Alvaro GALINDO

Mr. Alvaro Galindo is an International Counsel advising on complex international arbitration matters, particularly those involving Latin American jurisdictions. Mr. Galindo acts as an arbitrator in investment and commercial cases under the rules of ICSID, ICC, UNCITRAL and various arbitration institutions around the world. His practice is focused on disputes between sovereign states and state-owned entities and private companies. He has been recognized by The Legal 500 Latin America since 2012 and was noted in this publication as “outstandingly intelligent” and for his “incomparable capacity for coordinating, planning, strategic assessment, and for his diplomatic approach”.

For a decade, he was a member of the international arbitration practice at Dechert LLP in Washington, D.C. He also served as the Director of the International Affairs and Arbitration Unit for the Republic of Ecuador’s Attorney General Office. He acted as a legal consultant for the World Bank Group’s International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) in Washington, D.C., and as regional director for the Latin American Development Corporation, where he coordinated the committee in charge of drafting the Arbitration Law of Ecuador.

Mr. Galindo has significant teaching experience in areas of investment and arbitration law, having previously served as Dean of the Law School at Universidad de las Américas, Vice Dean and Director of Graduate Programs at University San Francisco de Quito School of Law. He has authored numerous publications and articles related to arbitration, dispute settlement, and international investment law.

Currently, he is a Law Professor at Georgetown University Law Center, with a course on Current Topics in International Investment Arbitration and Law Professor of Practical Aspects of Arbitration (Spanish course) at American University Washington College of Law. He is a repeated speaker at the Columbia University’s Center for Sustainable Investment workshop on the Investment Treaties and Arbitration Executive Training for Government Officials.

Mr. Galindo has represented sovereign states in different international and regional forums, among others, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, UNCTAD; the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law Working Group on Arbitration, UNCITRAL. Mr. Galindo is a Member of the ICC International Court of Arbitration and, since September 2021, he is an arbitrator under the ICSID Convention appointed by the Republic of Ecuador.

He is a member of the Legal Advisory Task Force (LATF), set up by the Energy Charter Secretariat to assist in the drafting of the Model Agreement for cross-border oil and gas.

Mr. Galindo was a Member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) Drafting Committee in charge of developing additional procedural mechanisms for the PCA’s Arbitration Rules of 2012. He was a Member of the Court of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) until February 2020, and a Member of the Drafting Committee of the PCA’s 2012 Arbitration Rules; He volunteers his time as Emeritus Member of Georgetown University’s Latin American and Caribbean Law Alumni Advisory Board and other social causes.

Mr. Galindo is licensed to practice law in Ecuador and is registered as Special Legal Consultant in Washington, D.C.
Mr. Galindo is proficient in English and Spanish.