Young ITA

Young ITA promotes the involvement of young professionals (under 40) in the international arbitration community through programs, publications and other activities, including:

• Young Lawyers Roundtables presented annually during the Annual Workshop, the ITA-IEL-ICC Joint Conference on International Energy Arbitration in Houston and the ITA Americas Workshop in Latin America.
• #YOUNGITATALKS programs and events for young practitioners in other cities in North America, South America (Spanish-speaking jurisdictions), Brazil, Mexico and Central America, the United Kingdom, Continental Europe, Africa and Asia.
• The annual Young ITA Writing Competition and Award.
• The annual Young ITA Mentorship Program teaming students and early career professionals with eminent mentors for a year of collegiality and insight. The program is available to both English, Spanish, and French speaking participants.
• The Young ITA Newsletter designed to keep us in touch, help keep you abreast of the latest developments in arbitration, and make you aware of the opportunities Young ITA has to offer.

Membership in Young ITA is free and open to all young arbitration practitioners, law students, and other professionals under 40 years old with an interest in international arbitration.

• Join Young ITA
• View Young ITA membership benefits
• View upcoming Young ITA events
• Join the Young ITA Group on LinkedIn
  (the official member page and discussion forum for Young ITA Members)
• View the current Young ITA Newsletter
• Follow the Young ITA public page on LinkedIn

For more information about Young ITA, contact Young ITA chair Karima Sauma (Chair) and Ciara Ros (Vice Chair).

Young ITA Leadership

Young ITA is delighted to announce 22 new appointments to its leadership team. Over the 2023-2025 term, Young ITA increased its membership to a total of 4020 members and organized over 40 events across the Americas, Africa, Asia, Europe, and Oceania. For the 2025-2027 term, we have expanded our previous leadership positions to strengthen our Mentorship Program and our presence in more regions across the globe. We would like to say a big thank you to our outgoing board members for their fantastic services over the past year and congratulations to our new (and returning) chairs and vice chairs. We look forward to another successful year working with the ITA and continuing to expand on educational and leadership opportunities for young arbitration practitioners.

Ciara Ros
Chair
London, UK

Young ITA Chair - Ciara Ros read Jurisprudence as an undergraduate at Oriel College, University of Oxford and is an incoming Legal Director at a UK firm, following 11 years at a top tier US firm. She focuses on resolving commercial and contentious issues for clients across a wide range of industries, including energy, construction, infrastructure, mining, wreck salvage, banking and financial services, and telecoms. She has been recognized in GAR 30, as a Key Lawyer for International Arbitration by the Legal 500 since 2022, is recommended as a Future Leader (Non-Partner) for Arbitration in the Lexology Index and was included in the INvolve - The Inclusion People list of Top 100 Women Future Leaders Role Model 2022. She worked in Dubai for three years after qualification, advising clients on project finance, and mergers and acquisitions within the energy, aviation, infrastructure and telecoms sectors, giving her a unique cross-practice view with significant transactional and disputes experience. Ciara returned to London in 2018 to focus on energy and infrastructure, mining, construction disputes, and international commercial arbitration (including investor state disputes). She is admitted to practice as a solicitor in England and Wales. Ciara is a WEconnect UK co-founder and sits on the board of the International Centre of Dispute Resolution (Y&I).

Mevelyn Ong
Vice-Chair
Sidley Austin
Hong Kong SAR, China

Vice-Chair - Mevelyn Ong is a Counsel at Sidley Austin. She specializes in international arbitration, and U.S. sanctions and other U.S. regulatory investigations. She has lived and worked in the U.S., East Asia and Australia.

Mevelyn has represented clients from around the world and from diverse industry sectors (especially conglomerate manufacturing, financial services/private equity, technology, and mining/energy) in international commercial and investor-state arbitrations and mediations. Mevelyn has also defended multinational companies and financial institutions against multi-jurisdictional regulatory investigations brought by U.S., UK, and other governmental authorities alleging violations of U.S. sanctions, money laundering, bribery, terrorism financing, and other U.S. government regulations. Having spent the majority of her legal career in the US, Mevelyn has particular experience advising on matters with a US nexus. She also has particular interest and experience managing international crises that implicate issues of political risk, corruption/transnational criminality, ESG/BHR considerations, and international law.

Santiago Peña
Vice-Chair
Bomchil
Buenos Aires, Argentina

Vice-Chair - Santiago is a partner in the International Arbitration department at Bomchil. He graduated with honours from Universidad de Buenos Aires, and completed a Diploma in Arbitration as well as a Masters’ Degree in Corporate Law from Universidad Austral, achieving the gold medal for best graduate and the award for the best final thesis.

Since his graduation, Santiago has acted in several international commercial arbitrations, as counsel and as administrative secretary, under different rules (ICC, ICDR, UNCITRAL, etc.).

