This program offers 2 participatory MCLE credits.

As a foreign investor and a host State are engaged in an investment dispute there is opportunity to resolve the matter without going to litigation or international arbitration. Negotiations can take place before any request for arbitration (RfA) has been submitted, during the course of the arbitration, or even after an unfavorable award has been rendered. 

Investment treaties may provide or mandate a period of time to solve the dispute amicably as a preliminary step known as “cooling-off” period before the RfA is submitted. While many investment treaties require such a step or include a period of time for negotiation, negotiation experience leading to successful settlement prior to initiation of an arbitration, are not that common and constitute the subject of this webinar, with an emphasis on cross-border investments in the U.S., Asia and Latin America. The panelists will also touch upon the early actions to initiate arbitration and how such actions may influence successful negotiations or create a healthy basis to further proceed with arbitration. 

CONTENT

• The business rational for investment treaties.
• Protections granted to foreign investments in Asia, US and Latin America. Particularly, the panelists will analyze those international protections based on bilateral investment treaties and investment chapters of free trade agreements signed between the US and countries in Asia and Latin America.  
• Experiences of negotiations of investment disputes. 
• Experiences of early actions in investment arbitration proceedings.

Speakers: Daniel Alef and Jose Antonio Rivas

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Daniel Alef is the Senior Partner at Claviger Law Group LLC. He has over 25 years of legal experience and specializes in high value commercial negotiations and cross border investments. For the past three years he has been in extensive negotiations with the Ministry of Commerce in China on a major ISDS dispute. He was previously the founding partner of Alef, Baker, Grunfeld & Wilson of Los Angeles, California, an outside legal counsel to several Accenture’s Project Finance & Financial Transactions Practice groups, and outside counsel at Parson’s Corporation. He is a commentator on the History, Discovery, Military channels, as well as Bio.com and Squawk Box on CNBC. Mr. Alef is also an award-winning Author and former syndicated columnist. He received his B.S. degree from the University of California at Los Angeles, J.D. from UCLA Law School, the LL.M. from the London School of Economics and Political Science and did postgraduate research work on harmonization of the tax systems of the Common Market at Cambridge University.  

José Antonio Rivas is the Founding Partner of Xtrategy LLP, and head of the Arbitration and International Law Practice. He represents and advises corporate and sovereign clients on investment arbitration, international commercial arbitration, and public international law. He has 18 years of experience in international investment arbitration and public international law, including as counsel for sovereign clients and investors, international arbitrator, former lead negotiator of investment treaties for Colombia, and former ICSID Legal Counsel. He is adjunct professor of Investment Treaty Arbitration, Public International Law and ICJ Landmark Judgements at Georgetown University. He received an S.J.D.  and an LL.M. from Georgetown University and J.D. and Economics degrees from Los Andes University. 

Recently, in 2020, he founded the Washington Arbitration Week.