Manuel Valderrama handles a broad range of complex litigation matters, with particular expertise in international arbitration. He has represented clients in disputes conducted in English, Spanish, Portuguese, and French and governed by the laws of over a dozen countries in four continents.
Manuel’s experience covers disputes within a broad range of industries, such as mining and natural resources, construction, oil and gas, banking and private equity, pharma, and technology.
Manuel earned a Bachelor of Law, summa cum laude, from Universidad de Chile and a Master of Laws from Columbia Law School, where he was a Fulbright Scholar and a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar. He is an active participant in the international arbitration community in the Unites States and Latin America. Manuel was named a 2024 Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD) Pathfinder.
Representative Matters:
Commercial Litigation
- Representing Chilean businessman Álvaro Saieh Bendeck, Chairman of 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. The Delaware court granted our motion for injunctive relief and ordered the recovery of 100% of our clients’ attorney fees associated with bringing the action.
- Representing Matterport and its directors in the Delaware Court of Chancery in a dispute with a former executive in connection with a de-SPAC transaction.
- Representing three sets of investment funds in a Delaware Court of Chancery action alleging improper valuation of warrants held in an energy company.
Commercial Arbitration
- Representing a venture capital fund in a confidential arbitration dispute brought by a group of minority investors over a 2019 merger transaction. Claimants submitted an arbitration demand in alleging that our clients breached their contractual and fiduciary obligations by undervaluing their stake in the company upon cashing them out and failing to share profits with them during the pre-merger period.
- Representing a global pharmaceutical conglomerate against a U.S. pharmaceutical company in an ICDR arbitration seated in New York under New York law, over the performance of two parallel development and supply agreements.
- Represented a US private equity firm in ICC arbitration seated in Barcelona under Spanish law, over one of the largest real estate transactions in Spain’s history.
- Represented an Indonesian mining company in SIAC arbitration seated in Singapore under Indonesian law over a joint venture project for the exploitation of the largest copper mine in Indonesia.
- Represented a German pharmaceutical company in ICC arbitration concerning a licensing agreement. The arbitration was seated in Geneva and involved the application of German, Japanese, U.S. and EU laws.
- Represented a Spanish conglomerate against two European States in ad hoc arbitration under French law over the construction of a railway line in Europe. (TP Ferro Concesionaria S.A. v. France and Spain).
- Represented a Peruvian sporting goods company in ICC arbitration seated in Boston under Massachusetts law over the breach of a licensing agreement.
- Represented a Brazilian construction company in ICC arbitration seated in Rio de Janeiro under Brazilian law over the construction of a hydroelectric plant in Chile.
- Represented a Chilean construction company in parallel ICC arbitrations seated in Santiago under Chilean law over the execution of several contracts for the construction of one of the largest mining projects in Latin America.
- Represented an Italian construction company in ICC arbitration seated in Panama City under Panamanian law over the construction of mining infrastructure in Panama.
Investor-State Arbitration
- Represented half a dozen 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 concerning the expropriation of its investment in the oil & gas sector (Worley International Services Inc. v. The Republic of Ecuador, PCA Case Nº 2019-15).
- Represented a Spanish electricity company in ICSID arbitration against Argentina over the expropriation of its investment in the electricity sector (Orazul International España Holdings S.L. v. Argentine Republic, ICSID Case No. ARB/19/25).
- Represented a US investment management and insurance company in consultations and negotiations prior to bringing ICSID arbitration against a Latin American State over reforms to the country’s pension funds system.
- Represented a Canadian telecoms company against Mexico in ICSID arbitration over the expropriation of the company’s investment (Espiritu Santo Holdings, LP (ES Holdings) v. Mexico, ICSID Case No. ARB/20/13).
- Represented a Singaporean shipping company in ICSID A.F. arbitration against Mexico over the expropriation of their investment (PACC Offshore Services Holdings v United Mexican States, ICSID Case No. UNCT/18/5).
- Advised a Middle Eastern State regarding several potential disputes against foreign investors in the oil & gas sector.
- Represented Cyprian investors in UNCITRAL arbitration against Montenegro over the expropriation of their investments in the financial services and hospitality sectors (Duško Knežević, Atlas Capital Holding Limited and Meljine Complex Limited v. Montenegro).
- Represented US investors in UNCITRAL arbitration against Bolivia over the expropriation of their investment in the mining sector (The Estate of Julio Miguel Orlandini-Agreda and Compañía Minera Orlandini Ltda. v. Bolivia, PCA Case No. 2018-39).