He is member of the International Bar Association (IBA); member of the Latin American Arbitration Association (ALArb) and its Next Generation Group; Secretary of the Permanent Observatory on the State of Arbitration in Latin America; board member of the Young Singapore International Arbitration Centre (YSIAC) for the Americas; and former member of the ICDR Young & International Global Advisory Board. He is also a regular professor of Civil and Commercial Contracts at Universidad de Buenos Aires and assistant professor of Contracts and Arbitration and Mediation at Universidad Torcuato Di Tella.

Demilade Elemo
External Communications Co-Chair
University of Dundee
Dundee, United Kingdom

External Communications Co-Chair - Demilade Elemo is a solicitor qualified to practice in both Nigeria and Scotland. She is a PhD researcher in international investment law at the University of Dundee, with a focus on renewable energy disputes. She holds an LL.M in Comparative and International Dispute Resolution from Queen Mary University of London.

Demi has acted as Arbitral Tribunal Registrar in several commercial disputes involving the oil and gas, telecommunications, and finance sectors. She has gained experience working at AELEX, Folashade Alli & Associates, the Lagos State Ministry of Justice, and as a Chief Legal Officer at the Raw Materials Research and Development Council, Nigeria. She has taught and supported academic research as a tutor and research assistant at the Universities of Dundee and Durham.

Demi currently serves on the Admissions Committee of the Law Society of Scotland and previously held the role of Regional Chair for Africa at Young ITA.

Angélica María Perdomo Luna
External Communications Co-Chair
Zuleta Legal
Bogotá, Colombia

External Communications Co-Chair - Angélica is an associate attorney at Zuleta Legal Beyond Borders, where she acts as secretary to international commercial and investment arbitration tribunals. She has experience in CCB, ICC and UNCITRAL arbitrations in sectors such as energy, mining, infrastructure and telecommunications, as well as in M&A disputes. She served as Senior Lawyer of the International Arbitration Department of the Bogotá Chamber of Commerce Arbitration Center. Previously, she was an associate lawyer in the litigation and arbitration department of Garrigues Colombia.

Angélica holds a law degree from the Universidad del Rosario and a postgraduate degree in International Business Law from the Universidad de los Andes. She has worked as a Professor in the LLM in Arbitration at the Universidad del Rosario and as an Assistant Professor of Public International Law at the same institution.

Malcolm Robach
External Communications Co-Chair
Mannheimer Swartling
Stockholm, Sweden

External Communications Co-Chair - Malcolm Robach is a senior associate in Mannheimer Swartling’s Dispute Resolution Group, based in Stockholm. He advises and represents companies and state-owned enterprises in complex international disputes and arbitrations under various arbitral rules, including the ICC, SCC, UNCITRAL, and ICSID, across sectors such as joint ventures, energy and natural resources, telecommunications, infrastructure and healthcare. Before joining Mannheimer Swartling, Malcolm worked at a leading international disputes firm based in Paris.

Derya Gürzumar
Internal Communications Co-Chair
Ankara, Turkey

Internal Communications Co-Chair - Mrs. Derya Durlu Gürzumar is an attorney-at-law registered to the Istanbul Bar Association.

She holds LLB and LLM degrees from Bilkent University Faculty of Law, in Ankara, Turkey, and a diploma in advanced studies in international arbitration, from the University of Lucerne and University of Neuchâtel. She also holds a number of international arbitration certificates, awarded by various academic and professional institutions, including the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb), University of Düsseldorf, University of Cologne, and Humboldt University of Berlin.

Mrs. Durlu Gürzumar is a PhD candidate at the University of Neuchâtel, in Switzerland, and is the current chair of the Artificial Intelligence Working Group of International Bar Association’s (IBA) Alternative and New Law Business Structures Committee. She is concurrently the advisory board member of this committee. Mrs. Durlu Gürzumar also heads the editorial team of Vindobona Journal, a peer-reviewed journal on international commercial law and arbitration, as the senior editor-in-chief.

Being an ardent “Vis-mootie” since 2007, Mrs. Durlu Gürzumar has been one of the few law students to receive two successive Honorable Mentions in the Martin Domke Best Oralist Award, in the 16th and 17th Willem C. Vis Moot competitions. She coached her alma mater’s moot team in 2021, which became the first Turkish university to reach the top 16 university teams during the oral rounds in the 28th Vis Moot and reach the semi-finals during in the 18th Vis East. She has been arbitrating the written and oral phases of various international and domestic arbitration competitions since 2010, including the Vis Moot and the Vis East Moot, Jessup, ICC Moot, FDI Moot, and ISTAC Moot.
Mrs. Durlu Gürzumar’s practice and research interests have focused on dispute resolution/arbitration, AI/LegalTech, competition law, internet/IT law, and white-collar irregularities.

She has co-authored a book on "Fundamental Concepts of Anglo-American Law", and has been publishing extensively in the foregoing fields.

Emily Sherkey
Internal Communications Co-Chair
Torys LLP
Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Internal Communications Co-Chair - Emily Sherkey is a Senior Associate at Torys LLP in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In 2025, Emily was recognized by Chambers as one of three “Associates to Watch” in Canada in arbitration. Emily has extensive experience in both domestic and international commercial arbitrations, in investor-state disputes conducted under various bilateral and multilateral treaties and in set-aside and enforcement proceedings related to arbitral awards.

