Special report: Arbitration
best opportunities for boutique
firms dedicated to international
arbitration are complex cases that
require international experience
both as counsel and as arbitrator.
He adds that the ability to work in
more than one language is vital.
Derains continues: “Proactive
thinking and original procedural
strategies are necessary, as well
as bringing flexibility and tailor-
made solutions.”
Whether it is domestic
or international, focused on
commercial or investment cases,
arbitration requires highly
specialised lawyers, according to
Carlos A. Soto, founding partner
at Carlos Soto & Asociados
in Peru. “Arbitration in Peru
has increased exponentially
in recent years, and this has
generated an increase in conflicts
of interest in the designation of
arbitrators, which is why our law
firm decided to dedicate itself
Yves Derains, Derains & Gharavi
International
exclusively to arbitration,” he
says. “One of the reasons for the
growth of arbitration in Peru is the
obligation to resort to arbitration
to solve public contracts
disputes – all contracts contain
an arbitration clause,” Soto adds.
“From the smallest municipal
government purchase to the
construction of a mega project,
in the event of a disagreement
between the two parties, they
must resort to arbitration, and
this has meant that, when we
have had moments of huge public
investment in infrastructure,
the number of arbitration cases
has increased.” Soto says that
the increase in the number of
arbitration cases in Peru has not
led to a corresponding increase in
quality. He adds that the quality
must be improved if arbitration
is to be “consolidated as an
effective and efficient mechanism
for dispute resolution”. Soto
concludes: “An improvement of
legislation and greater scrutiny
in the selection of lawyers for the
role of arbiter will be fundamental
elements to increase the quality
of arbitration.” While arbitration
may be growing in popularity in
Latin America, it is clear that steps
need to be taken to improve the
quality of the services on offer to
clients.
Multilingual lawyers in demand for Latin American
Arbitration
Gary Davidson
Clients from Latin America
increasingly favor Miami as a seat for
arbitration because the city is seen as a
“gateway to the Americas”, according
to Díaz Reus & Targ partner Gary
Davidson. Law firms with a presence
in Miami are well-positioned to pick
up such work, and Davidson says:
“The principal opportunity for our
firm in relation to arbitration is that
we have the capability to undertake,
arbitration in more than one language,
and regularly do.”
Davidson adds that his firm
currently has three lawyers involved
in a commercial arbitration case
in Panama, where the case will be
conducted entirely in Spanish.
‘Staggering amounts of money’
He explains that, in Latin America,
the majority of disputes that end up in
arbitration involve private commercial
matters.
26 • THE LATIN AMERICAN LAWYER • December 2018
Less common are disputes that arise
from rights based on multilateral and
bilateral treaties. “However, while
these treaty-based disputes are more
infrequent than private commercial
ones, the amounts of money at stake
can be staggering,” Davidson says.
Criminal matters
“In addition to our work in the areas of
international litigation and arbitration,
the firm has well-known expertise in
international criminal matters, and
this helps us address such issues when
they arise in arbitration—directly or
indirectly,” Davidson explains.
He also notes that, while clients
come to the firm “principally because
of its reputation for handling
international arbitration and litigation
work, they also discover that we treat
clients like family and are available
around the clock to provide guidance
and counselling.”
www.thelatinamericanlawyer.com