BAR ADMISSIONS
– New York, USA (2016)
– Paris, France (2010) – Inactive
– Panama, Republic of Panama (2001)
LICENSES/CERTIFICATIONS
– Certified Public Translator, English-Spanish / Spanish-English (2019)
– Certified Public Translator, French-Spanish / Spanish-French (2011)
– Real Estate Broker (since 2004)
LANGUAGES
– Spanish (native), English and French (fluent)
EMPLOYMENT HISTORY
▪ Independent Consultant and Qualified Arbitrator (Present)
▪ University Professor, Universidad de Panamá, Facultad de Derecho y Ciencias Políticas, Department
of Private Law (2019- Present)
▪ Patton, Moreno & Asvat, Counsel, Litigation and Arbitration, Panama (2019)
▪ DISAN LLP, International Attorney, Washington D.C. (2015-2018)
▪ Inter-American Development Bank, Consultant, Legal Department, Washington D.C. (2016-2018)
▪ Harrison Institute for Public Law, Consultant, Washington D.C. (2014- 2015)
▪ Dirección de Negociaciones Comerciales Internacionales (Directorate of International Trade Negotiations), Ministerio de Comercio e Industrias, Panama, Head of the Investment and Trade in Services Department, Panama 2011-2013)
▪ Shearman & Sterling LLP, Legal Intern, Paris (2010)
▪ ICC International Court of Arbitration, Paris, Intern, Paris (2008)
▪ Estudio Jurídico Araúz, External Counsel, Panama (2001-2006)
EXPERIENCE
DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION AND LITIGATION
▪ Representation of individual and corporate clients as party counsel in international arbitrations under the arbitration rules of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law
(UNCITRAL) and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).
▪ Drafting of statements of claim and statements of defense in arbitral proceedings.
▪ Participation in document discovery in international arbitrations.
▪ Privilege analysis and identification of grounds to challenge asserted privilege.
▪ Support in the preparation of witness testimony and documentary evidence.
▪ Advice on and participation in complex international litigation.
▪ Advice on and participation in maritime litigation, contractual and non-contractual liability, limitation of liability, and vessel arrest.
▪ Advice on and participation in contentious-administrative actions for annulment and full jurisdiction; constitutional amparo actions (Recurso de Amparo de Garantías Constitucionales).
▪ Advice on the application of valuation methods in investor-state arbitrations and preparation of damages submissions.
▪ Analysis of standards of protection, including fair and equitable treatment and rules on indirect expropriation, and their application to specific facts in international
arbitrations.
▪ Document review and analysis of the likelihood of success and risks in investor-state disputes prior to filing a request for arbitration before ICSID or under the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules.
INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND TRADE POLICY
▪ Advice to sovereign states and individual and corporate clients on free trade agreements, investment treaties, arbitration clauses, the recognition and enforcement of foreign awards, and public international law matters.
▪ Representation of the Republic of Panama in free trade agreement negotiations; drafting and negotiation of proposals on trade in services, investment and government procurement.
▪ Conduct of consultations with the private and public sectors in preparation for international trade negotiations.
▪ Leading technical discussions in the negotiation of the Trade in Services Agreement within the framework of the World Trade Organization.
▪ Monitoring of the implementation of trade agreements and support in drafting laws and other regulations for compliance with international agreements.
▪ Advice on potential conflicts between domestic regulatory measures and international commitments undertaken in bilateral investment treaties and other free trade agreements.
▪ Advice on the scope of the standards of protection in the proposed investment chapter of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement.
PROJECT FINANCE THROUGH MULTILATERAL INSTITUTIONS
▪ Analysis of operational documents relating to loans, investment grants and technical cooperation.
▪ Participation in appraisal and negotiation missions for sovereign-guaranteed loan agreements.
▪ Advice on sovereign-guaranteed operations and negotiation and drafting of loan contracts and technical cooperation agreements.
▪ Legal advice on portfolio management matters, including amendments and waivers of financing and investment documentation, sales of equity interests, as well as restructurings and litigation.
▪ Coordination with investment officers and portfolio management, credit risk and environmental, social and governance teams to ensure the effective execution of loan agreements.
COMMERCIAL TRANSACTIONS AND CORPORATE LAW
▪ Advising clients on infrastructure projects involving permits, licenses or concessions.
