Global: Future of disputes around the world

Steve Abraham is a partner in the Baker McKenzie Dispute Resolution team based in London and serves as the firm's Dispute Resolution chair for the EMEA region. Steve has a particular focus on international arbitration and ADR in the energy, mining and infrastructure projects, often involving projects in Africa, the Middle East and CIS countries.
In addition to acting in commercial disputes Steve advises in relation to investment treaty issues and in relation to risk and project management issues during the course of projects.
The current edition of Chambers & Partners describes Steve as "an impressive lawyer" who is "nice to deal with". Previous editions have described him as "superb", "very knowledgeable in construction" and "really strong on large-scale infrastructure and mining work", and commented that "his teamwork is great". He is also included in Legal 500's newly published International Arbitration Powerlist and as a leading practitioner in Euromoney's Expert Guide to Commercial Arbitration.
Steve writes and speaks regularly on international arbitration and construction law issues.

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Ana Maria Arrarte leads the dispute resolution and arbitration practice in the Firm's Lima office. She is knowledgeable in law of civil procedure, arbitration, negotiation and conciliation. She has represented during the last 10 years procedures such as civil judicial, related with important public works and energy in the country. Her broadened experience concerning disputes resolutions and prevention of conflicts, in general, is strengthened by her studies in Negotiation at Harvard University.

Pisut Attakamol, an active member of the Dispute Resolution Practice Group, joined Baker McKenzie in 1995 and became a partner in 2007. He handles various types of complex commercial disputes — including those relating to employment and telecommunications matters — and handles litigations before the Administrative Court.

Claudia is a partner at Baker McKenzie. Since 2010, she heads the Dispute Resolution practice in Colombia. In 2018, she was appointed Chair of the Latin America DR practice and since 2019 Claudia is the Global Chair of the Firm's Dispute Resolution Group.
Claudia is also a listed arbitrator of the panel of arbitrators of the Center of Arbitration of the Chamber of Commerce of Bogotá for both, domestic and international arbitration; a listed arbitrator of the Panel of Arbitrators of the Shanghai International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (Shanghai International Arbitration Center); and a listed arbitrator of the Panel of Arbitrators of the Arbitration Court of Amcham Peru.
Claudia is a highly-regarded expert in transnational litigation and international arbitration. She has over 20 years of extensive experience handling complex litigations and arbitrations related to construction and infrastructure projects, post-acquisition disputes, disputes in the energy sector, distribution and supply agreements, unfair competition, product liability, insolvency and general breach of contract. She often advises investors on treaty planning, and leveraging international protections in the context of government interference. She acts for and against state entities, with particular experience in the energy sector and large infrastructure projects.
Claudia has been ranked by Chambers & Partners and Legal 500 as an expert in the field of dispute resolution. According to these publications, the group led by Claudia "'generates absolute confidence’ according to clients who highlight the team’s ‘efficiency, agility and commitment’, ‘broad market knowledge’, and ‘careful follow-up of cases", pointing that "It is led by the ‘expert’ and ‘deeply involved’ Claudia Benavides whose ‘intelligence, diligence and acuity to foresee legal risks’, make her a stand out legal adviser.” Chambers and Partners Latin America notes that "Claudia Ines Benavides Galvis is praised by interviewees for her "wide knowledge of the area, precision and in-depth background" in the field of dispute resolution." She has been ranked Band 1 in Chambers & Partners' individual ranking and in the "Leading Lawyer" listing by The Legal 500. The prestigious publication Who's Who Legal: Arbitration describes her as one of the world experts in arbitration and Benchmark Litigation featured her in the Top 25 Latam Women in Litigation listing. The team led by Claudia is ranked Tier 1 in the prestigious directory The Legal 500. In addition, she was recently awarded by Best Lawyers 2020 "Lawyer of the Year" for Litigation and recognized by such publication as a leader in Arbitration, International Arbitration and Mediation. In 2021, Claudia was named Litigation Latin American Lawyer of the Year by Euromoney's Women in Business Law Americas, and she was added to the Lawdragon Global Litigation 500 list, an accolade reserved for lawyers who "know their way around global business battlefields."
Claudia has been actively involved with academia. She regularly speaks in important national and international conferences and she is the author of several articles related to her practice.

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Alfonso Cortez is the managing partner in the Monterrey office, member of the Litigation and Government Enforcement Steering Committee for North America and Chair of that practice at the five Mexican offices. He has over 24 years of experience. Also he is highly regarded in a wide range of litigation and arbitration matters. He has been a professor in the law department of the Universidad Cervantina, and is a member of the international law fraternity Phi Delta Phi. He has been first vice president of the National Association of Corporate Lawyers (ANADE-NL), was coordinator of the Constitutional Rights Commission of the Mexican Bar Association, Nuevo Leon Section (BMA – NL), as well as counselor in the steering committee of the BMA – NL.

Luis Dates is a partner in Baker McKenzie's Buenos Aires office, where he heads the Dispute Resolution and Public Law practice groups. He has broad experience advising national and foreign companies across a range of public and administrative law issues, particularly doing business with the national government, provinces, municipalities and state-owned enterprises. He also assists and represents clients in complex and multidisciplinary litigation, and is active in domestic and international arbitration.
Luis is a mediator and arbitrator for the Private Center of Mediation and Arbitration. He has written books and numerous articles for various legal publications on topics related to his field. He is also a professor at the School of Law of the University of Buenos Aires and at the School of Legal and Social Sciences of the Museo Social Argentino University.