Emily is the Co-Chair for the ICC Canada Arbitration Committee’s annual conference in October 2025. From 2021-2024, Emily was on the Board of the Young Canadian Arbitration Practitioners (YCAP) and from 2023-2024, she was on the Executive of YCAP as the VP Communications. She was also one of four Canadian representatives for the North American chapter of the International Chamber of Commerce Young Arbitrators Forum (ICC YAF) for its 2021-2024 mandate.

Prior to her call to the bar, Emily graduated from Queen’s University Faculty of Law as the gold medallist.

Rüdiger Morbach
Mentorship Co-Chair
King & Spalding
Frankfurt, Germany

Mentorship Co-Chair - Dr. Rüdiger Morbach is an associate in King & Spalding's Frankfurt office and a member of the firm’s Trial and Global Disputes Group. He represents clients in domestic and international arbitration proceedings and before German courts, in particular in complex cross-border proceedings with a connection to Germany. Rüdiger studied law at the University of Tübingen (Germany) and at the Université Aix-Marseille (France), where he obtained the maîtrise en droit. He holds a binational Ph.D. degree of the University of Würzburg and the Université Paris-Panthéon-Assas. His doctoral thesis on Public Competition Policy in International Arbitration was awarded with the 2022 “Prix des Affaires” of the Franco-German University (DFH-UFA) and a 2023 “Prix de thèse" of the Université Paris-Panthéon-Assas. During this Ph. D. studies, Rüdiger was a visiting researcher at the Centre de recherche sur la justice et le règlement des conflits (Paris) and at UNIDROIT (Rome), as well as a research assistant and Vis Moot coach at the Chair of Global Business Law, International Arbitration Law and Private Law (Würzburg). Rüdiger regularly publishes on topics related to international arbitration and is particularly interested in the aviation sector. He speaks English, French and German.

Julio Olortegui
Mentorship Co-Chair
Clifford Chance US LLP
Washington D.C., USA

Mentorship Co-Chair - Julio is part of the arbitration team at Clifford Chance in Washington, D.C., where he advises clients in commercial and investment arbitrations. Recognized as a leading associate by Legal500 (2024, 2025 - Arbitration, Peru), Julio has experience in ICC, ICDR, AAA, and ICSID arbitrations across sectors such as energy, mining, infrastructure, and post-M&A disputes. He previously worked as an associate in the arbitration team at Rodrigo, Elías & Medrano Abogados in Lima.

Julio holds a law degree from Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas, where he graduated second in his class. He currently serves as Secretary of the Publications Subcommittee of ALARB’s Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Julio frequently lectures on international arbitration, legal skills, and civil law.

Camille Ramos-Klee
Mentorship Co-Chair
CIndependent tribunal secretary and arbitrator
New York, USA

Mentorship Co-Chair - Camille Ramos-Klee is an independent tribunal secretary, arbitrator, and a New York qualified attorney based in New York who focuses her practice on international commercial and investor-state arbitration. She works closely with several arbitrators and has sat as a tribunal secretary on both administered and ad hoc arbitrations conducted under most major international rules, including UNCITRAL, ICDR, AAA Construction Rules, LCIA, SCC, ICSID, and ICC. A fluent heritage speaker of Spanish, Camille has worked on disputes in both English and Spanish involving parties based in North America, Latin America, Europe, and Asia.

Patricia Snell
Mentorship Co-Chair
Covington & Burling LLP
London, United Kingdom

Mentorship Co-Chair - Patricia Snell is a senior associate and solicitor-advocate in Covington’s International Arbitration Group, admitted in England and Wales, New York, and Ontario. Patricia's practice covers a broad range of contentious matters, including international commercial arbitration and investor-state disputes. She has advised and acted for clients in complex international disputes under many of the major institutional rules including ICC, LCIA, DIFC-LCIA, DIAC, ICSID, and ad hoc proceedings under the UNCITRAL Rules across a variety of seats. She has significant international experience having previously worked in international arbitration in the Paris and Dubai offices of another international law firm.

Harriet Foster
Programs Co-Chair
Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe
London, United Kingdom

Programs Co-Chair - Harriet Foster is a Senior Associate and Solicitor-Advocate in the International Arbitration team at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe in London. She advises on a wide range of commercial and investment treaty arbitrations across the energy, infrastructure and technology sectors, including under the ICC, LCIA, ICSID and UNCITRAL rules. Harriet has also represented clients on specialist public international law matters, such as on the law of the sea. She received her Bachelor of Laws from King’s College London, is admitted to practice as a solicitor in England and Wales and has rights of audience for civil proceedings before the English courts.

