Shareholder, Mrachek, Fitzgerald, Konopka, Thomas & Weiss, P.A.
Manuel Farach is a shareholder of Mrachek, Fitzgerald, Konopka, Thomas & Weiss, P.A. where he practices real estate, business, appellate law, and alternative dispute resolution. Manny is triple board-certified by The Florida Bar in Real Estate Law, Business Litigation and Appellate Law. Manny has served as HUD Foreclosure Commissioner, and as Chair of both the Fourth District and Nineteenth Judicial Circuit Judicial Nominating Commissions. He has served as an arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association since 1990 and as a Florida Supreme Court Circuit Civil mediator since 1991. He presently serves as President of the Society’s Palm Beach Chapter.
Among his areas of expertise, Manny has represented clients in sophisticated business entity matters, Debtor/Creditor law (including bankruptcy and complex mortgage foreclosure litigation), real estate and construction litigation, Landlord-Tenant law, has been court appointed as a receiver (including special mater and special magistrates for partition actions), Alternative Dispute Resolution (including mediation and arbitration as an A.A.A. and FINRA arbitrator), title insurance litigation, U.C.C. Articles II, III, IV and IX (transactional and litigation for all areas); Internet and Computer law, and as an expert witness and consultant in these areas.
Manny is a past Chair of the Real Property Litigation Committee of the American Bar Association and an elected Fellow of the American College of Real Estate Attorneys, where he serves on its Board of Governors and as Chair of its Bankruptcy and Litigation Committee. He is an elected member of the American Law Institute, and past Chair of the Florida Supreme Court Committee on Standard Jury Instructions for Contract Cases and the ABA’s Real Property Litigation Group. He sits on the Executive Councils of the Business Law, Real Property, and Alternative Dispute Resolution Sections of the Florida Bar.
Manny has been honored as “Board Certified Lawyer of the Year” by The Florida Bar and serves as Chair of the Real Property Certification Review Seminar Committee, a member of the Appellate Certification Examination Committee, and an exam tester for the Business Litigation Certification Exam Committee. Manny serves on the Executive Councils of the Real Property and Trust Law, Business Law, and ADR Sections of the Florida Bar, including chairing or serving on many of its committees.
He is the author of Florida Real Estate Law, the real estate treatise in West’s Florida Practice Series, publishes the Case Law Update, a weekly compilation of Florida real estate and business cases. He is listed in Chambers and Partners, Best Lawyers in America, U.S. News Best Lawyers, Florida Trend “Legal Elite” (including its “Hall of Fame), Martindale-Hubbell’s "Judicial Edition AV-Preeminent Rated,” and “Florida Super Lawyer,” including selection as one of Florida’s “Top 100 Lawyers.” Manny teaches as an Adjunct Professor of Real Estate Law at the Florida State University College of Law and previously taught as an Adjunct Professor of Business Law at the Rinker School of Business at Palm Beach Atlantic University.
Among other honors and awards, Manny is a graduate of Leadership Florida’s Executive Class 11 and was awarded both the Sidney Stubbs Professionalism Award and the Judge Edward Rodgers Diversity Award by the Palm Beach County Bar Association. He is a recipient of the Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach Pro Bono Award, the Florida Bar Board Certified Lawyer of the Year Award, and the Hispanic Bar Association Chief Justice Leadership Award. He was also awarded the Florida Bar Business Law Section “Member of the Year” Award, the Florida State University College of Law “Distinguished Alumnus” Award, and listed as one of the Florida State Hispanic Chamber’s Florida's 50 Most Influential Hispanic Business Leaders.
Of Counsel, DLA Piper LLP (US)
Harout J. Samra – a Board Certified Specialist in International Law – focuses his practice on international dispute resolution and arbitration matters, including international civil litigation in US courts.
Harout has represented clients from both the public and private sectors, including foreign governments, public officials and clients from a variety of industries. He has experience in international arbitrations administered under the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR), United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC), Bogota Chamber of Commerce, Madrid Court of Arbitration and International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) arbitration rules.