▪ Legal advice on eligibility, due diligence, structuring, drafting, negotiation, documentation, closing and disbursement of loans, equity transactions and mezzanine financing.
▪ Advising clients on business strategy and corporate law; drafting of corporate documents.
▪ Drafting of public tender documents relating to service contracts, including construction services.
▪ Drafting and negotiation of trademark licenses.
▪ Conducting research and drafting documents in connection with company acquisitions and mergers by absorption.
▪ Drafting and negotiation of contracts between foreign investors and public entities, including public-private partnership agreements.
PRO BONO
▪ Conducting interviews and drafting briefs in preparation for lawsuits relating to public health programs at the Legal Counsel for the Elderly office, Washington, D.C. (2014-2015).
▪ Participation in free legal aid clinics organized by the District of Columbia Bar for low-income entrepreneurs (2013-2014).
▪ Case summaries and award reviews; research on “Dispute Boards” administered by the ICC International Court of Arbitration, Paris (2008).
EDUCATION
– Georgetown University Law Center, LL.M. in International Business and Economic Law;
Certificate in World Trade Organization Studies (2015)
– Universidad Latinoamericana de Ciencia y Tecnología, Master’s in Education with an Emphasis on Higher
Education Teaching, Summa Cum Laude (2013)
– Université de Versailles, France, Master’s in International Arbitration and Commerce, Cum Laude (2009)
– Université Paris II (Panthéon-Assas), Doctorate in Law (2009), Summa Cum Laude; Master’s
in International Economic Relations Law (2004), Cum Laude; Postgraduate Degree in Private International Law, Cum Laude (2002)
– Universidad de Panamá, Bachelor’s Degree in Law and Political Science, Magna Cum Laude, Sigma Lamda Honor Chapter (2001)
– Colegio De La Salle, High School Diploma in Sciences and Letters (1994)
RECENT PUBLICATIONS
BOOKS
▪ El Arbitraje en Panamá, Cultural Portobelo (2019).
▪ Constitucionalización del Arbitraje en Panamá ¿Paradigma o Paradoja?, Cultural Portobelo (2019).
▪ Corrupción Estatal y Arbitraje, Cultural Portobelo (2019).
▪ Arbitraje Marítimo en Panamá, Cultural Portobelo (2019).
▪ Arbitraje en Materia de Inversiones y Defensa del Estado Panameño, Propuesta para el Desarrollo de una Política de Prevención y Manejo de Conflictos en Materia de Inversiones cuando se Presenten Controversias que Puedan Afectar los Intereses del Estado Panameño, Cultural Portobelo (2013).
▪ Arbitrage et Protection des Investissements Internationaux, Volume I et II, Éditions Universitaires Européennes (2011).
▪ Arbitraje sin Lazo Contractual. La Disyuntiva entre la Protección de las Inversiones Internacionales y el Respeto del Orden Público Panameño, Cultural Portobelo (2010).
ARTICLES IN ACADEMIC JOURNALS AND EDITED VOLUMES
▪ “Explorando la agenda de reformas al sistema de solución de controversias entre inversionistas y Estados”, in XVI Congreso panameño de derecho procesal 93 (2019).
▪ “A New Legal Framework for Improving Investor-State Dispute Settlement” in Privatizing Dispute Resolution and its Limits, Max Planck Institute Luxembourg for International, European and Regulatory Procedural Law 485 (2019).
▪ “The Law Governing Counsel’s Ethical Obligations in International Arbitration” 7:1 European International Arbitration Review 23 (2018).
▪ “Shifting sands: New Trends on Ethics Regulation of Arbitrators in Investor-State Dispute Settlement” 10:3 World Arbitration and Mediation Review 383 (2016).
▪ “Contratos Internacionales con el Estado, Poder Público y Arbitraje Internacional”, in X Jornadas ASADIP 337 (2016).
▪ “An Appellate Body in Treaty-Based Investment Arbitration: Redefining the Investor-State Dispute Settlement Mechanism”, 21 Spanish Arbitration Review 93 (2014).
▪ “Relying upon Parties’ Interpretation in Treaty-Based Investor-State Dispute Settlement for Filling the Gaps in International Investment Agreements”, 46 Georgetown J. Int’l L. 261 (2014).
