region. The practice also counts on the ‘deeply experienced’ Edward Schorr who attends to primarily Brazilian matters from the New York office. The firm recently hired Spanish arbitration practitioner Carmen Nuñez-Lagos to build the firm’s Spanish-speaking practice in the Paris office. Dual-qualified (Spain & France), Nuñez-Lagos undertakes both investment and commercial work and has experience of cases in Argentina, Bolivia, Mexico and Peru. Other clients include ADM, BHP Billiton, SABMiller and Vodafone.

A positive start to 2012 saw Shearman & Sterling LLP retained to represent Venezuela in three ICSID cases. Since the firm is best known for investor-side representations (although it has undertaken state-side work outside Latin America), the decision surprised some, particularly given the Bolivarian Republic’s track record of using firms that work solely for the state. One factor is Shearman’s steadfast refusal to join networks and alliances or make ‘best friends’ arrangements. The firm internationalised in the 1960s and prides itself on being a completely independent and genuinely global partnership, rather than a regional player or franchise. This informs a particularly strong firm culture. Of the firm’s 80-member global practice, 14 lawyers (four partners, two counsels and eight associates) constitute the core Latin American team. ‘Thoroughly bilingual’, much of it has been working together for more than a decade and peers repeatedly speak of ‘good experiences working with this team’. With two partners and five associates, Paris constitutes the key office but is strongly supported from London, New York and Washington DC, each of which houses at least one dedicated partner or counsel and an associate. In addition to the state-side Venezuelan mandates (against the Vestey Group, OI European Group, and subsidiaries of Koch Industries), the team has considerable activity representing investors. This includes a pair of ICSID cases, valued at $180m and concerning electricity concessions against Peru, (on behalf of CCTE, and Elecnor and Isolux, respectively. It is also representing SAUR International in a $140m ICSID case against Argentina for non-fulfilment of its investment treaty obligations. The team is handling a substantial commercial caseload, particularly in Brazil and Chile. Global Latin American-team head Fernando Mantilla-Serrano is ‘definitely one of the leading experts in international arbitration’ and ‘really knows his job’. Ably seconded by senior associate John Adams, ‘they’re a solid team’, he has acted as both counsel and arbitrator in ICSID cases and is ‘recommended without reservation’. The practice also ‘benefits from the presence of Emmanuel Gaillard ’, a ‘highly reputed’ practitioner who chairs the International Arbitration Institute (IAI); and dual-qualified oil and gas expert, Philippe Pinsolle. Both also located in the Paris office. Counsel Alex Bevan is located in London; investment specialist Christopher Ryan in Washington DC; and in New York, former litigator Henry Weisberg ‘brings more than a decade’s international arbitration experience to the table’. With a finance focus to his practice, he represented Credit Suisse and a Dresdner Bank subsidiary in a case concerning the insolvency of Uruguay’s major commercial bank.

Allen & Overy LLP’s Latin American international arbitration practice operates primarily out of the firm’s New York office and is presently handling cases on behalf of clients such as Fortis, the Petroleum Company of Trinidad and Tobago, and JPMorgan Chase subsidiary, Chemical Overseas Holdings, among others. Sources note that the team ‘has a very specific manner of working and it runs like clockwork’. Peers speak of ‘brilliance in strategy and brilliance of execution’. ‘One has the sense that each case is the only one it has: total focus, absolutely exhaustive work – everything is analysed and calibrated – and impeccable strategy. Nothing is left to chance.’ Such precision saw the team successfully advise a group of multilateral finance agencies (OPIC, Ex-Im, IDB and EDC) in a case arising from the Ecuadorian Government’s expropriation of the collateral securing the loans, totalling $500 million, for the financing of Quito’s new international airport. Broadly regarded as one of the most complex cases of recent years, it was resolved via settlement negotiations, avoiding the necessity of a full hearing at the ICSID tribunal. The team also undertakes work on behalf of sovereign states and recently successfully concluded its representation of Peru in the first case to be brought under a Sino-Foreign BIT (Bilateral Investment Treaty) Agreement. Lead partner Louis Kimmelman and ‘his right hand’, senior associate Nicole Duclos, ‘are both first-class lawyers’. Team leader Kimmelman is regarded as ‘out of this world, very impressive indeed’, but while he has extensive Latin American experience he does not speak Spanish. The presence of the Chilean born and bilingual Duclos, however, goes a long way to mitigate this issue: ‘she has made a huge difference, she brings the team real local knowledge and her handling of cases is brilliant.’ With support available from the firms other offices, for example in Madrid, where State lawyer Borja Fernãndez de Trocóniz recently made partner, it is unsurprising that clients ‘would definitely recommend the firm.’

