Felipe Nazar Pagani
Partner
Areas of Focus
- International Arbitration
- International Investment Disputes
- International Disputes
- Energy Disputes
- Construction Litigation
- Commercial Arbitration & International Commercial Disputes
- Mining
- Climate Change
- Oil & Gas
- Energy & Environment Policy
- Energy & Infrastructure
- Energy & Natural Resources Funds
- Environment & Natural Resources
- Projects & Energy Transition
- Refining, Petrochemicals & Processing
- Renewable Energy
- Renewable Fuels
- Renewables & Energy Transition
- Energy Transition
- Liquefied Natural Gas
- Upstream Oil & Gas
- Wind
- Conventional Energy
- Conventional Power
- Technology
- Claims, Disputes & Litigation
- Disputes & Investigations
- Administrative & Regulatory Litigation
- Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning
- Political Law & Government Ethics
- Space Law & Policy
- A dual-qualified, trilingual lawyer who represents clients in both civil and common-law jurisdictions.
- Acts in international commercial, investor-state and treaty-based arbitrations, with a particular focus on Latin America.
- Vice President, Club Español e Iberoamericano de Arbitraje (New York Chapter).
- Advisory Board Member, Hispanic National Bar Foundation.
- Future Leader: International Arbitration, Lexology Index (2023–2026).
Felipe is a partner in Akin’s international arbitration practice based in New York. He represents multinational corporations, investors and sovereign entities in complex cross-border disputes, acting in commercial, investor-state and treaty-based arbitrations seated across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia.
His practice spans proceedings under major arbitral institutions, including the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the International Centre for Dispute Resolution/American Arbitration Association (ICDR/AAA), the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) and ad hoc rules.
Felipe is listed on arbitrator rosters of leading arbitration institutions in key Latin American jurisdictions and regularly speaks and writes on international arbitration, international law and comparative law.
Felipe’s work focuses on disputes in the energy (including renewables, oil and gas, and power generation), mining, infrastructure and financial services sectors. He regularly acts in matters arising from engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) projects, joint ventures, concessions, shareholder and post-mergers and acquisitions (M&A) disputes, as well as treaty-based claims involving state conduct. He also advises clients on investment structuring, treaty-based risk mitigation and dispute-prevention strategies.
Felipe’s market-leading experience has been recognized by leading legal publications, including the Lexology Index, which has named him a Future Leader since 2023.
Prior to joining Akin, Felipe was a partner in the New York office of an elite Spanish law firm and trained at leading firms in New York, Washington, D.C. and Chile.
- Represented one of the world’s largest mining companies in a dispute related to a major expansion of its facilities in Chile.
- Advised a major mining company in a dispute stemming from crippling tax measures adopted by a Latin American state.
- Represented a major mining company in an ICDR arbitration involving an EPC contract subject to Florida law.
- Tidewater Inc. et al. v. Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (ICSID Case No. ARB/10/5). Represented the investors in an ICSID arbitration arising from the expropriation of investments in marine support services to Venezuela’s oil & gas sector.
- Samsung Engineering Co. Ltd. v. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (ICSID Case No. ARB/17/43). Represented the Kingdom in an ICSID arbitration concerning the construction of a major power generation and desalination plant.
- MetLife, Inc. et al. v. Argentine Republic (ICSID Case No. ARB/17/17). Represented U.S. investors in an investor-state arbitration arising from the nationalization of Argentina’s private pension system.
- Represented a multinational energy company in an ICC arbitration concerning EPC design and construction defects at a hydrocarbon facility in Latin America.
LanguagesSpanish
Portuguese
Spanish
Portuguese
EducationLL.M., New York University School of Law, 2013
LL.B., Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, summa cum laude, 2006
LL.M., New York University School of Law, 2013
LL.B., Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, summa cum laude, 2006
Bar AdmissionsAdmitted as Abogado, Chile
New York
Admitted as Abogado, Chile
New York
- Vice President, Club Español e Iberoamericano de Arbitraje (New York Chapter).
- Advisory Board Member, Hispanic National Bar Foundation.
- Arbitrator, American Chamber of Commerce of Peru.
- Arbitrator, Centro de Arbitraje y Conciliación de la Cámara de Comercio de Medellín.
- Member, Arbitration Committee, International Bar Association.
- Speaker, “Legitimacy, Multiplicity, and Innovation: Perspectives on the Future of Arbitration,” 12th Harvard International Arbitration Conference (forthcoming, 2026).
- Speaker, “Arbitration in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: Efficiency, Ethics and Oversight,” Columbia Arbitration Day (forthcoming, 2026).
- Speaker, “Arbitration in Conflict Zones,” Columbia Arbitration Day, New York (2025).
- Speaker, “Emerging Challenges in International Arbitration: The Promise and Pitfalls of Progress—Specialized Arbitration Rules and Corruption Allegations,” IBA Arb40 Symposium, Toronto (2025).
- Speaker, “2035: What’s next?,” South Cone International Disputes Forum, Santiago, Chile (2025).
- Speaker, “Veil Piercing and Comparative Law,” AmCham Arbitration Forum, Lima, Peru (2025).
- Speaker, “Post-M&A Disputes: Limitation of Liability Clauses under Common Law and Civil Law,” CIAG, Antigua, Guatemala (2025).
- Speaker, “Greenwashing, Reputational Risk and Arbitration,” Panama Arbitration & ADR Week (2025).
- Speaker, “ESG & International Law,” Berkeley Journal of International Law Symposium, UC Berkeley (2024).
- Speaker, “Arbitraje eficaz: herramientas y obstáculos,” Congreso Internacional de Arbitraje, Costa Rica (2024).
- Author, “ISDS and ESG: Friends or Foes?,” Kluwer Arbitration Blog (2024).
- Author, “Tidewater v. Venezuela: Property Rights Capable of Expropriation in a Company Operating under Short-Term Contracts,” Journal of International Arbitration (2015).