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Rodrigo Díaz de Valdés heads the Dispute Resolution and Antitrust practice groups of Baker McKenzie's Santiago office. He has represented the Chilean State, as well as major transnational and local companies in a broad range of cases, from long-term energy contracts to construction, projects and investment protection matters. He is ranked among the most recommended lawyers for dispute resolution, antitrust and public law by Chambers & Partners. Rodrigo serves as arbitrator of the Center of Arbitration and the Chamber Commerce of Santiago, and is a professor of constitutional and civil law at the Catholic University’s School of Law. He has written articles for various publications, particularly on constitutional law, civil liabilities and arbitration matters.

Yindi is a partner in the Baker McKenzie Dispute Resolution team based in London, and a member of the Compliance and Investigations group. Yindi’s practice includes a broad spectrum of complex and high-value international and domestic commercial litigation for multinational clients, with specialist expertise in anti-bribery and corruption investigations, compliance and trust disputes.

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Dr. Eugenio Hernández-Bretón has been practicing law since 1981. His main practice areas are energy and natural resources, as well as international and domestic arbitration and litigation. He also advises on international family and wills and estates law. He has been recognized by top legal directories including Chambers & Partners and Who’s Who Legal. Dr. Hernández-Bretón is an elected member of the Venezuelan Academy of Political and Social Sciences, the Instituto Hispano Luso Americano de Derecho Internacional and the International Academy of Comparative Law. He is a tenured professor of law at Universidad Central de Venezuela, Universidad Monteávila and Universidad Católica Andrés Bello. He has authored three books and more than one hundred law articles.

Yoshiaki Muto has more than 25 years' experience handling matters related to international disputes and corporate transactions. He is currently head of the Dispute Resolution Group at the Firm's Tokyo office and a member of the Firm's Asia Pacific Dispute Resolution Group Regional Steering Committee. Yoshiaki is also a member of the Registered Foreign Lawyers & International Legal Practice Committee, chair of the International Legal Service Promotion Centre and a member of the SME Outbound Legal Support Working Group of the Japan Federation of Bar Associations. Yoshiaki has been recommended as a dispute resolution practitioner in Japan by PLC Which Lawyer and Global Counsel 3000, and has been recognized as a leading individual in the dispute resolution and crisis management categories by Asia Pacific Legal 500 and Chambers Asia Pacific.

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Nandakumar (Kumar) Ponniya heads the Dispute Resolution Practice of Baker & McKenzie in the Asia-Pacific.
Kumar is listed as a leading international arbitration lawyer in the Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2021 and was also named a Litigation Star in the Benchmark Litigation Asia Pacific 2020. Chambers Asia Pacific 2021 quotes “the ‘well respected’ Nandakumar Ponniya for having led commercial and investment arbitrations and notes that he is especially recognised for his focus on construction and contractual issues. He has also been described by clients as being “intellectually sharp and street smart” (Legal 500) and "very savvy and well connected" (Chambers Global). Further, he has been recognised for being "sensitive to commercial realities” (Chambers Asia Pacific) and providing "practical, on the ground advice that clients need” (Legal 500).
Kumar is a member of the Expert Panel of the Centre for Cross-Border Commercial Law in Asia (CEBCLA) and is also a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. He serves on statutory tribunals such as the Income Tax Review Board and the Law Society’s Inquiry Panel. In addition, Kumar also serves as an adjunct assistant professor at the National University of Singapore and the Singapore Management University, where he conducts the International Projects Practice and Law as well as the International Construction Law course.

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Ed Poulton is Managing Partner in Baker McKenzie’s London office and a member of the Dispute Resolution team. A key name in the arbitration community, Ed sits as an arbitrator in ICC and LCIA arbitrations, and is the consulting editor of a seminal text on the arbitration of M&A disputes. He also sits on the steering committee for the Firm’s Global International Arbitration Practice Group. Ed is recognised in the fields of international arbitration and public international law by Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners.

Cynthia Tang is the head of the Dispute Resolution Group for the Firm’s Hong Kong and China offices. She has over 25 years of experience in Hong Kong and Asia. Chambers Asia Pacific, PLC Which Lawyer? and Asia Pacific Legal 500 have ranked her as one of the leading lawyers in the Financial Services/Regulatory field for five consecutive years. She previously served on a number of committees in the Securities and Futures Commission and is currently appointed by the Hong Kong Government as a Member of the Standing Committee on Company Law Reform and Disciplinary Panel A of the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants. She is also a China-Appointed Attesting Officer.

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Ash is a partner in the Corporate M&A team in Baker McKenzie's London office. She joined the Firm in 2022, having spent over a decade at a Magic Circle firm. She advises on a wide range of corporate transactions including domestic and cross-border private M&A, joint ventures, restructurings, reorganisations, listed company advice and corporate governance.

Ash was recognised in the 2022 and 2024 Legal 500 rankings (M&A Upper Mid-Market and Premium Deals, over GBP 500 million) which reported that "Ash is among the best lawyers I have ever worked with anywhere – truly world class. Sharp, commercial, attentive, super committed and, on a personal level, an absolute joy to deal with. Trusted advisor for sure”, “Ash Tiwari is a phenomenal lawyer. We recommend Ash to everyone looking for a sophisticated global corporate lawyer” and "Ash Tiwari is an excellent lawyer. She is proactive, clear, straightforward and pragmatic in her advice."

In addition to client work, Ash is co-chair of the Firm's London race and ethnicity committee, BakerEthnicity. She is also a central member of the Firm's Global India Practice Group.

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Maria del Carmen Tovar has participated in the process to promote private investment in companies and concessions both as counsel to the government and to bidders. She is recognized for her extensive knowledge of processes and contracts involving the State. She regularly acts as counsel in national and international arbitrations related to investments and public services and public works.