Julianne Jaquith
Programs Co-Chair
Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP
Houston, TX

Programs Co-Chair - Julianne Jaquith is a partner in Quinn Emanuel’s Houston and Washington, D.C. offices. Highly proficient in Spanish, Julianne’s practice focuses on international arbitration proceedings, including advising foreign corporations and sovereign governments in investor state disputes, international commercial arbitration matters, and cross border litigation. While her practice focuses on disputes involving Latin America, she has also handled disputes in various countries throughout the world. She has significant experience across a number of industries, including energy, oil and gas, mining, telecommunications, and post-merger and acquisition disputes. Julianne has also been recognized by Legal 500 for international arbitration and international litigation.

Rob Bradshaw
Thought Leadership Co-Chair
LALIVE
London, United Kingdom

Thought Leadership Co-Chair - Robert Bradshaw is counsel in the international arbitration practice of LALIVE in London. Recognized as a key individual in Legal 500 (2023), Robert is an English-qualified solicitor advocate specializing in international commercial and investment arbitration, including acting as counsel in arbitrations under diverse procedural rules (ICC, LCIA, LMAA, ICSID and UNCITRAL) and advising on annulment, enforcement and anti-suit proceedings. His experience includes cases in the energy, mining, information technology, media, hospitality and pharmaceutical sectors.

Previously, Robert practiced in the Paris and London offices of an international law firm. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Law with German from the University of Birmingham, where he spent a year studying abroad at the Free University of Berlin, and an LLM degree from BPP Law School, London. Robert speaks and writes regularly on topical issues in international arbitration in publications such as the Journal of International Arbitration, Arbitration International and the ASA Bulletin.

Mark Konstantinidis
Thought Leadership Co-Chair
University of Luxembourg
Luxembourg, Luxembourg

Thought Leadership Co-Chair - Dr Mark Konstantinidis is a Postdoctoral Researcher (Senior Researcher) at the Luxembourg Centre for European Law, University of Luxembourg. He is also a Visiting Lecturer in Law at King's College London.

His work spans European law and international arbitration, often lying in the interface between these fields. He obtained his PhD at King's College London, funded by a full scholarship, focusing on the tension between European Union law and investor-State arbitration. He previously also was a Researcher for the National University of Singapore and a Teaching Fellow at University College London. His articles have been published in prestigious journals, such as the International and Comparative Law Quarterly, and on leading legal blogs.

Mark is a qualified lawyer in Greece and the EU, as a member of the Athens Bar. He has completed his LLB with First Class Honours at King’s College London with scholarship, and his LLM with Distinction at University College London.

Paul Kimani
Africa Co-Chair
Paul Andrew Advocates
Nairobi, Kenya

Africa Co-Chair - Paul is a Partner with Paul Andrew Advocates, a Nairobi-based law firm with a cross-border focus. He advises on commercial transactions, contract negotiations, and multi-jurisdictional litigation and arbitration. His practice covers corporate law, international trade, intellectual property, climate adaptation, and digital technologies, including cryptocurrencies and blockchain.

His work has been recognized through various industry listings and acknowledgments, including selection among the Top 100 Commercial Lawyers in Kenya (2024) by The Lawyer Africa. Paul Andrew Advocates was also recognized as International Corporate Law Firm of the Year – Kenya by MEA Markets, African Excellence Awards in 2024.

Alongside his practice, Paul serves as a lecturer at the University of Nairobi and an Associate at the University of Exeter Law School. He has published widely in leading international journals on contemporary legal issues.

Dr. Kimani holds a PhD in law from the University of Exeter, an LLM from University College London (UCL), and an LLB from the University of Nairobi.

Joy Mgbado
Africa Co-Chair
Aluko & Oyebode
Lagos, Nigeria

Africa Co-Chair - Joy Mgbado is a Senior Associate at Aluko & Oyebode, Nigeria, and a key member of the firm’s Dispute Resolution Practice Group. She specializes in energy and infrastructure disputes and has represented large corporate entities and multinationals, both as counsel and in advisory roles, on several complex and high-value claims in the energy and construction sectors. She has also provided support on disputes arising from a wide range of issues, including aviation, telecommunications, taxation, lending and finance, intra-corporate disputes, and general contracts and commercial law transactions.

As counsel, Joy has worked on institutional arbitrations under the ICC and LCIA Rules, and on ad-hoc arbitrations, including a PCA-administered ad-hoc arbitration. She also regularly acts as counsel in arbitration-related court proceedings, such as those for interim protective measures and the annulment/enforcement of awards, and on domestic litigations across all levels of courts in Nigeria.

Joy gained valuable international arbitration experience working in the London office of WilmerHale and has acquired relevant oil and gas industry experience working from a leading international oil company.
In 2024, Joy was recognized among the 40 under 40 Nigerian Rising Stars by the ESQ Nigerian Legal Awards. She also received the Africa Arbitration Academy Award Prize for excellence in legal writing in 2024 and was peer-recognized as one of 30 Exceptional Female Lawyers making a difference in Africa (LegallyYes, March 2025).

Eugenia Stavropoulou
Asia Co-Chair
Kim & Chang
Seoul, South Korea

Asia Co-Chair - Eugenia is an Associate in the International Arbitration & Cross-Border Disputes Practice Group of Kim & Chang in Seoul, South Korea. She focuses on the resolution of international disputes, with an emphasis on commercial and investment arbitration. Her practice covers private and public international law, investment law, international trade, competition, intellectual property, maritime law, and the energy sector.

