EXPERIENCE AS COUNSEL IN ARBITRATIONS

• Lead the local representation of Refinería de Cartagena (Reficar) in an ICC international arbitration, seated in New York, under Colombian and New York law, entirely conducted in English, against Chicago Bridge & Iron Company (CB&I), an EPC contractor. The tribunal awarded more than US$1900 million dollars to Reficar, being the largest decision in history in favor of the Republic of Colombia or one of its entities. The tribunal also dismissed a US$400 million dollars counterclaim brought by CB&I.
• Leading the representation of a mining company in a USD$30 million domestic arbitration against Termotasajero regarding a coal supply contract as well as the origin, quality and quantity of the supplied coal.
• Lead counsel for two subsidiary companies of Goldman Sachs in a USD$1650 million dollars ICC multy-party arbitration, entirely conducted in English, related to transport of coal through a railway network in Colombia.
• Lead counsel for a multinational consortium (Stork and Vepica) against Siemens Energy in an international commercial arbitration, under the Rules of the Chamber of Commerce of Bogotá (CCB), arising out of a supply and installation of turbines contract. The dispute was settled in our client’s favour, where we played a significant role.
• Lead counsel for Carbones del Cerrejón Limited (Glencore), multinational which is the largest mining company in Colombia, in a ICC international arbitration, under Colombian law, against a multinational consortium (Ferrovial Agroman and Sainc Ingenieros), related to the construction of marine works and structures. The tribunal dismissed all claims (USD$60 million dollars) brought by the consortium and awarded all counterclaims and damages sought by Cerrejón (USD$40 million dollars). Consequently, the Tribunal ordered the consortium paying 100% of both the costs of the arbitration and of the costs of Cerrejón’s legal representation.
• Advised an European bank in disputes with a public entity, valued at hundreds of millions of dollars, arising out from outstanding debt. The disputes were submitted to international arbitration.
• Member of the team representing a subsidiary company of a large international investment bank in a USD$200 million dollars domestic arbitration, under the Rules of the CCB, arising out the extraction of coal.
• Member of the team representing an international consortium in an international commercial arbitration held in Bogota under ICC Rules against ISAGEN, related to the construction of a hydroelectric plant, obtaining a USD$70 million dollars award. The Council of State of Colombia confirmed such award; being the first time it revises an international award rendered by an arbitral tribunal seated in Colombia. In addition, the Constitutional Court of Colombia confirmed the ICC award in its first revision ever of an international arbitration award.
• Member of the team representing the owners of one of the biggest hotels in Colombia in a domestic arbitration, under the Rules of the CCB, against Hoteles Estelar, under a joint venture agreement.
• Member of the team advising an international bank in USD$30 million dollars disputes arising out from the merger of a domestic bank.

EXPERIENCE AS ARBITRATOR AND SECRETARY TO THE TRIBUNAL

• Served as sole arbitrator in an ICC international commercial arbitration between companies of United Arab Emirates and Mexico, under the UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts, seated in Mexico City, in disputes related to the heavy industries sector.
• Served as arbitrator in an ICC international commercial arbitration between Colombian and American parties, arising out of a settlement agreement.
• Acted as arbitrator, chairman and sole arbitrator in 12 domestic arbitrations under the Rules of the Chamber of Commerce of Bogota.
• Appointed as secretary to the tribunal in a USD$370 million dollars ICC international arbitration related to the enlargement of a thermoelectric plant in Argentina, under both Argentinean and Swiss law.
• Appointed as secretary to the tribunal in COMMISA v PEMEX, a USD$430 million dollars ICC international arbitration related to the construction of off-shore gas platforms in Campeche Bay (Mexico), under Mexican law. This is becoming a seminal case in international arbitration since it is one of the few cases around the world which have been set aside in the seat and meanwhile enforced in a different jurisdiction (New York).

ADVISOR IN DISPUTES RELATED TO DIRECTORS, SHAREHOLDERS AND CORPORATIONS

• Advised the board of directors of Cementos Argos, fourth largest cement company in the Americas, with the hostile takeover bids presented by JGDB Holding (part of the “Grupo Gilinsky”) in the attempt to buying an interest in Grupo de Inversiones Suramerican (“Grupo Sura”), a publicly-traded company.
• Advised Sociedad Portuaria de Buenaventura, concessionaire of the largest and most important port in Colombia, in different disputes and procedures involving the corporation, its shareholders and directors. As a consecuence of our advise, minority shareholders withdrew an arbitration procedure and the company obtained a very favourable decision from the Superintendence of Transportation.
• Advised Sociedad Portuaria de Santa Marta with different contracts and transactions which involved multiple and complex conflicts of interest.
• Represented Colombian and Venezuelan companies in a USD$30 million dollars domestic arbitration, under the Rules of the CCB, related to shareholders disputes arising out from the acquisition of shares over a company.