Harout currently serves as a member of the Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission, by appointment of Governor Ron DeSantis. He previously served, by appointment of Governor Rick Scott, as a member of the Florida Third District Court of Appeal Judicial Nominating Commission, and was elected as Chair of the Commission from 2018-2019.
Shareholder, Mrachek, Fitzgerald, Konopka, Thomas & Weiss, P.A.
Manuel Farach is a shareholder of Mrachek, Fitzgerald, Konopka, Thomas & Weiss, P.A. where he practices real estate, business, appellate law, and alternative dispute resolution. Manny is triple board-certified by The Florida Bar in Real Estate Law, Business Litigation and Appellate Law. Manny has served as HUD Foreclosure Commissioner, and as Chair of both the Fourth District and Nineteenth Judicial Circuit Judicial Nominating Commissions. He has served as an arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association since 1990 and as a Florida Supreme Court Circuit Civil mediator since 1991. He presently serves as President of the Society’s Palm Beach Chapter.
Among his areas of expertise, Manny has represented clients in sophisticated business entity matters, Debtor/Creditor law (including bankruptcy and complex mortgage foreclosure litigation), real estate and construction litigation, Landlord-Tenant law, has been court appointed as a receiver (including special mater and special magistrates for partition actions), Alternative Dispute Resolution (including mediation and arbitration as an A.A.A. and FINRA arbitrator), title insurance litigation, U.C.C. Articles II, III, IV and IX (transactional and litigation for all areas); Internet and Computer law, and as an expert witness and consultant in these areas.
Manny is a past Chair of the Real Property Litigation Committee of the American Bar Association and an elected Fellow of the American College of Real Estate Attorneys, where he serves on its Board of Governors and as Chair of its Bankruptcy and Litigation Committee. He is an elected member of the American Law Institute, and past Chair of the Florida Supreme Court Committee on Standard Jury Instructions for Contract Cases and the ABA’s Real Property Litigation Group. He sits on the Executive Councils of the Business Law, Real Property, and Alternative Dispute Resolution Sections of the Florida Bar.
Manny has been honored as “Board Certified Lawyer of the Year” by The Florida Bar and serves as Chair of the Real Property Certification Review Seminar Committee, a member of the Appellate Certification Examination Committee, and an exam tester for the Business Litigation Certification Exam Committee. Manny serves on the Executive Councils of the Real Property and Trust Law, Business Law, and ADR Sections of the Florida Bar, including chairing or serving on many of its committees.
He is the author of Florida Real Estate Law, the real estate treatise in West’s Florida Practice Series, publishes the Case Law Update, a weekly compilation of Florida real estate and business cases. He is listed in Chambers and Partners, Best Lawyers in America, U.S. News Best Lawyers, Florida Trend “Legal Elite” (including its “Hall of Fame), Martindale-Hubbell’s "Judicial Edition AV-Preeminent Rated,” and “Florida Super Lawyer,” including selection as one of Florida’s “Top 100 Lawyers.” Manny teaches as an Adjunct Professor of Real Estate Law at the Florida State University College of Law and previously taught as an Adjunct Professor of Business Law at the Rinker School of Business at Palm Beach Atlantic University.
Among other honors and awards, Manny is a graduate of Leadership Florida’s Executive Class 11 and was awarded both the Sidney Stubbs Professionalism Award and the Judge Edward Rodgers Diversity Award by the Palm Beach County Bar Association. He is a recipient of the Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach Pro Bono Award, the Florida Bar Board Certified Lawyer of the Year Award, and the Hispanic Bar Association Chief Justice Leadership Award. He was also awarded the Florida Bar Business Law Section “Member of the Year” Award, the Florida State University College of Law “Distinguished Alumnus” Award, and listed as one of the Florida State Hispanic Chamber’s Florida's 50 Most Influential Hispanic Business Leaders.
Of Counsel, DLA Piper LLP (US)
Harout J. Samra – a Board Certified Specialist in International Law – focuses his practice on international dispute resolution and arbitration matters, including international civil litigation in US courts.
Harout has represented clients from both the public and private sectors, including foreign governments, public officials and clients from a variety of industries. He has experience in international arbitrations administered under the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR), United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC), Bogota Chamber of Commerce, Madrid Court of Arbitration and International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) arbitration rules.