Founded in 2009 and already one of a small number of key boutiques in the sector, Chaffetz Lindsey LLP fields a 15-strong team of considerable experience. The firm’s five partners all undertake work relating to Latin America, which they undertake their own advocacy. Last year, the team attended cases in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Peru and Venezuela. With its boutique format reducing the likelihood of conflicts and facilitating the receipt of referral work and co-counselling, as well as permitting a degree of fee flexibility unimaginable in larger organisations, the firm has rapidly won a substantial caseload. One recent mandate has seen both name partners working in conjunction with Brazilian co-counsel on an international sales dispute involving local litigation and parallel ICDR arbitration in New York. The team is also representing a European investor in investment treaty claims against Venezuela arising out of the expropriation of a financial institution; acting for a Brazilian holding with regard to ICC arbitration in São Paulo; and representing Copape in a dispute involving an agreement to buy oil, which is proceeding in Brazil and New York. One of a number of Steel Hector & Davis LLP alumni now at the forefront of international arbitration practice, David Lindsey was the head of Clifford Chance’s Americas international arbitration practice group for ten years until 2009. In addition to his current activity as counsel, he has four appointments as arbitrator. ‘A very talented young lawyer’, James Hosking is the co-author of the Guide to the ICDR International Arbitration Rules (2011). The team further deepened its Latin American-oriented bench in late 2011 with the incorporation of Spanish-language fluent, senior associate Jennifer Gorskie. Brought over from Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, she has both commercial and investment treaty disputes experience, including working with a sovereign government.

’Long active in the region,’ Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP’s Latin American arbitration group has the advantage of existing within a truly integrated global international arbitration practice. Furthermore, the firm has a leading regional practice in both the corporate and banking/finance sectors. Its ever-deepening commitment to the region has been underlined by the establishment of offices in Buenos Aires and Sao Paulo in 2009 and 2011, respectively. The team is predominantly active on the sovereign side, where, among other states, it has represented Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Colombia. It also continues to represent Argentina in a case brought by bondholders under the Italo-Argentine BIT agreement, and which constitutes the first mass claim (originally 190,000 claimants, now consolidated to approximately 60,000) in a single proceeding to be brought at the ICSID tribunal. The team, which ‘demonstrates very high business acumen and an excellent capacity for problem solving’, is also active on investor-side work. Here, it is currently representing DP World in an ICSID case against Peru concerning a container terminal project. In commercial work, the team recently successfully concluded an UNCITRAL case against Bolivia for breach of the Netherlands-Bolivia bilateral investment treaty on behalf of ETI Euro Telecom International. Other activity includes acting as counsel to Nexans in settling an ICC case brought by Madeco, and advising YPF in an ICDR case brought by Innergy Soluciones Energeticas. The energy and mining sectors represent one of the team’s strongest suits and it is presently active on cases involving Vale, CODELCO and Pluspetrol, among others. ‘Vastly experienced’ Howard Zelbo maintains a global practice but is ‘well-versed’ in Latin American issues. Securities specialist Carmine Boccuzzi Jr also has experience in the region and has worked extensively with the Argentine state on issues stemming from its 2001 default, along with Jonathan Blackman, an ‘important figure in the team’ who also has a primarily finance-focused arbitral and disputes practice. Public international law specialist Claudia Annacker is a ‘strongly emerging figure’ and the team as a whole has recently been further strengthened with the lateral hire of Juan Morillo, formerly at Clifford Chance. Although less active in Latin America, both Ferdinando Emanuele and his senior associate Giulia Fausta Gosi in the Rome office are also ‘recognised and recommended’.

Fulbright & Jaworski LLP has been active in Latin America since the 1930s and even had an office in Mexico prior to the country’s nationalisation of its petroleum industry. More recently, the firm has been specialising in the region’s contentious issues since 1993. While the firm has 17 offices worldwide, it has chosen not to open a Latin American regional office to date. The eight-strong team includes five partners and a number of dual-qualified and bilingual associates. With a ‘sharp focus on disputes emanating from energy and infrastructure activity’, the practice approaches the sector transversally, working from upstream to down so as to engage with a range of areas, from finance to maritime issues. While the firm has undertaken some sovereign side representations (generally outside Latin America), it overwhelmingly represents investors (Duke Energy is a long-standing client). Current work includes defending an environmental liability case in Peru; defending against threatened expropriation/rescinding of concessions in Bolivia; foreign trade issues (under UNCITRAL rules); a case between joint-venture partners in the oil-trading sector; and a case against a regional distributor in the machine tools sector. Co-head of both the firm’s international department and its arbitration and ADR practice group, the ‘impressive’ Mark Baker has extensive experience in UNCITRAL cases against sovereigns (notably El Salvador and Venezuela), as well as commercial case activity at the ICC as both arbitrator and counsel. The triple-qualified Anibal Martin Sabater is ‘a very good lawyer’. He has worked on cases involving the jurisprudence of eight Latin American nations as well as attending cases in Bogota, Mexico City and Montevideo along with the key US and European arbitration hubs. He also advises on pre-dispute matters such as the selection of dispute resolution methodologies.

