Kate Brown de Vejar > DLA Piper Mexico > Mexico City, Mexico > Lawyer Profile

DLA Piper LLP (US) continues to expand its presence in international arbitration and has a strong weighting towards Latin America cases. Kate Brown de Vejar is co-chair of the firm’s global international arbitration group and is based in Mexico City, where prominent arbitration partner Gabriela Álvarez-Ávila – who previously spent seven years as senior counsel at ICSID – is also located. The firm also has strong teams in Brazil and Peru, particularly for energy and infrastructure cases, is present in Chile, and has a growing team in Colombia. The firm has increased its presence in investor-state disputes, including the enforcement of arbitration awards against Latin American states. Carlos Núñez heads the Latin America international arbitration practice from Lima. Former Bogotá-based practice director Ricardo Alarcón is now a counsel in the México office following the departure of the Colombian office from the DLA network in June 2024.

DLA Piper Mexico continues to build out its presence in domestic arbitral matters, where it already demonstrates particular strength in energy sector disputes. The practice is nevertheless perhaps better known for its stellar international arbitration offering, with the Mexico City office acting as a regional hub for the practice, and which is, in turn, a key component of the firm’s global dispute resolution offering. Global head of the firm’s internatioal arbitral practice as well as co-head of the (local) team Kate Brown de Vejar is one of the foremost names in Mexico for international commercial and investment arbitration, practicing US and Australian law. Co-head of the Latin America disputes group, Gabriela Álvarez-Ávila‘s international arbitration practice evidences particularly expertise in disputes relating to investment law and high-stakes’ transactions in infrastructure, banking, energy and TMT. Both partners are currently co-leading on GoldGroup Resources’ case against Mexico under the sunset clauses of the USMCA and NAFTA chapter 11 and arising from the judicial expropriation of the client’s shares in a mining company The practice heads are supported by intermediate associate Irene Cuéllar Araiza, who joined from Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle S.C. in May 2023; and more recent counsel-level hire Juan Pablo Moyano, an April 2024 hire from Holland & Knight. In addition, litigators Antonio Cárdenas and Daniel González Estrada provide valuable advice in matters that have dual arbitration and litigation components.

The practice at DLA Piper LLP (US) is well versed at handling the gamut of international arbitrations, with a plethora of experience in large-scale commercial and investment arbitrations. The team is particularly skilled at handling disputes in the energy, natural resources, and life sciences sectors, and recently secured a victory in a Chicago-seated US$120 million ICC arbitration for UpHealth Holdings. Kate Brown de Vejar leads the team, representing private corporations, sovereign states, and state-owned entities in international arbitrations under both institutional and ad hoc rules. Michael Ostrove has recently relocated to the New York office, and has over three decades of experience in investment and public international law disputes. Kiera Gans, James Berger, Charlene Sun, and Joshua Kane are all key to the team, with experience spanning enforcing arbitral awards and foreign judgments, and representing private corporations and sovereign states. All individuals are based in New York.