Harout currently serves as a member of the Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission, by appointment of Governor Ron DeSantis. He previously served, by appointment of Governor Rick Scott, as a member of the Florida Third District Court of Appeal Judicial Nominating Commission, and was elected as Chair of the Commission from 2018-2019.
Senior Litigation Attorney, EarthRights International
Rick Herz is a 1993 Order of the Coif graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law, where he served on the Virginia Law Review. In 1994, he clerked for the Hon. Raymond A. Jackson, U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Virginia. Rick was the 1997-1998 Natural Resources Law Institute Fellow at Northwestern School of Law of Lewis and Clark College, where he wrote”Litigating Environmental Abuses Under the Alien Tort Claims Act: A Practical Assessment” , an article about suing multinational corporations for environmental abuses under the Alien Tort Claims Act. He is a member of the New York State Bar. At ERI, Rick directs our work on cases against multinational corporations for international human rights and environmental abuses. As such he is co-counsel for the plaintiffs ERI’s past and ongoing litigation, including Doe v. Unocal, Bowoto v. Chevron, Sahu v. Union Carbide, Wiwa v. Royal Dutch Petroleum, Maynas v. Occidental Petroleum, Doe v. Chiquita, and API v. SEC. He has also filed amicus briefs in the United States Supreme Court and various U.S. Circuit and District courts on behalf of NGOs and law professors in important human rights cases, and he advises human rights and environmental activists and lawyers on international law.
Partner, Jones Day
Eliot Pedrosa is a first chair litigator and trial lawyer with 20 years of experience representing businesses in complex and challenging litigation involving international disputes, financial institutions, securities, and products liability.
Eliot has served as first chair in more than a dozen jury trials and arbitrations and defended clients under investigation by federal and state regulators. Eliot, who is a native Spanish speaker, has in-depth knowledge of Latin American law and recently completed a term as the Senate-confirmed Executive Director of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the largest source of development finance for Latin America and the Caribbean.
Prior to joining Jones Day, Eliot successfully represented clients from around the world, including a German medical device manufacturer, an Israeli software company, the largest sugar producer in Nicaragua, a Spanish language radio station and media company regarding broadcast rights for Mexican soccer matches in the United States, a music company in litigation regarding the sale of a salsa music catalog, a financial services firm in an action alleging improper handling of credit card transactions, and a tobacco company in individual Florida Engle cases.
Eliot has been committed to providing pro bono legal services throughout his career, including representing human trafficking victims, an unaccompanied minor seeking asylum, and a First Amendment challenge to the Florida High School Athletic Association's decision to prohibit use of a stadium loudspeaker for a prayer at a high school football championship game between two private, Christian schools.
Of Counsel, DLA Piper LLP (US)
Harout J. Samra – a Board Certified Specialist in International Law – focuses his practice on international dispute resolution and arbitration matters, including international civil litigation in US courts.
Harout has represented clients from both the public and private sectors, including foreign governments, public officials and clients from a variety of industries. He has experience in international arbitrations administered under the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR), United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC), Bogota Chamber of Commerce, Madrid Court of Arbitration and International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) arbitration rules.
Harout currently serves as a member of the Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission, by appointment of Governor Ron DeSantis. He previously served, by appointment of Governor Rick Scott, as a member of the Florida Third District Court of Appeal Judicial Nominating Commission, and was elected as Chair of the Commission from 2018-2019.
Director, Americas Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies
Ryan C. Berg is director of the Americas Program and head of the Future of Venezuela Initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He is also an adjunct professor at the Catholic University of America and a course coordinator at the United States Foreign Service Institute. His research focuses on U.S.-Latin America relations, strategic competition and defense policy, authoritarian regimes, armed conflict and transnational organized crime, and trade and development issues. Previously, Dr. Berg was a research fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, where he helped lead its Latin America Studies Program, as well as visiting research fellow at the University of Oxford’s Changing Character of War Programme. Dr. Berg was a Fulbright scholar in Brazil and is a Council on Foreign Relations Term Member. He has been published in a variety of peer-reviewed academic and policy-oriented journals, including The Lancet, Migration and Development, the SAIS Review of International Affairs, and the Georgetown Security Studies Review. His articles have appeared in Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, CNN.com, Los Angeles Times, and World Politics Review, among other outlets. He routinely testifies before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Dr. Berg obtained a PhD and an MPhil in political science and an MSc in global governance and diplomacy from the University of Oxford, where he was a Senior Hulme Fellow. Earlier, he obtained a BA in government and theology from Georgetown University. He is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese and is conversational in Slovenian.