ADVISOR DURING THE EXECUTION OF CONSTRUCTION AND ENERGY PROJECTS

• Advised a Finnish company in disputes arising out from the execution of an EPC contract (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) for the construction of thermoelectric plant in Colombia. The dispute was settled in our clients favour, where we played a significant role
• Advised a confidential client in disputes concerning a PMC contract (Project Management Contract) executed with a global engineering contractor in connection with the construction of a refinery. The dispute was submitted to international arbitration (ICC Rules) and the seat was Paris.

• Master of Laws (LL.M.), Georgetown University Law Center (International Arbitration and Dispute Resolution).
• “Specialist in Commercial Law” (Postgraduate Program in Commercial and Business Law) from Universidad de los Andes.
• JD Equivalent, Universidad de los Andes.

Author of books and articles on arbitration and business law matters. He has published in international publications (i.e., Tirant lo Blanch, Journal of International Arbitration (Kluwer), The International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution (CPR Institute in New York), Spain Arbitration Review and “La Ley: Mediación y Arbitraje” (Wolters Kluwer)) and domestic ones (i.e., Legis, Temis and journals from universities such as Andes, Javeriana and Externado), including:

BOOK: “Deberes y Responsabilidad Civil de los Administradores de Sociedades” (Fiduciary Duties and Liability of Corporate Directors), Tirant lo Blanch, 2021.

“La Culpa Grave y las Cláusulas de Limitación de Responsabilidad en Arbitraje Internacional: El Caso CCI de la Refinería de Cartagena” (Gross Negligence and Liability Caps in International Arbitration: Cartagena’s Refinery ICC Case), La Ley: Mediación y Arbitraje No. 17, Wolters Kluwer, Madrid, Spain, October-December, 2023.

“El Deber de Revelar la Financiación de Terceros en Arbitraje Internacional: La Importancia de Considerar el Retracto Litigioso en América Latina y España”, (Duty to Disclose Third Party Funding in International Arbitration), Spain Arbitration Review, Special Edition (Comments on the Code of Best Practices in Arbitration of the Spanish Arbitration Club), Madrid, Spain, October 2020.

“Mitigación de Daños en Materia Contractual”, (Mitigation of Damages in Contract Law), Vniversitas, Vol. 67, No. 136, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, January-June, 2018.

“Responsabilidad de los Administradores en la Etapa Preconcursal: Situaciones de Pérdidas Patrimoniales” (Directors’ Fiduciary Duties Before Insolvency: Events of Equity Loss), E-Mercatoria, vol. 14, N° 2, Universidad Externado, July-December, 2015.

Book chapter: “Simulación” (Recharacterization). In: Marcela Castro de Cifuentes (direc.), Law of Obligations, Volume I (Bogotá: Temis, 2015, Second Edition), pp. 502-537.

“Deberes de los Administradores en fusiones y adquisiciones: la versión colombiana de la píldora venenosa” (Directors’ Fiduciary Duties in M&A Transactions: a Colombian Version of the Poison Pill), Private Law Review No. 53, Universidad de los Andes, June 2015.

“Investor-state Arbitration in Sovereign Debt Restructuring: The Role of Holdouts”, Journal of International Arbitration 30 No. 2 (2013): 131-154. The Hague, Netherlands: Kluwer Law International.

“The Business Judgement Rule en los Estados Unidos: Una Regla con Dimensión Procesal y Fuerza Sustantiva” (The Business Judgment Rule in America: A Rule with Procedural Dimension and Substantive Force), 127 Vniversitas, Universidad Javeriana, 2013.

“Comments on the ICSID Award Saipem v. Bangladesh: Would its rationale be applicable in future cases?” (Winner of an international dispute resolution writing competition organized by the CPR in New York), The International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution (CPR Institute), New York, NY, USA, May 2011.

“La Naturaleza Jurisdiccional como Causante de Complicados Males del Arbitraje en Colombia” (Jurisdictional Nature as the Cause of Complex Problems of Arbitration in Colombia), Commercial Law Forum-International Review, No. 29, Legis, October-December 2010.

