Manuel Valderrama Escobar
Associate, International Arbitration
Manuel is an Associate in Willkie’s International Arbitration Practice Group in Washington, D.C.
Manuel is a seasoned international disputes attorney with broad expertise in handling high-complexity matters from inception to trial, particularly disputes involving Latin America.
Manuel represents clients in a variety of commercial disputes, with a particular focus on complex financial products, energy, mining and natural resources, construction, pharmaceuticals, technology, and private equity. He has been involved in dozens of international arbitration and transnational litigation matters, including cases arising under major international arbitration rules, such as ICSID, ICC, SIAC, AAA, and ICDR, as well as ad hoc arbitrations. Manuel also has trial experience in cases before U.S. federal and state courts and has argued cases before Chile’s highest courts. He regularly works in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.
Manuel is trained in both common law and civil law; he holds an LL.B. from Universidad de Chile, where he graduated summa cum laude, and an LL.M. from Columbia Law School, where he was a Fulbright Scholar. Manuel’s experience includes training and practicing at international law firms in New York, London, and Singapore. He is admitted to practice in New York and Chile.
Experience
- Section 1782 Discovery in Int’l Arbitration, in What Does it Mean to be “Pro-Arbitration”? Reflections on George Bermann’s Legacy by Columbia Law School Students and Faculty (2022)
- Two is a Crowd: The Issue of Competing Governments in International Arbitration – a Venezuelan Case Study, in C. González-Bueno (ed.), 40 Under 40: International Arbitration (2021)
- Co-author with Claudio Salas: Energy Arbitration in Latin America, in Global Arbitration Review, The Arbitration Review of the Americas (2020)
- Co-author with David Orta: In the Wake of Achmea: Early Assessments, Consequences, and Approaches, in Euromoney, Commercial Arb. Expert Guide (2019)
- Representing a solar power developer in a US$1.4 billion ICC arbitration over the wrongful termination of a power purchase agreement by a State-owned entity.
- Representing the concession holder of a gold-silver mine in a US$2.1 billion ICSID arbitration against Mexico over the expropriation of its investment, in the first claim to be brought under the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
- Represented a mining conglomerate in UNCITRAL arbitration against India.
- Advised several private equity funds regarding potential ICSID claims against a European state related to the state’s expropriation of the funds’ investments in the banking sector.
- Advised several foreign investors in the renewable energy sector with respect to potential claims against a Central American State under several investment treaties.
- Represented a U.S. engineering company in UNCITRAL arbitration against Ecuador.
- Represented a Spanish electricity company in ICSID arbitration against Argentina.
- Represented a US investment management and insurance company in consultations and negotiations prior to ICSID arbitration against a Latin American State over reforms to the country’s pension fund system.
- Represented a Singaporean shipping company in ICSID A.F. arbitration against Mexico.
- Advised a Canadian mining company with respect to potential ICSID claims against an African state.
- Represented a group of financial institutions in ICSID arbitration against Croatia.
- Represented Cyprian investors in UNCITRAL arbitration against Montenegro.
- Represented US investors in UNCITRAL arbitration against Bolivia.
- Represented a global pharma company in ICDR arbitration against a U.S. company concerning the termination of a product development agreement.
- Represented a US private equity firm in two parallel ICC arbitrations over one of the most significant real estate transactions in Spain’s history.
- Represented a Canadian telecoms company in ICC arbitration concerning a joint venture agreement.
- Represented an Indonesian mining company in SIAC arbitration over a joint venture project.
- Represented a US energy company in ICC emergency arbitration in relation to the construction of solar plants in an East African country.
- Represented a German pharmaceutical company in ICC arbitration concerning a licensing agreement.
- Represented a Peruvian sporting goods company in ICC arbitration over the breach of a licensing agreement.
- Represented a Brazilian construction company in ICC arbitration over the construction of a hydroelectric plant in Chile.
- Represented a Chilean construction company in parallel ICC arbitrations over the execution of several contracts to construct one of the largest mining projects in Latin America.
- Represented an Italian construction company in ICC arbitration over the construction of mining infrastructure in Panama.
- Represented the Chairman of Chilean company Corp Group, and several of his family members and business associates, in a cross-border dispute over claims brought by creditors of a subsidiary in a Chilean court that violated a permanent injunction ordered by a Delaware bankruptcy court.
- Represented the Chairman of Chilean company Corp Group, and several of his family members and business associates, in defending a 1782 application brought by an international bank in the Southern District of New York.
- Represented Matterport and its directors in the Delaware Court of Chancery in a dispute with a former executive in connection with a de-SPAC transaction.
- Represented three sets of investment funds in a Delaware Court of Chancery action alleging improper valuation of warrants held in an energy company.
Credentials
Education
Columbia Law School, J.D., 2018 Universidad de Chile, LL.B., 2013