Partner, SFS Law
Michael Nadler counsels and defends corporations and individuals on a broad range of regulatory, criminal, and civil matters, including claims involving the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), money laundering, healthcare fraud, securities law violations, and white-collar criminal defense.
Prior to joining Stumphauzer, Foslid, Sloman, Ross & Kolaya, Michael was a federal prosecutor for almost ten years in the Southern District of Florida. Michael has extensive courtroom and trial experience. During his time at the United States Attorney’s Office, he successfully tried over twenty-five federal jury trials and argued before the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
While at the United States Attorney’s Office, Michael specialized in prosecutions and investigations involving sophisticated international and domestic money laundering and FCPA cases. Michael was selected to be part of a newly-created group targeting money laundering and foreign corruption. His cases covered the world. ranging from cases involving corrupt officials in Venezuela, the Middle East, Africa, and Europe. and extending to large scale financial investigations involving European banks and foreign nationals. He was lead prosecutor in some of the highest profile, largest money laundering and FCPA prosecutions in the history of South Florida. In one case alone, Michael’s prosecution of the former treasurer of Venezuela resulted in a one billion-dollar forfeiture, one of the largest forfeiture amounts ever ordered.
As an Assistant U.S. Attorney, Michael also led hundreds of complex investigations and prosecutions against individuals and corporations for violations of federal health care statutes, large scale narcotics trafficking, firearms offenses, murder for hire, tax fraud, aggravated identity theft, securities fraud and elder fraud.
Throughout his time at the U.S. Attorney’s office Michael travelled extensively throughout South America and Europe. He built partnerships and relationships with numerous law enforcement agencies both domestic and international, officials and foreign lawyers. Michael participated in several summits whose participants included officials from Lichtenstein, Italy, Bulgaria, Spain, Portugal, Argentina, Luxemburg, Switzerland, Colombia, Panama, Mexico, Honduras, Equator and Guatemala on bilateral efforts to combat organized transnational crime involving money laundering, foreign corruption and narco- trafficking. Michael has also lectured federal law enforcement agencies on complex money laundering investigations and weapons of mass destruction.
Prior to his service with the federal government, Michael served as an Assistant Miami-Dade County Attorney at the Miami-Dade County Attorney’s Office. As an Assistant County Attorney, Michael was the trial attorney on a wide variety of civil cases and trials in federal and state court, including tort cases, medical malpractice, section 1983 civil rights cases and employment cases where he represented numerous County departments, including the Miami Dade Fire Department, Building Department, and the Port of Miami. Michael drafted appellate briefs and conducted several successful oral arguments before the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit and the Florida Third District Court of Appeal.
Earlier in his career, Michael worked in the financial and securities litigation group in Sidley Austin LLP’s Chicago office. As an associate there, he built a reputation for successfully representing clients on white collar investigations involving securities violations and accountant liability.
Of Counsel, DLA Piper LLP (US)
Harout J. Samra – a Board Certified Specialist in International Law – focuses his practice on international dispute resolution and arbitration matters, including international civil litigation in US courts.
Harout has represented clients from both the public and private sectors, including foreign governments, public officials and clients from a variety of industries. He has experience in international arbitrations administered under the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR), United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC), Bogota Chamber of Commerce, Madrid Court of Arbitration and International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) arbitration rules.
Harout currently serves as a member of the Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission, by appointment of Governor Ron DeSantis. He previously served, by appointment of Governor Rick Scott, as a member of the Florida Third District Court of Appeal Judicial Nominating Commission, and was elected as Chair of the Commission from 2018-2019.
