Arbitration

The firm, led by Dr. Herfried Wöss and Adriana San Román, recently successfully represented a large French energy company in a complex US$ 240 million energy tariff arbitration in which all claims against the firm’s client were dismissed and the counterclaims and costs of arbitration were awarded to the client. In 2020, the firm also successfully advised a leading EPC contractor with respect to multiple claims and counterclaims with a New York investment fund regarding a 1,000+ MW combined cycle thermoelectrical plant and complex technical and economic issues, which led to the settlement of the dispute while on the brink of commencing an ICC arbitration in New York under the laws of New York.

Wöss & Partners is listed as a top tier firm in Latin America by Legal 500, which also ranks Dr. Herfried Wöss and Adriana San Román as leading individuals. Dr. Wöss is referenced in the Legal 500 Powerlist Arbitration Latin America and the International Who’s Who: Commercial Arbitration. Adriana San Román is also a financial expert and a member of the ICCA-ASIL Task Force on Damages in International Arbitration. The firm’s arbitration and damages portfolio as party counsel, arbitrator, adjudicator, damages and legal experts and consultants recently exceeded US$1 billion.

OUR PROFESSIONALS

Dr. Herfried Wöss is a leading international damages arbitrator and financial expert. Dr. Wöss is referenced in the Legal 500 Powerlist Arbitration Latin America and the International Who’s Who: Commercial Arbitration. He is currently sitting as president and arbitrator on large and complex arbitrations dealing with gas pipelines, major infrastructure projects and complex damages issues. He is also acting as party counsel in damages, infrastructure and energy arbitrations.

Adriana San Román has extensive experience as counsel and damages expert in large infrastructure and energy arbitrations and litigation including oil platforms, aqueducts, hospital and industrial projects. She is a member of the ICCA-ASIL Task Force on Damages in International Arbitration and she has recently acted as a damages expert in international arbitrations and litigation including a large oil platform construction arbitration where a US$250 million claim was dismissed and the respondent was awarded an US$80 million counterclaim based on her expert opinion.

Dr. Herfried Wöss and Adriana San Román are the principal authors of the Oxford University Press monograph Damages in International Arbitration under Complex Long-term Contracts in which they formulated an international damages doctrine for income generating contracts and investment goods. They have published extensively on these issues, including their chapters on ‘Damages in Commercial Arbitration’ and ‘Damages in Investment Treaty Arbitration’ which were recently published in: International Arbitration and EU Law (Edward Elgar Publishing 2021).

Partner Christian Carbajal Valenzuela was lead counsel in Tza Yap Shum v Peru. Christian is head of the Lima office and is expanding the firm into Brazil where he has established a reputation as the leading expert in investment arbitration. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and a former Secretary-General of the Arbitration Centre of the Lima Chamber of Commerce. Christian frequently sits as arbitrator. Christian is Director of CAMESC, one of the main arbitration centres in Southern Brazil.

Prof. Nikos Lavranos supports the firm’s Investment Arbitration team as International Of Counsel in various upcoming energy-related investment arbitrations. He is the Secretary-General of the European Federation for Investment Law and Arbitration (EFILA) and has advised investors on investment arbitrations against Russia, Ecuador, the Czech and Slovak Republics. Prof. Lavranos has negotiated international investment agreements on behalf of the Dutch government with Morocco, the United Arab Emirates, Azerbaijan and Iraq and participated in the TTIP, CETA and EUSFTA negotiations.

In 2020, Paolo Cammarota joined the firm as International Of Counsel and has acted together with the Wöss & Partners team in the aforementioned preparation of a major arbitration in New York law with respect to a large power plant. Paolo is an experienced litigation and arbitration lawyer, having previously practiced at SkaddenArps and graduated from Stanford and Yale. He is a founding partner of Cabrera Cammarota PLLC in New York.

Sergio Rendón has been legal director of large infrastructure and construction companies and has considerable experience in large infrastructure projects and arbitrations and is Of Counsel of the firm.