Previously, she served for several years as a tribunal secretary at von Segesser Law Offices in Zurich, Switzerland, assisting arbitrator Georg von Segesser.
Ms Stavropoulou is admitted to the Athens Bar Association. She holds an LL.M. in Private International Law and International Transactions from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, and an LL.M. in International Dispute Settlement from the MIDS. currently a Ph.D. candidate at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Angelia Thng
Asia Co-Chair
Braddell Brothers LLP
Singapore

Asia Co-Chair - Angelia Thng is a Partner at Braddell Brothers LLP, Singapore’s second-oldest independent law practice. Angelia graduated from the National University of Singapore and is called to the Singapore Bar. She specializes in commercial litigation and international arbitration across a broad range of disputes in the Asia-Pacific region, regularly appearing at all levels of the Singapore courts and major arbitral institutes. Angelia also heads the Employment & Labor practice in the firm, offering full-service capabilities with a risk-management perspective to both employers and employees.

Iuri Reis
Brazil Co-Chair
Machado Meyer Advocados
São Paulo, Brazil

Brazil Co-Chair - Iuri Reis is a Brazilian qualified lawyer with experience, in Brazil and abroad, in International Arbitration and Commercial Litigation. His practice is focused on complex high-profile cross-border arbitration, judicial lawsuits, negotiations, and mediation in different fields of business law (e.g., contracts, tort, corporate law, competition and consumer law) and various economic sectors – construction, energy, industrial activities, sales of goods and M&A. Iuri has also coordinated the complex negotiations front in one of the largest crisis management projects for payment of damages related to industrial activities in the world. Iuri currently works as a Senior Associate at Machado Meyer Advogados and has obtained relevant international experience at WilmerHale and Enyo Law LLP, both in London. He combines his professional work with academic activities, the most outstanding achievements being an LLM in Comparative International Disputes Resolution at Queen Mary University of London and a master's degree in civil law from PUC-SP. He has postgraduate degrees in business law and civil procedural law from FGV-SP and is constantly involved with academic activities as an arbitrator, speaker, writer and auditor.

Julia Teixeira
Brazil Co-Chair
Quinn Emanuel
Washington D.C., USA

Brazil Co-Chair - Julia Teixeira Rodrigues is an associate in Quinn Emanuel’s Washington, D.C. office. Her practice focuses on international arbitration and complex multi-jurisdictional litigation. A native of Brazil and fluent in Portuguese, Julia advises clients in cross-border disputes. Julia was nominated two years in a row (2023 and 2024) by the members of the Latin American Corporate Counsel Association (LACCA) as one of Brazil's top business lawyers recommended for Litigation. Before joining the firm, Julia practiced for over six years in the international arbitration and litigation group at Demarest Advogados, one of Brazil’s leading law firms. She holds a law degree and a master’s in constitutional law from Brazilian institutions, as well as an LL.M. from Stanford Law School. Julia is admitted to practice in both Brazil and New York.

Sam Wong
China Co-Chair
Han Kun Law Offices LLP
Hong Kong SAR, PRC

China Co-Chair - Mr. Wong has a broad practice in complex civil and commercial disputes, including court litigation and international arbitration proceedings.

Mr. Wong has extensive experience acting in arbitrations under major institutional rules, including HKIAC, ICC, SIAC and UNCITRAL Rules, involving various jurisdictions such as Hong Kong, Korea, Malaysia, PRC China, Singapore, Taiwan and the United States. He has also represented listed companies, multinational corporations, PRC state-owned enterprises, shareholders and individuals in cases involving shareholders disputes, cross-border and complex commercial disputes, as well as insolvency proceedings. Mr. Wong is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.

Mr. Wong obtained a Bachelor of Laws degree with First Class Honours from the University of Hong Kong and ranked second in class. He also holds a Master of Law degree from the University of Cambridge with distinction in corporate insolvency law. He is dual-qualified in both Hong Kong and England & Wales.

Prior to joining Han Kun Law Offices LLP, Mr. Wong trained at a top tier US firm and worked in another top tier US firm focusing on dispute resolution.

Tímea Csajági
Eastern Europe Co-Chair
Wolf Theiss
Budapest, Hungary

Eastern Europe Co-Chair - Tímea Csajági is a member of the Litigation & Dispute Resolution team of Wolf Theiss Hungary in Budapest. With a wealth of experience spanning numerous years, Tímea has cultivated a profound expertise in the intricate realms of litigation and arbitration. Her practice encompasses adept representation of clients across a spectrum of legal proceedings, including civil litigations, high-stakes tax litigations, administrative litigations, and both domestic and international arbitration proceedings. Notably, she has also navigated the complexities of representing a client before the European Court of Justice in a preliminary ruling procedure.