Senior Counselor, The Cohen Group
Over the course of a 34-year career in the Foreign Service, Ambassador Jeffrey Davidow became one of America's most senior and well-respected diplomats. He has extensive experience in both Latin America and Africa, having served as US Ambassador to Mexico, Venezuela, and Zambia. He also headed the State Department's efforts in Latin America, serving as Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs. He retired in 2003 from the US State Department with the rank of Career Ambassador, the highest position in the Foreign Service which, by law, can be held by no more than five individuals at one time.
In 1993, President Clinton nominated Ambassador Davidow to be US Ambassador to Venezuela, a position he held until 1996. From 1996 to 1998, he was the State Department's chief policymaker for the Western Hemisphere, serving as Assistant Secretary of State for that region. President Clinton nominated Ambassador Davidow again in 1998, this time as US Ambassador to Mexico. Ambassador Davidow held this post from 1998 until 2002. After leaving Mexico in September 2002, he became a Visiting Fellow at the John F. Kennedy School of Government and the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies.
Ambassador Davidow joined the US Foreign Service in 1969 and began his career at the American Embassy in Guatemala. He later became the head of the liaison office at the US Embassy in Zimbabwe and later returned to the US to act as the Director of the Office of Southern African Affairs in 1985. He also pursued a fellowship at Harvard University. In 1988, President Ronald Reagan nominated him to be US Ambassador to Zambia, a position he held until 1990. After his ambassadorship to Zambia, he served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Africa. Ambassador Davidow spent many years involved in multiple negotiations in southern Africa - Angola, Namibia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and South Africa itself - that helped bring relative peace to that region.
Since leaving the Foreign Service, Ambassador Davidow has served as President of the Institute of the Americas in San Diego. Established in 1983, the Institute of the Americas is a leading institution in United States-Canada-Latin America cooperation. The Institute, best known for its energy and technology programs, brings together business and government leaders and representatives of civil society in forums designed to seek ways in which public and private entities can collaborate, clarify rules and regulations so private enterprise can flourish, promote the development of infrastructure through public-private funding, and implement effective policies for managing economic growth in Latin America.
Ambassador Davidow is also an accomplished public speaker and author. He has published articles in Foreign Policy and Foreign Affairs and authored two books, one on international negotiations and the other, The US and Mexico: The Bear and the Porcupine, a bestseller in Mexico and a prominent textbook at American universities. He speaks frequently on hemispheric policy and on Mexican developments for organizations such as the North American Forum, the Trilateral Commission, the Woodrow Wilson Center, the Pacific Council, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the InterAmerican Development Bank, and many university and other groups. He also served as an adviser to President Obama for the 2009 Summit of the Americas.
A native of Massachusetts, Ambassador Davidow received a BA from the University of Massachusetts in 1965 and an MA from the University of Minnesota in 1967. He also did postgraduate work in India in 1968 on a Fulbright travel grant.
Senior Policy Analyst, Latin America and the Western Hemisphere, The Heritage Foundation
Ana Rosa Quintana leads The Heritage Foundation’s efforts on U.S. policy toward Latin America.
She has authored numerous policy studies included but not limited to Mexico, Central America, Cuba, Colombia and Venezuela. She has written articles for a wide range of outlets including The Atlantic, Real Clear World, the National Interest, The Hill, and various publications. She has presented at the State Department and other U.S. government agencies. Her work has been cited in media venues such as The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg Business, The Guardian, and she has been a commentator on media outlets like Fox News, MSNBC, and Al Jazeera. She has also testified multiple times before the U.S. Congress.
Quintana holds a Master of Arts degree in global affairs and a bachelor’s degree in political science, both from Florida International University. She also received certificates in National Security, Latin American and Caribbean studies. She was a scholar in the university’s Jack D. Gordon Institute for Public Policy and Citizenship Studies. She’s fluent in Spanish and studied in Minas Gerais, Brazil, on a scholarship sponsored by the Department of Defense.
She was formerly a National Security Fellow with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and a former Penn Kemble Democracy Forum Fellow with the National Endowment for Democracy.
Prior to joining Heritage, she was a student trainee at the Defense Intelligence Agency. She also held internships at Virginia-based International Relief and Development, where she worked on rule of law issues in Latin America, and at the U.S. Agency for International Development, where she worked on civilian-military cooperation.
