BILATERAL INVESTMENT TREATIES:
LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE LATIN AMERICAN EXPERIENCE

Bilateral investment treaties (BITs) are universally accepted instruments for the promotion and legal protection of foreign investments in developing countries, and for the resolution of related disputes. One-third of all such disputes and more than half of pending arbitration involve Latin American countries. With a primary focus on the Pacific Rim, this panel will examine significant decisions related to such disputes and distill key lessons learned for investors in Latin America.

CO-MODERATORS:

Ulf Ohrling, Partner
Mannheimer Swartling Advokatbyra Ab, China
Ulf Ohrling is a partner at Mannheimer Swartling Advokatbyra Ab, Shanghai, and specializes in mergers and acquisitions, intellectual property, IT, and foreign direct investment. Prior to joining Mannheimer Swartling, Mr. Ohrling served Service and Junior Judgeships at Swedish courts in Stockholm. MORE>

Cliff Sosnow, Partner
Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP, Canada
Cliff Sosnow specializes in international trade, commodity tax and customs, China practice, international, and procurement law. He is recognized in The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory as a leading practitioner in international trade regulation, and is recommended in Chambers Global as a leading practitioner in WTO/international trade. MORE>

PANELISTS:

Paolo Di Rosa, Partner
Arnold & Porter LLP, United States
Paolo Di Rosa heads the international arbitration practice at Arnold & Porter. Mr. Di Rosa's practice centers on international arbitration matters, including arbitral disputes between investors and states under bilateral investment treaties (BITs) and other investment instruments, and disputes before the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). MORE>

Alejandro A. Escobar, Special Counsel
Baker Botts L.L.P., United Kingdom
Alejandro Escobar specializes in public international law and international arbitration. He has extensive experience in advising on investment treaty disputes, on the international legal protection available for investment structuring, and on other areas of public international law, including boundary disputes, the Law of the Sea, and international trade agreements. MORE>

José Rosell, Partner
Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP, France
José Rosell is the head of Hughes Hubbard & Reed’s Arbitration Practice Group. He serves as a counsel and arbitrator in many international arbitration cases, including in BIT disputes. Mr. Rosell is a former professor of international business law at the University of Paris, and a frequent speaker and author of several articles on international arbitration. MORE>

Kumkum Sen, Partner
Rajinder Narain & Co., India
Kumkum Sen is a partner at Rajinder Narain & Co. and has extensive experience in takeovers, joint ventures, commercial contracts, international and domestic arbitrations, and cross-border investments. Ms. Sen is also a regular contributor to the leading financial dailies of India, and is currently contributing a fortnightly business page column in Business Standard. MORE>

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