Juan Pomés

Juan is the partner in charge of our Montevideo office. He has extensive experience advising and representing clients in complex international disputes across a wide variety of sectors including oil and gas, electricity, infrastructure, and mining. He has represented clients in multiple international arbitration proceedings under the ICC, ICSID, ICSID Additional Facility, and UNCITRAL rules.

Juan began his career in Buenos Aires, working at Hope Duggan & Silva, advising international clients in various areas, including M&A, capital markets, and large construction projects. In 2012, he joined the international arbitration group of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in Washington D.C., where he spent over a decade advising and representing clients in high-stakes, multi-billion international disputes. In 2024, Juan joined Dechamps International Law.

In 2020, Juan was recognized as a “Rising Star” in Washington DC by The National Law Journal, and as a “Rising Star” in the United States by Law360. He was the sole recipient of Lexology’s Client Choice Award for the “Arbitration & ADR” category in the United States in 2021, 2022 and 2024. Who’s Who Legal has recognized him as a Future Leader in International Arbitration since 2021, and one of the “Most Highly Regarded” practitioners in international arbitration in 2024.

• Representing the AES Corporation in an ICSID arbitration against Argentina (ICSID Case No. ARB/02/17) under the United States of America-Argentina BIT. Claim related to measures taken by Argentina that affected the claimant’s investments in the energy sector. The amount in dispute is confidential. The arbitration is ongoing.
• Representing Fotowatio Renewable Ventures in an ICSID arbitration against Mexico (ICSID Case No. ARB/24/5) under the Spain-Mexico BIT. Claim related to measures taken by Mexico that affected the claimant’s investments in a solar power plant. The amount in dispute is confidential. The arbitration is ongoing.
• Representing Glencore International A.G.in an ICSID arbitration against Colombia (ICSID Case No. ARB/21/30) under the Switzerland-Colombia BIT. Claim related to measures affecting Glencore’s investment in the Cerrejón project, the largest coal mine in Colombia. The amount in dispute is confidential. The arbitration is ongoing.
• Representing Eco Oro Minerals Corp. in an ICSID arbitration against Colombia (ICSID Case No. ARB/16/41) under the Canada-Colombia FTA. Claim related to measures taken by Colombia that affected the claimant’s investments in the mining sector. The arbitral tribunal rendered an award finding that Colombia breached the Canada-Colombia FTA without causing damages to the investor.
• Representing Glencore International A.G., C.I. Prodeco S.A. and Sociedad Portuaria Puerto Nuevo S.A. in an ICSID arbitration against Colombia (ICSID Case No. ARB/19/22) under the Colombia-Switzerland BIT. Claim related to measures taken by Colombia that affected the claimants’ investments in the infrastructure sector. The arbitral tribunal rendered an award of US$9.4 million in favour of the investors, plus interests.
• Representing four subsidiaries of a Swiss multinational in a multi-party ICC arbitration regarding disputes arising from two long-term contracts for the transportation of coal by rail (Colombian law). The amount in dispute was over US$1 billion. The result of the arbitration is confidential.
• Representing EcuadorTLC, Cayman International and Teikoku Oil Ecuadorin an UNCITRAL arbitration against Ecuador, an Ecuadorian State entity and a State-owned company. Claim related to the early termination of two oil contracts (Ecuadorian law). The arbitral tribunal rendered an award in favour of the claimants for over US$500 million.
• Representing Rusoro Mining Ltd. in an ICSID arbitration against Venezuela (ICSID Case No. ARB(AF)/12/5) under the Canada-Venezuela BIT. Claim related to measures taken by Venezuela that affected the claimant’s investments in the mining sector. The arbitral tribunal rendered an award of around US$1.2 billion in favour of the investor.
• Representing Repsol and Repsol Butano in an ICSID arbitration against Argentina (ICSID Case No. ARB/12/38) under the Spain-Argentina BIT. Claim related to Argentina’s expropriation of YPF, the largest energy company in the country. The dispute was successfully settled for an amount of over US$5 billion.
• Representing Serafín García Armas and Karina García Gruber in an UNCITRAL arbitration against Venezuela (PCA Case No. 2013-3) under the Spain-Venezuela BIT. Claim related to measures taken by Venezuela that affected the claimants’ investments in the food distribution sector. The arbitral tribunal rendered an award of over US$360 million in favour of the investors, including full legal costs.