Of Counsel, DLA Piper LLP (US)
Harout J. Samra – a Board Certified Specialist in International Law – focuses his practice on international dispute resolution and arbitration matters, including international civil litigation in US courts.
Harout has represented clients from both the public and private sectors, including foreign governments, public officials and clients from a variety of industries. He has experience in international arbitrations administered under the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR), United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC), Bogota Chamber of Commerce, Madrid Court of Arbitration and International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) arbitration rules.
Harout currently serves as a member of the Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission, by appointment of Governor Ron DeSantis. He previously served, by appointment of Governor Rick Scott, as a member of the Florida Third District Court of Appeal Judicial Nominating Commission, and was elected as Chair of the Commission from 2018-2019.
Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and Global Engagement Professor of Law, Florida International University College of Law
Manuel A. Gómez is Associate Dean of International and Graduate Studies and Associate Professor of Law at Florida International University College of Law where he regularly teaches courses on Complex Litigation, International Arbitration, Alternative Dispute Resolution, Law and Society, and Introduction to International and Comparative Law, with emphasis on Latin America. Professor Gómez also has law teaching experience at other US universities such as Stanford and Iowa, and has been at numerous Latin American, European, and Asian universities, either as guest lecturer, speaker or visiting professor. Professor Gómez’s research and academic writing focuses on dispute resolution and governance, legal and institutional reform in Latin America, the globalization of the legal profession, and innovations in legal education. More specifically, professor Gómez studies the use of different dispute resolution mechanisms and fora in an array of contexts, ranging from transnational litigation and international arbitration, to domestic litigation and other non-institutionalized mechanisms. He is also an expert on institutional and legal reform in Latin America, and is also interested in the globalization of lawyers, the role of Judges, and innovations in legal education. Professor Gómez has also served as legal expert in the context of domestic and transnational litigation, and International Arbitration proceedings in the US and Latin America. He is a founding member of the Miami International Arbitration Society (MIAS), member of the Faculty Council of the International Law Section of the Florida Bar, member of the Academic Council at the Institute of Transnational Arbitration (ITA), and member of the Academic Council of the Latin American and Caribbean Center at FIU, among others.
Professor Gómez’s research has earned important awards such as the Law and Society Association’s Dissertation Prize, the Richard S. Goldsmith Award in Dispute Resolution at Stanford University, and the prize awarded by the Venezuelan Studies Section of the Latin American Studies Association (LASA). At FIU, Professor Gómez received the Inaugural Bhagwan Mahavir Junior Faculty Summer Fellowship in 2011, a CIBER Faculty Research Award in 2013, and was recently nominated to FIU President’s Council Worlds Ahead Faculty Award. Professor Gómez has also been appointed as a Research Fellow at the Universidad Metropolitana Law School, Faculty Fellow at FIU CIBER, and a Fellow at Stanford Law School’s Center for the Legal Profession. Leading academic publishers such as Stanford University Press, Cambridge University Press, Routledge, and Hart Publishing, have disseminated Professor Gomez’s work. Professor Gómez’s articles have appeared in leading academic journals such as the Missouri Dispute Resolution Journal, the Stanford Journal of Complex Litigation, the University of Miami Inter-American Law Review, the ILSA Journal of International and Comparative Law, the Georgia Journal of International and Comparative Law, the University of San Francisco Law Review, the FIU Law Review, and the Revista del Instituto Mexicano de Derecho Comparado, among others.
Visiting Fellow, American Enterprise Institute
Ambassador Roger F. Noriega has more than two decades of public policy experience focusing on U.S. interests in the Western Hemisphere. Twice appointed by President George W. Bush (and confirmed by the U.S. Senate) and with 10-year career on Capitol Hill, Ambassador Noriega's breadth of experience and contacts offer strategic vision and practical insight on U.S. foreign policy and aid programs. Noriega is the founder and managing director of VisiónAméricas LLC, which advises U.S. and foreign clients on international business issues, and also is a visiting fellow at the prestigious American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research. He serves as Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Congressional Award Foundation and as a member of the advisory boards of the Canadian American Border Trade Partnership and The Americano, an online forum reaching out to Latino voters.
As Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs (July 2003 to October 2005), Ambassador Noriega managed a 3,000-person team of professionals in Washington and 50 diplomatic posts to design and implement political and economic strategies in Canada, Latin America, and the Caribbean. He was a leader in an inter-agency team that actively expanded trade and investment opportunities to spur economic growth and to create opportunities for U.S. companies and consumers. He also helped design and execute an annual plan for the effective use of $1.7 billion in U.S. economic assistance in two dozen countries.
As U.S. Ambassador to the Organization of American States (OAS) (August 2001 to July 2003), Noriega coordinated complex and sensitive multilateral diplomacy in a 34-member international organization to bolster OAS efforts to promote trade, fight illicit drugs, and defend democracy.
On Capitol Hill, Noriega counseled powerful Congressional leaders on all aspects of U.S. interests in the Americas, drafted historic legislation, and oversaw U.S. aid programs, the Peace Corps, and international narcotics affairs. From July 1997 to August 2001, he was a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee staff of Chairman Jesse A. Helms (R-NC), and from July 1994 to July 1997, he served on the House International Relations Committee staff of Chairman Benjamin A. Gilman (R-NY).
Other experiences include: senior advisor, OAS (July 1993 to July 1994); senior policy advisor, U.S. Mission to the OAS (August 1990 to January 1993); various program management and public affairs positions, U.S. Agency for International Development and U.S. Department of State (November 1986 to July 1990); press secretary and foreign policy advisor, U.S. Representative Robert Whittaker (R-KS) (May 1983 to October 1986); and research assistant, Kansas Secretary of State (December 1981 to April 1983). He has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Washburn University of Topeka, Kansas. Ambassador Noriega has been decorated by Governments of Nicaragua and of Peru and has received numerous awards for public service from organizations committed to the promotion of democracy in the Americas. He serves as Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Congressional Award Foundation and as a member of the advisory boards of the Hispanic Community for Policy, the Canadian American Border Trade Partnership, and the Hispanic American Civics Foundation.
Of Counsel, DLA Piper LLP (US)
Harout J. Samra – a Board Certified Specialist in International Law – focuses his practice on international dispute resolution and arbitration matters, including international civil litigation in US courts.
Harout has represented clients from both the public and private sectors, including foreign governments, public officials and clients from a variety of industries. He has experience in international arbitrations administered under the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR), United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC), Bogota Chamber of Commerce, Madrid Court of Arbitration and International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) arbitration rules.
Harout currently serves as a member of the Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission, by appointment of Governor Ron DeSantis. He previously served, by appointment of Governor Rick Scott, as a member of the Florida Third District Court of Appeal Judicial Nominating Commission, and was elected as Chair of the Commission from 2018-2019.
Professor of Law, Notre Dame University
Roger P. Alford joined the Notre Dame Law faculty in January 2012. Alford teaches and writes in a wide range of subject-matter areas, including international trade, international arbitration, international antitrust, and comparative law.
Alford earned his B.A. with Honors from Baylor in 1985, his J.D. with Honors from New York University, and his LL.M. from Edinburgh University. Before entering the legal academy, he served as a law clerk to Judge James Buckley of the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, and Judge Richard Allison of the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands. He practiced law with Hogan & Hartson (now Hogan Lovells) in Washington, D.C., and was also a senior legal advisor to the Claims Resolution Tribunal for Dormant Activities in Zurich, Switzerland.
In addition to publishing widely in leading law reviews and journals, Alford is the general editor of Kluwer Arbitration Blog and on the Executive Committee of the Institute for Transnational Arbitration.
He is Concurrent Professor at the Keough School of Global Affairs, a Faculty Fellow at the Kellogg Institute for International Studies, and a Faculty Fellow at the Nanovic Institute for European Studies. He was the Academic Director of the London Global Gateway from 2016-2017 and Associate Dean for Graduate and International Programs from 2013-2017.
He served as the Deputy Assistant Attorney General for International Affairs with the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice from 2017-2019.