Before joining Wolf Theiss, Tímea honed her skills through invaluable experiences gained at other distinguished international law firms and within the realm of international banking. Her professional journey includes involvement in the preparatory phases of the codification of Hungary's new Civil Procedural Code and Arbitration Act, serving as a legal advisor to the Ministry of Justice.

Dragana Nikolic
Central and Eastern Europe Co-Chair
Independent attorney-at-law in cooperation with Queritius
Belgrade, Serbia

Central and Eastern Europe Co-Chair - Dragana Nikoli? is an independent attorney-at-law admitted to the bar in Serbia. She is currently a Counsel at the international law firm Queritius. Dragana focuses her practice on international commercial and investor-state arbitrations, public international law, as well as domestic commercial disputes and litigation with international elements. She has handled complex cross-border cases before tribunals under the auspices of all leading arbitration institutions. Dragana’s experience includes advising and representing clients in cases spanning various industries, including energy, banking, construction, manufacturing, real estate, telecommunication, food industry, and transportation. Dragana practiced arbitration with leading international law firms from Paris, London, and Vienna. She holds master’s degrees from the University of Cambridge and the University of Belgrade. She has been recently acknowledged as a Leading Associate for Dispute Resolution in Serbia by The Legal 500.

Aayushi Singh
India Co-Chair
Khaitan and Co.
New Delhi, India

India Co-Chair - Aayushi Singh is an Associate at Khaitan and Co., New Delhi. Aayushi's experience includes commercial arbitration under SIAC, ICC and DIAC Rules seated in London, Singapore, Zurich, and New Delhi. She pursued the NUS-MIDS Double Degree Programme between the National University of Singapore, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies and University of Geneva. She is a recipient of a full scholarship for her postgraduate studies by the Aga Khan Development Network. She also received a full scholarship to pursue the Austrian Arbitration Academy offered by the Sommerhochschule, University of Vienna. She frequently writes on different themes under arbitration in India and Singapore.

Shravan Yammanur
India Co-Chair
Dentons Link Legal
New Delhi, India

India Co-Chair - Shravan Yammanur is a Partner at Dentons Link Legal in New Delhi and an Advocate-on-Record of the Supreme Court of India. His practice focuses on international arbitration, investment treaty disputes, international trade, public international law, and commercial litigation. He has represented both corporates and sovereign States in high-value disputes across sectors including energy, mining, and infrastructure. Shravan has previously served as an advisor on treaty negotiations and investment policy to the Government of India and is actively engaged in mentoring and training students and young professionals in investment treaty arbitration. He regularly appears before the Supreme Court of India and High Court of Delhi in complex commercial matters.

Ibrahim Ati
Middle East & North Africa Co-Chair
Brussels, Belgium

Middle East & North Africa Co-Chair - Ibrahim Ati is dual-educated legal professional with training in both civil and common law systems, having passed the New York Bar and graduated with an LL.M. in Alternative Dispute Resolution from the University of Southern California. Part of Young California Arbitration' steering committee, he is also one of the youngest members on the NY City Bar Association's Arbitration and Professional Discipline Committee. In addition to serving as Vice-Chair in the American Bar Association, Ibrahim Ati aspires to be among the new generation of leading international arbitrators, aiming to infuse the field with fresh perspectives and innovative approaches. 

Dhouha Oueslati
Middle East & North Africa Africa Co-Chair
AD-FIDAL
Tunis, Tunisia

Middle East & North Africa Co-Chair - Dhouha Oueslati is a Tunisian lawyer at AD-FIDAL Tunisia who holds a master's degree in private law from the University of Law and Political Sciences of Tunis. She is currently pursuing a second master's degree in sports law. She was selected as an Africa Arbitration Academy Fellow, being the first Tunisian accepted into this program. Additionally, she has served as an arbitrator at the Arabic Moot Competition organized by the Saudi Center of Commercial Arbitration.

Louise Willneff
Middle East & North Africa Co-Chair
Squire Patton Boggs
Dubai, UAE

Middle East & North Africa Co-Chair - Louise is a highly skilled lawyer, qualified in England and Wales, with extensive experience in advising clients on complex international disputes. She specialises in international commercial arbitration, energy and construction disputes and has represented parties under ICC, ICSID, LCIA, DIAC and SCCA rules. With a keen eye for detail and an in-depth understanding of infrastructure, energy, and construction projects, Louise has been instrumental as an associate in helping clients navigate complex legal challenges. She trained and worked at Vinson & Elkins LLP in London and Dubai, gained additional experience at Ghaffari Partners, an arbitration specialist boutique law firm, and is currently working at Squire Patton Boggs (US) LLP. 

Rodrigo Macín
Mexico & Central America Co-Chair
Bufete Asali
Mexico City, Mexico

Mexico & Central America Co-Chair -Rodrigo is a Senior Associate at Bufete Asali in Mexico City. He has more than 13 years of experience in dispute resolution. His practice focuses on commercial arbitration, investor-state, and public works arbitration. Although he has considerable experience in court litigation mainly related to arbitration proceedings.