▪ “Comentarios a la Nueva Ley de Arbitraje de Panamá”, Revista LEX, Panama (2014).
▪ “El Rol del árbitro en la Creación de Precedentes. ¿Existe un Riesgo de Issue Conflicts en el Arbitraje de Inversiones?”, in Homenaje a Bernardo Cremades e Yves Derains 1185 (2013).
▪ “Reflexiones en torno a la Ley Aplicable en el Sistema de Anulación del CIADI: Entre Treaty Claims y Contract Claims”, in Anuario Latinoamericano de Arbitraje. Sistema de Anulación de Laudos CIADI 79 (2011).
ACADEMIA / RECENT ENGAGEMENTS AS A SPEAKER
SPECIALIZED COURSES
▪ Judicial intervention in arbitration, Diploma in Arbitration Law, Facultad de Derecho y Ciencias Políticas of the Universidad de Panamá, Procuraduría de la Administración, Panama, May-June 2019.
▪ Investment arbitration, Postgraduate Specialization in Alternative Dispute Resolution Methods, Instituto Especializado de Negociación, Conciliación, Mediación y Arbitraje (ICMAR), January-February 2019.
▪ Introductory Course on Investment Arbitration, Instituto Especializado de Negociación, Conciliación, Mediación y Arbitraje (ICMAR), Panama, November 2015.
▪ Maritime Arbitration, Course on Maritime Legislation, Universidad Marítima Internacional de Panamá (UMIP), September 2018.
▪ Advanced Arbitration and Mediation Course, International Law Institute, Washington DC, USA, November 2015 and May 2016.
SEMINARS, CONGRESSES, CONFERENCES
▪ “Investment Arbitration in Panama”, XVI Congreso Panameño de Derecho Procesal, Panama, June 2019.
▪ “Perspectives from the Region”, Session 3: Exploring the Reform Agenda – Ongoing Reforms, Second Regional Inter-Sessional Meeting on Investor-State Dispute Settlement Reform, United Nations, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, February 2019.
▪ “Claims Arising from Breach of Investment Treaty. Claims Arising from Breach of Contract”, VI Seminario Internacional de Arbitraje de Inversión, La Paz, Bolivia, September 2019.
▪ “Proof and Quantification of Damages”, VII Congreso Regional de Arbitraje, Tacna, Peru, August 2019.
▪ “CECOMAP and the Road Ahead: Challenges and Opportunities for the Maritime Arbitration Practice in Panama”, SINO-Panama Seminar on Maritime Arbitration and Law, CMAC-CECOMAP, December, 2018.
▪ “The Law Governing Counsel’s Ethical Obligations in International Arbitration”, Conference “Conflict of Laws in Arbitration”, Vienna, Austria, March 2018.
▪ “Expedited Arbitration or Limited Scope”, CAM-CCBC 4th Pan-American Arbitration Congress, Sao Paulo, Brazil, October 2017.
▪ “Judges or Arbitrators for the Resolution of International Commercial Disputes”, X Jornadas de la Asociación Americana de Derecho Internacional Privado (ASADIP), Buenos Aires, Argentina, November 2016.
▪ “Outlook for Investment Protection in Central America”, First International Seminar on Investment Arbitration, San José, Costa Rica, July 2016.
▪ “The Importance of Investment Flows in Latin America, Prevention and Defense of States”, XIII Encuentro Internacional de Economistas, Panama, November 2015.
▪ “Calculation of Damages in Investor-State Arbitrations”, III Seminario Internacional de Inversión, Instituto Peruano de Arbitraje, Lima, Peru, October 2015.
▪ “International Commercial and Investment Arbitration in the Americas”, 51st Conference of the Inter-American Bar Association, Lima, Peru, July 2015.
AFFILIATIONS
▪ Colegio Nacional de Abogados (CNA) – Member since 2001, Chair of the Mediation and Arbitration Committee (2019-2021)
▪ American Society of International Law (ASIL)
▪ Asociación Panameña de Derecho Marítimo (APADEMAR)
▪ International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) – Panama Chapter
▪ Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb – Fellow)
▪ Club Español del Arbitraje, Panama Chapter (CEA)
▪ Inter-American Bar Association (FIA)
▪ International Law Association, American Branch (ABILA)