JAMS Mediator and Arbitrator
Gary Birnberg, Esq., FCIArb is a seasoned ADR professional, specializing in the resolution of a diverse array of commercial matters both domestic and international. He has served as mediator, arbitrator, or special master in hundreds of disputes and is known for employing his legal acumen and business skills to quickly grasp the facts in complex cases. He is appreciated by attorneys and clients for his ability to nurture trust and for the determination and creativity that he employs to find common settlement ground among the parties.
Mr. Birnberg is a Florida Supreme Court Certified Circuit and Appellate mediator admitted to the Bar in four U.S. states, including New York and the District of Columbia, and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. He has served as an arbitrator or mediator and sits on panel lists maintained by institutions worldwide, including CAM-CCBC, ICC, ICDR, and JAMS. He is a sought-after speaker and trainer in various areas of ADR. Recently, he single-handedly mediated to settlement a US$600 million limit of liability insurance claim in an international, multi-lingual mediation with 56 participants, including insured, insured’s institutional shareholders, numerous insurers and re-insurers, and attorneys for all direct and interested parties.
Mr. Birnberg is a U.S. citizen and permanent resident of Brazil, fluent in English, French, and Portuguese with conversational capacity in Italian and Spanish. He is active within the international legal community, staying current on local and international issues to continue his growth and expertise as a neutral.
Mediation Specialist, Office of the Ombudsman for UN Funds and Programmes, The United Nations
Mushegh Manukyan is a technology enthusiast international lawyer with significant in-house experience who has a passion for solving novel legal problems and navigating through different legal systems with a special focus on EMEA, APAC, and Latin America. He is a true believer in alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and enjoy resolving complex legal disputes through negotiations, mediation, and arbitration. His current efforts focus on developing capacity and encouraging international mediation with the United Nations system.
He is a graduate of Harvard Law School and admitted to practice law in New York, Washington D.C. (Special Legal Consultant), and Armenia.
Of Counsel, DLA Piper LLP (US)
Harout J. Samra – a Board Certified Specialist in International Law – focuses his practice on international dispute resolution and arbitration matters, including international civil litigation in US courts.
Harout has represented clients from both the public and private sectors, including foreign governments, public officials and clients from a variety of industries. He has experience in international arbitrations administered under the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR), United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC), Bogota Chamber of Commerce, Madrid Court of Arbitration and International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) arbitration rules.
Harout currently serves as a member of the Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission, by appointment of Governor Ron DeSantis. He previously served, by appointment of Governor Rick Scott, as a member of the Florida Third District Court of Appeal Judicial Nominating Commission, and was elected as Chair of the Commission from 2018-2019.
Arbitration and the Supremes: A Roundup of Recent and Anticipated Supreme Court Arbitration Precedents
Manuel Farach, Harout J. Samra, Joshua B. Simmons
Domestic and international arbitration has been the subject of considerable activity before the U.S. Supreme...
Arbitration and the Supremes: A Roundup of Recent and Anticipated Supreme Court Arbitration Precedents
Manuel Farach, Harout J. Samra, Joshua B. Simmons
Domestic and international arbitration has been the subject of considerable activity before the U.S. Supreme...
Foreign Sovereign and International Organization Immunity in U.S. Courts: Recent Developments and the Way Forward
Richard Herz, Eliot Pedrosa, Harout J. Samra
The Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act and its lesser-known sibling, the International Organizations Immunities Act, enacted...
International Corruption and the Venezuela Indictments: The Case of Alex Saab
Ryan C. Berg, Michael Nadler, Harout J. Samra
One year ago, the United States Department of Justice announced a series of indictments against...
USMCA in Practice: What it Means for the Future of US-Mexico Relations
Jeffrey Davidow, Ana Rosa Quintana, Harout J. Samra
The new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) entered into force in the United States on July...
Prosecuting Dictators: The Indictment of Nicolas Maduro
Manuel A. Gomez, Roger F. Noriega, Harout J. Samra
The U.S. Department of Justice recently announced indictments of Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro and several...
The Singapore Convention on Mediation: What it Means for International Litigation and Arbitration
Roger P. Alford, Gary Birnberg, Mushegh Manukyan, Harout J. Samra
The Singapore Convention on Mediation was opened for signature on August 7, 2019, with the...