He has ample experience advising leading multinational clients, both foreign and Mexican in complex, international high-profile matters. Rodrigo has participated in over 50 top-level and highly regarded international arbitrations in various sectors and jurisdictions. He has participated in arbitrations under various rules, including ICC, LCIA, CAM, ICDR, AAA, ICSID and PCA. Rodrigo also has significant experience assisting arbitral tribunals in their duties. Prior to joining Asali, Rodrigo worked for a GAR100 firm based in Mexico City and as a foreign associate at Freshfields, D.C., where he focused his practice on representing foreign investors in investment arbitration against Latin American countries.

Rodrigo graduated top of his class from the Escuela Libre de Derecho and received an LL.M. from Harvard Law School, where he attended on a full scholarship granted by the Mexican Government to study dispute resolution in the energy sector and served as the Vice President of the Harvard International Arbitration Law Students Association.

Rodrigo also holds an M.A. in legal philosophy from the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid. Rodrigo is a professor of Legal Philosophy and Contemporary Theory of Justice at the Escuela Libre de Derecho. 

Edgar Eduardo Mendez Zamora
Central America Co-Chair
Aguilar Castillo Love
San José, Costa Rica

Central America Co-Chair - Eduardo Méndez is an Associate in the Dispute Resolution team at Aguilar Castillo Love, based in San José, Costa Rica. He represents clients in international and domestic arbitration proceedings, as well as complex litigations. Eduardo is also co-editor-in-chief of the Costa Rican Journal of International Law. Prior to joining Aguilar Castillo Love, he worked for Chaffetz Lindsey LLP in New York, and has also been part of the teams at Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre, UNIDROIT in Rome, and BLP in San José, Costa Rica.

Candace Barfield
North America Co-Chair
FTI Consulting
New York, USA

North America Co-Chair - Candace Barfield, a Senior Director at FTI Consulting, specializes in the resolution of claims and disputes on construction projects, including analysis of schedule delays, change orders, productivity and labor, and the quantification of the effects of delays, disruptions and cost overruns. Ms. Barfield has extensive experience advising contractors and stakeholders on the execution and contract management of projects, including analyzing change orders and providing cost control, risk and project management services. Her industry experience includes commercial high rises, heavy civil/infrastructure, mass transit, mining, power generation, and other large industrial projects.

Ms. Barfield works with contractors, owners and other stakeholders to resolve disputes in mediation, arbitration and trial venues. Ms. Barfield gained first-hand experience with construction projects through her past roles, including at a residential home builder, a general contractor and a Fortune 500 commercial real estate firm. Ms. Barfield holds a B.S. in Building Construction from the Georgia Institute of Technology. She is a Certified Construction Auditor (CCA) and a member of the Association for the Advancement of Cost Engineering.

Ms. Barfield is active in the Women Builders Council, and was recognized as a 2024 Next Generation Women Leader. In 2025 she was recognized as an Engineering News Record (ENR) East Top Young Professional.

Alejandro Martinez de Hoz
North America Co-Chair
Paul Hastings LLP
Washington, D.C.

North America Co-Chair - Alejandro Martinez de Hoz is Of Counsel in the International Arbitration practice of global law firm Paul Hastings, based in Washington, DC. Alejandro has 15 years of experience including over a decade solving complex international disputes across industries. He represents clients in investment treaty arbitrations, international commercial arbitrations, mediations, and related disputes and negotiations. He has recently advised on a bet-the-asset legal battle recognized as the dispute of the year in Latin America. With over a decade based in the United States, he is a native of Argentina who was recognized as an “under 40 leader in Argentina” and served as President of the Buenos Aires Bar Young Division. He has also received an award for outstanding contribution for pro bono work in Latin America.

Alexandra Einfeld
Oceania Co-Chair
Corrs Chambers Westgarth
Sydney, Australia

Oceania Co-Chair - Alexandra Einfeld is a Senior Associate at Corrs Chambers Westgarth in Sydney, whose practice focuses on commercial and construction arbitration. Alexandra’s practice also includes representing parties in litigation and adjudication proceedings, primarily in the energy sector. Previously, Alexandra was based in Dubai specializing in Middle East-based commercial and construction disputes.

Joshua Wong
Oceania Co-Chair
Holman Fenwick Willan
Melbourne, Australia

Oceania Co-Chair - Joshua is an Associate at Holman Fenwick Willan in Melbourne, Australia. His practice focuses on representing parties in litigation, adjudication and international arbitration, particularly in the construction, energy and natural resources sectors. Prior to joining Holman Fenwick Willan, Joshua was an associate (judicial clerk) at the Supreme Court of Victoria, and a solicitor at a leading national firm. Joshua is also an Assistant Editor at the Kluwer Arbitration Blog, for Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands.

Fernando Ayala
South America Co-Chair
Buenos Aires, Argentina

South America Co-Chair - Fernando Ayala is an Argentine lawyer who graduated from the University of Buenos Aires. During his undergraduate career, he participated in international commercial and investment arbitration moot courts, for which he was distinguished as "Outstanding Student". Additionally, he was an assistant professor of Private International Law, and coach of international commercial arbitration and sports arbitration moots.