Herbert Smith LLP has a developing practice in the region as the result of a strategy that is designed to see the firm become the key player in Latin American contentious issues working primarily out of Europe. Experienced arbitral capabilities in the firm’s London (Craig Tevendale, Matthew Weiniger and Paula Hodges), Madrid (Ignacio Díez-Picazo, Ignacio Paz and Miguel Riaño), and Paris (Isabelle Michou and Charles Kaplan) offices, were further buttressed in 2010 with the arrival of energy dispute specialist and former Abogado del Estado Eduardo Soler-Tappa, and Latin America-focused international arbitration specialist, Christian Leathley. The announcement of a New York office, open in September 2012, further attests to the firm’s desire to have a presence in the Americas. To date, the firm has been particularly successful picking up mandates in the metallurgical and mining sectors. It is currently advising a Mexican industrial manufacturer in parallel LCIA and AAA arbitrations; a global steel manufacturer in relation to potential arbitrations concerning supply agreements; a Chilean mining company in ad-hoc arbitration proceedings and mediation proceedings; and a Uruguayan mining group in a multimillion-dollar ICC arbitration concerning the sale and supply of raw materials. Recently appointed partner, the ‘very sharp, very smart’ Leathley splits his time between the firm’s London and Madrid offices. He is currently sitting as sole arbitrator in a $50m ICC case between US and Colombian parties, seated in London. Recently invited to be a committee member of the Asociacion Latinoamericano de Arbitraje (ALARB), he has previously represented the International Bar Association (IBA) at the United Nations negotiations of the UNICTRAL Arbitration Rules on transparency in treaty-based investor-state arbitration.

With a 50-strong international arbitration practice spread across a dozen offices, Sidley Austin LLP ‘demonstrates great experience in the sector’. While undertaking both commercial and treaty work, it is more visible in the latter, be it working for the state or on the investor side. The team does not, as policy, work with Bolivia, Ecuador or Venezuela (all of which have withdrawn from the ICSID Convention since 2007), is conflicted as regards Argentina, but has obtained a series of positive results for ‘repeat client’ Peru, and has also received mandates from Costa Rica on more than once occasion. Clients appreciate that the team ‘designs strategy with anticipation so as to leave time to search out the documents and witnesses required’. With both London and New York more focused upon transactional and finance-related work, most Latin American disputes work is handled out of the Washington DC office The team is currently representing Peru in a number of cases including a $2.5bn claim concerning coastal real estate; a $2bn claim by a French investor in a Peruvian bank and relating to the entity’s liquidation; in the annulment phase of a claim brought by a Chinese investor; and in a $50m case brought by Duke Energy international. In other work the team is currently representing a US investor in a potential investor-state claim against Mexico under NAFTA Chapter Eleven; representing a major European goods manufacturer in connection with potential investment treaty claims against Venezuela; representing a U.S. consumer products manufacturer in connection with potential investment treaty claims in multiple Central and South American countries; and representing a US energy company in ICC arbitration against a contractor in connection with the construction of a plant in Peru. Co-head of the firm’s international arbitration (Commercial & Treaty) practice Stanimir Alexandrov is an ‘excellent lawyer’ who has ‘considerable arbitration experience’. With ‘a global vision of issues’, he ‘highlights the key points of a problem and the best ways to face it’. His recent appointments include sitting as president of the arbitral tribunal in SGS vs Paraguay. Also Washington DC-based, Jennifer Haworth McCandless is ‘a diligent attorney who looks to cover all the aspects of a problem and asks the appropriate critical questions to do so’. Marinn Carlson is also noted for her increased engagement in the region, particularly with regard to trade-related disputes and WTO issues.

