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- Miguel López Forastier
Miguel López Forastier is a partner at Covington & Burling LLP in Washington, DC, whose practice focuses on international arbitration and litigation. Mr. López Forastier has successfully represented a wide range of clients, including those in the oil and gas, mining, communications, financial services, and food industries in both investor-State and commercial arbitrations. Recognized by Chambers Global, Chambers Latin America, and Legal 500 as a leading international arbitration lawyer, Mr. López Forastier’s work is praised by clients for his “thorough analysis, insightful advocacy, and consistently reliable judgment.” Both civil-law and common-law trained, Miguel handles contentious work in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.
Mr. López Forastier is a frequent lecturer on arbitration and international law issues at conferences and universities around the globe. He also sits as arbitrator.
- Valores Mundiales, S.L. y Consorcio Andino S.L. c. República Bolivariana de Venezuela (Caso CIADI No. ARB/13/11) (pending).
- Emmis International Holding BV et al. v. Republic of Hungary (ICSID Case No. ARB/12/2) (pending).
- Accession Mezzanine Capital L.P et al. v. Republic of Hungary (ICSID Case No. ARB/12/3) (pending).
- Tidewater Inc. et al. v. Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (ICSID Case No. ARB/10/5) (pending).
- Mobil Corporation et al. v. Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (ICSID Case No. ARB/07/27) (pending).
- Mobil Cerro Negro v. Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. et al. (ICC Case No. 15415/JRF) (pending).
- Newmont USA Limited et al. v. the Republic of Uzbekistan (ICSID Case No. ARB/06/20) (settled).
- Newmont (Uzbekistan) Limited v. the Republic of Uzbekistan et al. (arbitration under the Rules of the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce) (settled).
- MTD Equity Sdn. Bhd. et al. v. Republic of Chile (ICSID Case No. ARB/01/7) (final award and annulment proceedings rendered in favor of the Claimants).
- LG&E Energy Corp. et al. v. Argentine Republic (ICSID Case No. ARB/02/1) (final award rendered in favor of the Claimants).
- Representation of a US financial institution in respect of potential claims against the Argentine Republic under the US-Argentina Bilateral Investment Treaty.
- Representation of an Argentine company in respect of potential claims against the Republic of Ecuador under the Argentina-Ecuador Bilateral Investment Treaty (settled).
- Representation of a Canadian mining company and its South American subsidiaries in connection with a tax claim and potential bilateral investment treaty claims against the Republic of Peru (settled).
- Representation of the Business Software Alliance and Microsoft Corporation in anti-piracy enforcement and policy activities in Latin America.
Memberships and Affiliations
- Professorial Lecturer in Law (Arbitration), George Washington University Law School (2009-2010)
Spanish Flour Production Cos. Win $490M From Venezuela
July 28, 2017, Law360
Law360 highlights Covington's successful representation of Valores Mundiales SL and Consorcio Andino SL before the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes. The tribunal found that Venezuela had breached its international obligations with regard to the company's flour production business and ordered the country to pay nearly half a billion ...
ICSID Highlights Transparency, Efficiency In Rule Reform
May 10, 2017, Law360
Miguel López Forastier is quoted in a Law360 article examining the International Centre for Settlement Investment Disputes' updates to its rule amendment project. According to López Forastier, “The Centre is focusing on all the critical areas that require updates to keep up with the changes and developments of the last ten years.” He adds, “The process also ...
May 4, 2017, Covington Alert
Investments in developing economies offer substantial benefits for many reasons, including their growth potential. But they often come with greater economic and political risks. Investment-protection treaties are an important and relatively inexpensive tool to manage some of those risks.
Most bilateral and multilateral investment treaties provide foreign investors with substantive and procedural protections, including the right to bring a claim directly against the foreign country before an independent arbitration tribunal. That right is all the more important following the ruling this week by the Supreme Court in Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela v. Helmerich & Payne Int’l Drilling. In a unanimous opinion for the eight-Justice Court (Justice Gorsuch did not participate), Justice Breyer addressed the provisions of the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) that allow for an exception to sovereign immunity when a foreign sovereign expropriates property “in violation of international law” and that property is owned or operated by an instrumentality of the foreign state engaged in a commercial activity in the United States. 28 U.S.C. § 1605(a)(3).
April 28, 2017, Inside Energy & Environment
A recently-published NAFTA arbitration award in Windstream Energy LLC v. Government of Canada illustrates the perils of investing in clean energy projects in jurisdictions with ever evolving regulatory and policy frameworks. The case is also a good reminder of the importance of investing in foreign jurisdictions through vehicles incorporated in countries that ...
Partial stay is okay, says Venezuela annulment committee
March 11, 2016, Global Arbitration Review
Miguel López Forastier is quoted in this Global Arbitration Review article regarding a recent ruling in favor of client Tidewater after an ad hoc ICSID committee finds it had the power to order a partial stay of enforcement resulting in an award of $27.4 million in damages. According to López Forastier, this decision is a “first of its kind.”
September 2015, Arbitration World, Co-author
February 13, 2015, Covington Alert
September 9, 2013
NEW YORK, September 9, 2013 — Covington & Burling is expanding its international commercial arbitration capabilities and reach into Latin America with the addition of Nicole Duclos. Ms. Duclos joins the firm’s New York City office as of counsel along with associates Erin Thomas and Thomas Odell. The team’s arrival enhances the firm’s international arbitration ...
Aspectos Eticos del Financiamiento de Arbitrajes por Terceros
June 29, 2012, IV Congreso Latinoamericano de Arbitraje
Covington Promotes 10 Lawyers to Partnership
October 3, 2011
WASHINGTON, DC, October 3, 2011 — Covington & Burling LLP announced today that 10 of its lawyers have been elected to the firm’s partnership effective October 1. This group is comprised of diverse and talented individuals who have made their mark at Covington through exceptional work and the highest standards of client service. “We’re delighted to welcome these ...
La Anulación de los Laudos en Los Casos de Sempra y Enron, Anuario Latino-Americano de Arbitraje
2011, Instituto Peruano de Arbitraje vol 1
April 5, 2010, Int. Finance & Treasury
February 17, 2010, Covington Advisory
Covington Announces Four New Counsel
4/7/2009
WASHINGTON, DC, April 7, 2009 — Covington & Burling LLP is pleased to announce the promotion of four lawyers to of counsels and special counsels. The new of counsels are as follows: Heather Haberl represents local, regional, and national owners, developers, property managers, tax-exempt organizations, and other users in all aspects of real estate ...
- \Who's Who Legal, Future Leaders of International Arbitration (2017)
- Who’s Who Legal, Arbitration (2016)
- Chambers Global, Arbitration and Public International Law (2014-2017)
- Chambers Latin America, International Arbitration (2013-2017)
- Chambers USA, International Arbitration (2014-2017 )
- Legal 500 US, Litigation: International Arbitration and Energy: Litigation (2007, 2012-2017)
- Legal 500 Latin America, International Arbitration (2012-2015)
- Washington DC Super Lawyers, International (2014-2017)
Education
The George Washington University, LL.M., 1997
Universidad del Salvador in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Abogado, 1994
Judicial Clerkship
- Cámara Nacional de Apelaciones en lo Comercial de Buenos Aires, Argentina (Commercial Court of Appeals of Buenos Aires)