He holds an LL.M. from Georgetown University with an International Arbitration & Dispute Resolution Certificate. Additionally, he has taken postgraduate studies in arbitration and international business at the University of Mendoza and jointly at the University of Buenos Aires and the University of Geneva. He has also participated in the summer course given by the Hague Academy of International Law and in the Comparative Law Course given by the Academy of Comparative Law.

He usually participates and manages commercial arbitrations administered by the ICC, HKIAC, SIAC, and CIETAC. He also acts as an assistant to Arbitral Tribunal in commercial and investment cases.

Fabio Núñez del Prado
South America Co-Chair
Rebaza, Alcázar & De las Casas
Lima, Peru

South America Co-Chair - Fabio Núñez del Prado graduated from the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (valedictorian). He did an LL.M. at Yale Law School. He is admitted to practice in Peru, New York, and has passed all exams to become an English Solicitor. Currently, he is a partner and co-head of the arbitration practice at Rebaza, Alcázar & De las Casas, and tenured professor at the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú.

Matteo Angelini
UK Co-Chair
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr LLP
London, UK

UK Co-Chair - Matteo Angelini is an English barrister who specializes in international arbitration and commercial litigation at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr LLP. Matteo has represented clients in arbitrations under a variety of institutional rules involving both common law and civil law disputes. He has particular experience in commodities, technology, oil & gas energy, M&A, and joint venture disputes. He also regularly advises government and private sector clients on international law issues and has experience of being led in high-value commercial litigation at all levels, including before the English Commercial Court, the Court of Appeal and the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. He has taught International Commercial Law at Queen Mary University of London and has a particular interest in the field of climate change and is co-editor of the GAR Guide to Climate Change and Related Disputes.

Ana Martínez Valls
UK Co-Chair
Baker Botts LLP
London, UK

UK Co-Chair - Ana Martinez Valls is an associate in the International Disputes practice group of Baker Botts. Ana’s practice focuses on investment and commercial arbitrations in Latin America and Spain. She has represented clients in multiple arbitration proceedings conducted under the ICSID, ICC, SCC, and UNCITRAL rules in a broad range of industries, including oil and gas, energy, construction, M&A transactions, and mining.

Prior to joining Baker Botts, Ana worked in leading international arbitration firms in London, New York, and Spain. Ana has dual training in civil and common law and has experience in finance and investment banking. She is qualified to practice in New York and Spain and holds an LL.B. and a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) from IE Law School and IE University (Spain) (first class honours), and an LL.M. from Columbia Law School (James Kent Scholar and Fulbright Scholar). Most recently, Ana was recognized in the Nova 111 List Spain as one of the 10 professionals under 35 with the highest potential, in the Legal Services category.

Alexis Foucard
Western Europe Co-Chair
Clifford Chance LLP
Paris, France

Western Europe Co-Chair - Alexis Foucard is counsel at Clifford Chance LLP where he serves as the Africa Practice Leader for Mining & Metals.

He has acted as counsel or arbitrator (both as arbitrator and presiding arbitrator) in more than 50 cases, with a focus on the aircraft, mining, energy, and construction industries, handling both commercial claims and claims against States.

Alexis is also particularly recognized for his dispute resolution expertise in Africa, having worked on cases relating to more than 15 distinct African jurisdictions, to date.

Best Lawyers identifies him among the "Ones to Watch" for arbitration and mediation. Who’s Who Legal, for its part, reports that: "Alexis is a rising star" who "has a fantastic ability to grasp new information very quickly". It adds that "Alexis takes responsibility and ownership of a case and has a thorough knowledge of technical concepts which he regularly calls upon”, and that "Alexis has become a very prominent figure in Paris".

Alexis studied law at the universities of Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne, Sciences Po, and Columbia Law School (LL.M.). He is a member of the New York State Bar and the Paris Bar.

Sebastián Green
Western Europe Co-Chair
Uría Menendez
Madrid, Spain

Western Europe Co-Chair - Sebastián Green Martínez serves as a Managing Associate at Uría Menendez SLP in Madrid, where he has specialised in international and investment arbitration since September 2018. Previously, during 2017-2018, he assisted the Honourable Charles Brower in investment arbitration cases, and from 2013 to 2017, he worked as Counsel at the Directorate of International Affairs and Disputes of Argentina's Treasury Attorney's Office, participating in numerous ICSID and UNCITRAL investment arbitration proceedings.

He teaches public international law at IE University's School of Law (Madrid) and international arbitration at Universidad Francisco Marroquín (Madrid Campus). His coaching experience includes leading the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court teams representing Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (2024) and Universidad de Buenos Aires (2016). His academic credentials extend to previous faculty positions at the University of Buenos Aires (Argentina), Universidad Carlos III and UNIR (Spain). His scholarly work includes co-authoring the forthcoming publication "Jurisdictional Objections in ICSID Arbitration", alongside numerous peer-reviewed articles and presentations at various forums. He also serves as an arbitrator across multiple jurisdictions.