Part of the firm’s global international litigation and arbitration group, the Latin America-focused disputes team at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP operates out of the firm’s New York office. Consisting of five partners and 14 associates, peers regard it as ‘excellent’ and as ‘having a combination of great experience in international arbitration and good knowledge of the region’. The team also has ‘a really good foothold in the Brazilian market’, where it can draw on the support of the firm’s Sao Paulo office. Recent work has seen the team’s representation of Cemex Caracas in a $1.4bn ICSID dispute against Venezuela reach the merits phase; successfully defend Anheuser-Busch in a $2.4bn UNCITRAL case brought by Grupo Modelo for alleged breaches of a joint venture agreement stemming from its merger with InBev; and represent a Trinidad and Tobago-based LNG processor in connection with a threatened $100m UNCITRAL arbitration. It has also handled a number of international litigation issues including representing IRB-Brazil Resseguros and the Argentine social security entity ANSES. Argentine-born Marco Schnabl’s recent cases include representing the Argentine National Social Security Administration (ANSES) in a successful appeal against a New York Federal Court decision; and representing the owners of CEMEX Venezuela in an ICSID arbitration against the Venezuelan government for expropriation of that enterprise. Trained in both civil and common law, Julie Bédard ‘is incredible at handling Latin American cases’, and ‘truly understands the region and the idiosyncrasies of companies and governments here.’ Timothy Nelson ‘is very experienced in international arbitration globally, and it really shows.’ With ‘simply exceptional service’, the team is ‘business focused, has considerable experience, and provides legal advice that is absolutely first class’. Other work has seen the team advising a Peruvian client with regards to a $100m claim against the seller of the Chilean interests of a major cement company for violations of the purchase agreement; and representing a Brazilian corporation in a $200m arbitration that also concerns a stock purchase agreement.

Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP has been working in the Latin American disputes sector for more than 50 years, during which time it has represented parties from nearly all the continent’s states and worked across the major commercial and financial sectors. Recent incorporations have notably increased the profile and firepower of a team which ‘delivers top-drawer, fit-to-purpose knowledge, wins cases, and works with clients on reasonable fees. In a nutshell it brings value to the client.’ It recently obtained a decision in the hard-fought Pac Rim vs El Salvador case, confirming the jurisdiction of Salvadorian investment law and upholding the mining firm’s right to independently invoke ICSID arbitration, while concurrently denying claims by the opposing party regarding abuse of due process and that the case lay outside the temporal scope of DR-CAFTA. In other work, the team represented the Williams Companies against Venezuela, successfully gaining a $400m settlement in early 2012, and petitioned for Argentina’s suspension from the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) (as per the statutory eligibility criteria) until a $133.2m award to the Bank of America is honoured. ‘I believe that the team has added significant value recently with the incorporation of Arif Ali as co-chair of its arbitration team. He is a great strategist as well as being an outstanding legal writer and oralist’; other key members of the team brought over from Crowell & Moring LLP are Alexandre de Gramont and Theodore Posner. While the practice has long-included figures with a degree of Latin American experience, notably Spanish-fluent Eric Ordway, who has worked on an ICSID case against Venezuela, and Chip Roh, a chief negotiator of the North American Free Trade Agreement, the hire is expected to firmly establish the firm’s presence in Latin American international arbitration matters. Providing ‘top-level service’, Ali is ‘hands on, has top legal knowledge, and has the necessary technical and commercial acumen to understand the issues involved in any complex international dispute’.

Offering ‘good value for money’, Cuatrecasas, Gonçalves Pereira’s international arbitration practice operates primarily from its Madrid office, and is steadily ‘gaining a foothold’ in the region. A team of five dedicated partners is supported by a further five with part time involvement and a multinational 16-strong team of associates who ‘leave a good impression’. This core team can also call on practitioners in the firm’s Barcelona, Paris and New York offices. Commercial work, particularly in the construction/energy and corporate/finance areas, dominates the practice, but the team also has sovereign experience, having acted opposite both the Dominican Republic and Cuba, and acted on behalf of Argentina at ICSID. On the commercial front, the firm’s Brazil office operates as a hub for its engagement with the region. A former counsel to the ICC’s International Court of Arbitration in Paris, the ‘increasingly visible’ Cristian Conejero recently relocated from Madrid to the firm’s Sao Paulo office. He is currently involved in the $600m Tecnimont vs Colbun ICC case along with a host of smaller matters. He also works closely with Iñigo Quintano with whom he is working on two Abengoa Brasil vs Adriano Ometto ICC cases with a combined value of $220m. In addition, he is also sitting as co-arbitrator in a number of ICC cases, including Jan de Nul vs Cuenca de la Plata. ‘Savvy and industrious’, the Madrid-based Pedro Claros’ ‘intelligence goes beyond legal formulae’. He has been leading on CODASCA’s $500m case against the Dominican Republic and is also advising on Spanish law issues in Raytheon vs Diques y Astilleros. Also in Madrid, Antonio Hierro is presently acting as chairman in a $30m ICC Cubanco case, and as co-arbitrator in Northrop Grumman vs Venezuela.