“Orden Público Internacional: Excepción a la Limitación que Imponen los Actos Administrativos a la Competencia de los Tribunales de Arbitramento” (International Public Policy: Exception to the Restriction Imposed by Administrative Orders to the Jurisdiction of Arbitration Tribunals), Private Law Review, No. 44 (Special Edition: Arbitration and International Business Transactions), Universidad de los Andes, July-December 2010.

“Control Judicial de las Cláusulas Abusivas en Colombia: una Nueva Causal de Nulidad” (Judicial Control of Unfair Terms in Colombia: a New Cause of Nullification), Private Law Review, No. 41 (Special Edition: Insurance Law), Universidad de los Andes, September 2009.

Felipe is a frequent speaker on topics related to international and domestic arbitration as well as on commercial and business law matters. Recent speaking engagements include:

• XVIII IPA’s International Congress on Arbitration, Lima, Peru, April 25, 2024.
• “Successes and Failures of Decree 046 of 2024 on the Duties of Loyalty and Care of Corporate Directors: A Critical View”, Universidad Externado, Bogota, March 6, 2024.
• XI International Seminar on International Investment Arbitration, IPA, October 27, 2023.
• “Challenges of Complex Arbitrations: The Reficar’s Case”, Colombian Arbitration Committee, Bogota, October 23, 2023.
• Third ICC Colombia Arbitration Day, “100 years of ICC Arbitration: best practices in international arbitration”, Bogota, September 6, 2023.
• “Current Topics in Corporate Case Law”, Universidad de los Andes and Superintendence of Corporations, Bogota, February 7, 2023.
• XVI IPA’s International Congress on Arbitration, Lima, Peru, November 25, 2022.
• “From the future to the future: conversations regarding international arbitration”, Chamber of Commerce of Bogota, September 29, 2022.
• X Seminar on International Investment Arbitration, Instituto Boliviano de Arbitraje y Conciliación (IBAC) and IPA, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, September 22, 2022.
• “Current Topics of International Commercial Arbitrations under CCB’s Rules”, Chamber of Commerce of Bogota, January 20, 2022.
• National Congress on Litigation and Arbitration Skills, Instituto Peruano de Arbitraje, Lima, Peru, September 29, 2020.
• VIII International Seminar on Investment Arbitration, Lima, Peru, July 17, 2020.
• “II Young Practitioners and the Future of Arbitration Conference”, IPA, Lima, Peru, May 21, 2020.
• “Defense of the Republic of Colombia Before International Tribunals”, Conference organized by Refinería de Cartagena S.A. and Ecopetrol, Bogota, November 28, 2019.
• “The Future of Investment Arbitration in Latin America”, VII International Seminar on Investment Arbitration, Arbitration Center of the Chamber of Commerce of Santiago (CAM Santiago) and IPA, Santiago de Chile, Chile, September 23, 2019.
• Seminar on the Code of Best Practices in Arbitration of the Spanish Arbitration Club, CEA-40 and Universidad Sergio Arboleda, Bogota, September 5, 2019.
• I Congress on Commercial and Investment Arbitration, IPA and Centro de Arbitraje y Mediación (CAM) UEES, Guayaquil, Ecuador, August 21, 2019.
• “Current Challenges of International Arbitration”, II Congress of the Latin American Network of Young People in Arbitration, Lima, Peru, August 15, 2019.
• “Is Arbitration in Crisis?”, Colombian Chapter of the Spanish Arbitration Club, Bogota, July 16, 2019.
• “Five Years of the Arbitration Act”, Colombian Arbitration Committee, Bogota, August 8, 2017.
• “Arbitration with State Entities”, Launch of the Colombian Chapter of the Spanish Arbitration Club, Bogota, April 12, 2016.
• “Constitutional Actions and its Relation with International Arbitration in Latin America”, ICDR International Arbitration & Mediation Conference, Bogota, October 14 de 2015.
• “Contemporary Problems of International Arbitration”, Colegio de Abogados Comercialistas (ABOGCOM), Bogota, April 28, 2015.

• Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb) in London, UK.
• Founder and Director of the Colombian Chapter of the Spanish Arbitration Club (CEA).
• Member of the Latin American Arbitration Association (ALARB).
• Member of the ICC Colombia Arbitration Subcommittee.
• Member of the Colombian Arbitration Committee.
• Fellow of the “Colegio de Abogados Comercialistas” (ABOGCOM).