The New Financial Capital of the World?
June 2009, Latin Lawyer

The year 2009 belongs to Washington, DC.

Washington, DC law firms, with a traditional focus on government, regulatory, and trade work, were long prepared to take advantage of the kind of work created by the administration. But what became clear when we convened this group of leading Latin American practitioners based in this city was that DC can these days just as easily be the home of very busy finance and disputes practices focused on Latin America.

In a roundtable discussion sponsored by Latin Lawyer, participants addressed the topic of the Obama administration's impact on Latin America and how politics and economics will affect the region. The discussion focused on a variety of topics -- ranging from current business opportunities and challenges in Latin America to possible dispute and trade issues.

Comments by White & Case LLP Partner Jonathan C. Hamilton:

"White & Case opened in Mexico in 1991 and in Brazil in 1997, which gives us nearly two decades' worth of on-the-ground experience with multinational Latin companies in the two biggest economies. Those kinds of relationships have made a difference for us in all economic times, and spin off other types of work – for example, in Mexico restructuring has for us been very important. The same is the case with disputes – I was based in our Mexico office for three years from 2000 and the extent of the wave of Latin arbitration which is very clear in hindsight, was perhaps not so obvious at the time."

"Many of the things we are talking about in terms of the Washington nexus to our work relate to the number of investment treaties that were ratified in the 1990s – at the start of that decade there were zero, now there are upwards of 400 investment treaties with Latin American states as parties."

"[W]ith a large infrastructure project, a number of different types of disputes may be generated – treaty and commercial cases, and litigation, and in a number of jurisdiction – so there are many diverse ways you end up dealing with changed circumstances in the region."