The best known of the firm’s that have specialised in state-side representation Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle LLP was long Venezuela’s counsel of choice for international arbitration cases, particularly in the hydrocarbons sector. Although the firm did not win any of the recently awards Venezuelan mandates, and despite competitors pointing to the firm’s difficulty in translating its sovereign-side experience into new cases in Latin American (it has done so elsewhere, eg. Kazakhstan), the firm currently continues to manage a substantial Venezuelan caseload. It represented PDVSA against Exxon Mobil in a liability case relating to Cerro Negro. Given an original claim of $12bn (subsequently reduced to $7bn), Exxon’s final award of $908m was seen by many as a victory for PDVSA. A further case against Mobil Corporation, this time on behalf of the Venezuelan state per se, and concerning the expropriation of all the company’s investments, reached its merits hearings in early 2012; similarly, jurisdictional hearings regarding Venezuela v Tidewater were held in March 2012. The team also saw the settlement of a case against The Williams Companies for $400m and is managing a number of ICC actions against a foreign multinational. The 122-strong international arbitration practice group (including 43 Spanish speakers) operates primarily out of New York, Washington DC and Paris. Notably, in a reiteration of the firm’s commitment to the region, the firm also maintains offices in Buenos Aires and Mexico City. The ‘undoubtedly capable and experienced’ George Kahale is a corporate lawyer first and a litigator second; he leads on the firm’s Venezuelan cases. Former ICSID counsel Gabriela Alvarez-Avila and dual-qualified counsel Kate Brown de Vejar, both located in the firm’s Mexico City office, and international counsel Claudia Frutos-Peterson in Washington DC (also a former ICSID counsel) are all noted for their regional involvement.

Global player DLA Piper LLP has an international platform of 77 offices across 31 countries and fields a global international arbitration group of over 100 lawyers. Its continuing expansion into the Latin American market has seen the firm develop offices in Miami and Mexico City, as well as in Caracas (where it operates as DLA InterJuris Abogados) over the last two years. With ten US-based partners focusing on Latin American dispute issues, it has capability not only in New York and Miami, but also across the US. It also has capacity in London, Paris and Singapore. The team is currently handling cases in the insurance and tourism sectors, among others. Former co-ordinator of Squire Sanders LLP’s international dispute resolution practice and the founder of Greenberg Traurig LLP’s international arbitration practice, Pedro Martinez-Fraga is a ‘hugely experienced practitioner’ with ‘deep knowledge of the region and its ways’. He joined the firm in March 2011. Presently a member of the ICSID panel hearing the Urbaser (et al) vs Argentina water services concession case, he is also acting as lead counsel in a finance sector case against a Latin American sovereign and, on the commercial side, is representing Ingaseosas in a case arising from a failed stock purchase transaction. New York-based partners Claudia Salomon and Camilo Cardozo are also noted. International arbitration co-chair Salomon is currently active on a number of cases in the hydrocarbons sector, and the bilingual Cardozo is managing a drinks sector dispute.

Specialised in working for sovereigns only, Foley Hoag LLP houses ‘a solid team that is very much fit for purpose’. The firm opened a Paris office in 2011 with the incorporation of Bruno Leurent and Thomas Bevilacqua from Winston & Strawn and it has further extended its resources this year with a series of lateral hires. These have seen the incorporation not only of Argentina’s former ICSID liaison officer, Ignacio Torterola, but also of former Dewey & LeBouef LLP lawyers Derek Smith and Luis Parada. All three are based in the firm’s Washington DC office. The team’s current work includes acting as counsel to Venezuela in three ICSID cases related to the gold mining sector: a $3.8bn case brought by Crystallex International; a $1.2bn case brought by Vanessa Ventures (here the firm was originally co-counselling its client with Arnold & Porter LLP); and lastly a $2bn case brought by Gold Reserve. All have been brought under the framework of Canada-Venezuelan BIT legislation. It is also defending the Venezuelan state hydrocarbons entity, PDVSA, in a $160m expropriation case. Multilingual international litigation and arbitration practice co-head Ronald Goodman has ‘considerable talent and experience’ and has played a key role in the development of the firm’s role in Latin America. The firm’s new European capacity gives it additional options and indeed, the dual-qualified Bevilacqua, while not primarily focused upon Latin American work, has previously represented Ecuador in a number of ICSID cases. Of the firm’s other new hirings, Torterola has extensive experience of ICSID tribunals and is also the author of a commentary on the 2010 UNCITRAL rules; and Smith and Parada both have experience and profile in sovereign-side work and are presently acting for El Salvador against Canadian mining group Pac Rim.

