The Debevoise Latin America International Dispute Resolution Group is a leader in the region. It has an extraordinary win record, having racked up some of the largest and most significant awards for its clients. The firm has been consistently ranked in Band 1 in Chambers Latin America. It secured an award of $2.3 billion for Occidental Petroleum, one of the largest sums ever awarded in an investment treaty case, which was recognized by The American Lawyer in 2013 as the “Global Dispute of the Year in Investment Arbitration”; and a $650 million settlement in favor of Holcim with PDVSA. In addition, the Group was recognized by Latin Lawyer for the 2013 “Dispute of the Year” for its representation in three ICC arbitrations of the founder and shareholders of Grupo Diniz in its dispute with Groupe Casino.
Debevoise is one of very few firms to combine top-ranked practices in investment treaty arbitration, general commercial dispute resolution and public international law. The team has advised Latin American companies and foreign investors in complex and high-value disputes, in areas as diverse as mining, oil & gas and energy, construction, shareholder agreements, telecommunications, retail, media, finance and pharmaceuticals.
The firm’s preeminent International Dispute Resolution Group comprises lawyers who have been educated and trained in many different common and civil law systems, including Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Argentina, Peru, and Venezuela, and speak more than two dozen languages, including Spanish and Portuguese. Debevoise’s Protocol to Promote Efficiency in International Arbitration, first issued in 2010, has now become an industry benchmark.
Flexible in approach, cost effective and readily able to adjust resources to changing circumstances, the practice can efficiently meet the full range of client needs in high-stakes matters.