Dr. Devin Bray recently rejoined the firm as International Of Counsel. He was previously a lawyer in the practice of Judge Charles N. Brower. He has extensive experience, in particular, with investment arbitrations. Dr. Bray wrote his doctorate on the issue of legitimate expectations and worked with the firm on the ICSID Renée Levy de Levi v. Peru annulment committee procedure. He is also a Barrister and Solicitor of the Law Society of Ontario.

RA Prof. DDr. Adolf Peter joined the firm as International Of Counsel in 2021. He is an Austrian attorney having practiced in the field of arbitration with Luther in Singapore and Graf & Pitkowitz in Vienna, and an Associate Professor for Arbitration at the Shanghai University for Political Science and Law from where he attends the Asian market.

The team is supported by Víctor Osante and Mariana Rentería. Víctor Osante has acted as administrative secretary to important LCIA and ICC arbitral tribunals.

The firm frequently advises third party funders on high-profile investment and commercial arbitrations pending before ICSID and other arbitral institutions.

Wöss & Partners has offices in Mexico City, Washington DC, Lima and a representative office in Vienna (Palais Aurora). The working languages of the firm are English, French, Dutch, German, Greek, Spanish and Portuguese.

RECENT ARBITRATION AND DISPUTE RESOLUTION EXPERIENCE

More than 60 arbitrations as president, co-arbitrators, sole arbitrators, adjudicators, damages expert and party counsel. Below, please find a list of pending and recent arbitrations:

• Adjudicator (Herfried Wöss, ad hoc) appointed by both parties: turn-key construction project related to oil production involving a National Oil Company.
• ICC 25918/JPA: Co-arbitrator (Herfried Wöss) appointed by claimant in gas compression dispute.
• Expert opinions (Herfried Wöss, Adriana San Román and Christian Carbajal) for largest European third-party funder with respect to a pending ICSID arbitration of a Venezuelan-Spanish investor against Venezuela (US$200 million); a commercial arbitration with international law aspects of a former sovereign against an Asian country (US$32 billion); and an early-stage investment in the energy sector with respect to a potential investment arbitration.
• ICC: Counsel to Claimant (Herfried Wöss, Adriana San Román, Paolo Cammarota, Christian Carbajal & team) and EPC Contractor with respect to the turn-key construction of 1,000+ MW thermoelectric plant in US$ 80 million dispute against investment fund in New York under New York law, settled in August 2020 upon the commencement of the arbitration.
• ICC 24457/JPA: Counsel to defendant (Herfried Wöss, Adriana San Román & team) for large French energy corporation in first energy tariff dispute after the Mexican energy reform fending off a US$240 million claim and being awarded the counter-claim and the cost and expenses of the arbitration.
• LCIA No. 173641: Chair of arbitral tribunal (Herfried Wöss) in US$200 million damages claim with respect to gas pipeline dispute.
• ICC 22570: Counsel (Devin Bray) of an Asian State-owned enterprise in an ICC arbitration involving a share-purchase agreement dispute with an international agricultural company.
• LCIA Case No. 184139: Chair of arbitral tribunal (Herfried Wöss) related to the construction of substations and transmission lines.
• ICDR 01-18-0001-1499: Damages expert (Adriana San Román) appointed by respondent which lead to the rejection of a US$280 million damages claim and the award of a US$60 million counterclaim based on her expert opinion related to oil platforms.
• ICSID Case No. ARB/16/2: Counsel (Devin Bray) for American companies and investors in an ICSID arbitration involving the alleged expropriation and unfair treatment of several companies by a Middle Eastern country.
• ICC ADR EXP. 635: Adjudicator (Herfried Wöss) in US$100+ million dispute related to Peru’s largest refinery.
• Case 216-19/ARBITAC: Co-arbitrator (Christian Carbajal) in arbitration between shareholders as regards the dissolution of corporate partnership in Brazil.
• DIS-SV-KR7115-17: Party counsel (Herfried Wöss, Adriana San Román & team) for German manufacturer of heavy construction machines under international sales contract governed by German law.
• ICC: Party counsel (Herfried Wöss)  to gas pipeline consortium with respect to massive black powder contamination, preparation of expert opinion and arbitration, negotiations and settlement.
• (Devin Bray) Advising a client with a dispute resolution strategy involving the expropriation of private property during the development of a highway in a South American country.
• ICC 23173/JPA: Counsel to claimant (Herfried Wöss and Adriana San Román) with respect to Mobile Virtual Network Operator in the telecommunication business.
• CCL 0055-2017: International co-counsel (Herfried Wöss) in mining arbitration in Peru.
• ICC 22692/ASM: Co-arbitrator (Herfried Wöss) in international financing of housing project.
• CAM 0107/2017: Co-arbitrator (Herfried Wöss) in re-insurance case appointed by a London insurance law firm related to highway project in Bolivia.
• UNCITRAL: Counsel (Devin Bray) to Euro-Asian investor in an UNCITRAL arbitration involving the temporary administration of a financial institution by a western-Asian State (2016).
• UNCITRAL arbitration: Counsel (Paolo Cammarota) on behalf of airline against a major international organization for the lease of aircraft.
• ICDR 01-16-0005-2996: Co-arbitrator (Herfried Wöss) in international franchise damages case under the law of Texas.
• ICC 21953/ASM: Party counsel (Herfried Wöss, Adriana San Román, Chistian Carbajal, Devin Bray & team) on behalf of Techint against Sempra/Ienova in US$100 MM+ arbitration related to the construction of a gas pipelines consisting of more than 100 claims for time extension, additional cost, loss of productivity and damages; recovered more than US$50 million in less than five months (reported in GAR), after winning a parallel ICC emergency arbitration.
• ICC 21092/ASM: Co-arbitrator (Herfried Wöss) with respect to the operation of thermo-electrical power plant.
• ICC 21470/ASM: Party counsel (Herfried Wöss, Adriana San Román & team) on behalf of ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions against a sub-contractor in cement plant project in Guatemala.
• ICC 19867/ASM: President of arbitral tribunal (Herfried Wöss) with respect to the construction of energy distribution lines and substations.
• ICC 19827/ASM: Co-arbitrator (Herfried Wöss) in construction in oil & gas business and financial disputes.
• ICSID Case No. ARB/10/17: Renée Rose Levy de Levi (Banco Nuevo Mundo – BNM) v. Republic of Peru: Counsel for claimant (Christian Carbajal) in investment arbitration related to bank liquidation.
• ICSID Case No. ARB/10/17, Renée Rose Levy de Levi v. Republic of Peru: Counsel for claimant (Herfried Wöss, Christian Carbajal, Adriana San Román and Devin Bray) in investment arbitration annulment procedure (reported in GAR).
• ICC arbitration: Counsel (Paolo Cammarota) for a Chinese technology company against its former partner, a New York-based software producer.
• Case 305-2017/CA-CC Arequipa: Counsel of respondent (Christian Carbajal) with respect to lease agreement arbitration.
• CAM 0106/2017: Damages expert (Adriana San Román) in post M&A dispute related to acquisition of chain of warehouses.
• ICSID Case No. ARB/07/6, Tza Yap Shum (Chinese investor) v. Republic of Peru: Counsel of claimant (Christian Carbajal) Fishmeal export company. Arbitrary and expropriation tax measures.
• Treaty arbitration (Paolo Cammarota) involving Russian expropriation of oil company assets.
• Case 1202-262-16/PUCP: Sole arbitrator (Christian Carbajal) with respect to a state contract arbitration to the acquisition of computer equipment for the educational system in Cusco, Peru.
• Case 018-2016/CCL: President of arbitral tribunal (Christian Carbajal) involving a state contract arbitration related to the supply of food in educational entities in Huancavelica, Peru.
• CAM 0085/2016: President of arbitral tribunal (Herfried Wöss) in complex recycling business related to major steel plant.
• Case 107-159-16/PUCP, Case 717-12-15/PUCP, Case 826-230-15/PUCP: President of arbitral tribunal (Christian Carbajal) with respect to state contract arbitration related to improvement of sanitation and drainage works in Lima, Peru.
• CAM 0097/2015: Co-arbitrator (Herfried Wöss) in an industrial plant construction case.