Sullivan & Cromwell has been involved in international dispute resolution in Latin America for approaching a century, since its involvement in controversies arising out of the construction of the Panama Canal. The firm is best known in Latin America today for its corporate practice but it is also active in dispute resolution issues, particularly on the litigation side. It recently won a high-profile case in the second circuit court of appeals on behalf of the Central Bank of Argentina concerning its institutional independence from the Argentine government under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act. On the arbitral side, the firm’s Latin America-focused practice reiterated its capabilities recently with the successful defence of AB Inbev against a $2.5bn claim brought by Mexico’s Grupo Modelo under UNCITRAL rules. The team is currently representing a European-headquartered bank in three separate ICDR arbitrations arising from claims by Latin American investors stemming from the $60bn Madoff Ponzi scheme; and is also representing the owner of a crude oil pipeline in potential arbitration claims against a shipping group, an insurer and a sovereign. ‘Key player’ and international arbitration practice group coordinator, Joseph Neuhaus has been involved in Latin America dispute resolution issues for 20 years but maintains a global rather than regionally focused practice. A ‘great lawyer’ and ‘undoubtedly capable’, he can draw on the firm’s 20 Spanish speakers, including the head of the firm’s corporate and Latin American practices, Sergio Galvis. He is also supported by of counsel Philip Graham Jr, the former managing partner of the firm’s litigation group. The team has recently handled matters on behalf of Bancolombia, Soquimich, Statoil and Tenaris, among others.

Uría Menéndez has had a permanent presence in Latin America for 15 years as well as a strong, though non-exclusive, best friends network with leading firms such as Marval, O’Farrell & Mairal and Philippi, Yrarrázaval, Pulido & Brunner. Having originally entered the market to accompany outbound Spanish investors, the firm’s client roster has since grown to encompass both outbound and inbound regional clients. The firm’s litigation and arbitration department is 30 partners-strong and several are located in the region at any one time; in addition there are nine Latin American lawyers presently working in the firm’s Madrid office and the Beijing office is staffed with one Spanish-Chinese lawyer, two Argentines and a Colombian. The latter has already undertaken Chino-Latin American transactions, particularly financings in the mining area, and works with clients such as Sinopec and Sinochem. In the arbitral sector, the firm works in both investor-state and commercial cases. It is presently representing Iberdrola in a $350m cases against Guatemala related to a breach of the Spanish-Guatemala BIT; and defending Isolux Corsán in a $100m case brought by a construction company and relating to a combined-cycle gas plant expansion project. In other work the team is active in the mining, finance and shipbuilding sectors. A former state lawyer at the Spanish Constitutional Court, Jesús Remón is head of the firm’s litigation, arbitration and public law practice area. He sat on the arbitral panel in EDF International (and others) vs Argentina, constituted in 2004, and in which the tribunal finally rendered its award in June 2012. Miguel Virgós and Álvaro López de Argumedo are also key partners in the firm’s arbitral practice and are leading on the Iberdrola and Isolux cases, respectively.

Presently 18-strong, the rapidly growing Volterra Fietta is a young boutique firm focused upon international arbitration. Its founder partners built a considerable reputation while at Latham & Watkins LLP where they led the London-based practice. The team’s Latin American caseload presently includes investment treaty cases, including the representation of a major US financial institution against a Latin American state, and advising a sovereign with regard to an international border dispute. Robert Volterra, the firm’s key Latin American practitioner, is one of few with border dispute experience, having worked on a Chileno-Argentine dispute as far back as the 1980s. A member of the ICC Latin American arbitration committee, the bilingual Volterra is a ‘deeply experienced practitioner and public international law expert’. He is presently lead lawyer on both Owens Illinois Europe vs Venezuela and Koch Minerals vs Venezuela, ICSID cases. While the firm’s Latin American caseload will be market driven, the team has already been strengthened with a number of additional bilingual arbitration specialists, and cases from the region currently account for a quarter of the firm’s activity.