Agustina Alfaro

Prior to joining Chaffetz Lindsey, Agustina was in-house counsel for Latin America at Trafigura, one of the world’s largest and most important commodity traders. While at Trafigura, she provided legal advice across the entire portfolio of the company’s commercial activities, including the trading of physically and financially settled oil and its by-products, minerals, metals, coal, and carbon credits, supporting all business areas in different jurisdictions from a regional hub. Agustina was also a Foreign Associate at Chaffetz Lindsey as well as an Associate at the energy and arbitration team of Pérez Alati, Grondona, Benites, Arntsen, and of Martinez de Hoz & Rueda in Argentina.

Agustina is a Professor of Private International Law at Austral University (Argentina) and of International Arbitration at Arbanza Escuela de Arbitraje (Peru).

• Represented a multinational energy company in an ICSID arbitration against a Latin American sovereign alleging breaches of a bilateral investment treaty and investment law.
• Represented the owner of power plants in Latin America in an ICC arbitration against the contractor responsible for their construction.
• Represented the plant owner in an ICC arbitration relating to the construction of a solar power plant in the U.S. in a dispute involving claims in excess of US$1 billion.
• Represented Mexican and Costa Rican petitioners in the enforcement of a foreign US$ 230 million LCIA award in the US District Court of the Southern District of New York.
• Represented a Chinese oil & gas company in an ICC arbitration involving the alleged breach of exclusivity and confidentiality obligations set out in a memorandum of understanding.*
• Represented a State-owned oil & gas company in a US$1.5 billion ICC arbitration initiated against it by a Brazilian natural gas importer and a natural gas transportation company.*
• Represented a soft-commodities trading company in an ICC arbitration initiated by a Spanish contractor involving the breach of an EPC contract for the construction of a biodiesel plant.*
• Represented a renowned bank in an arbitration against another bank involving the alleged breach of a forward contract to purchase US dollars on a delivery basis entered into before the “pesification” of derivative contracts in Argentina.*
• Represented a major oil & gas company against the attempts to enforce a US$ 9 billion foreign judgment against it in Argentina.*

*Experience prior to joining Chaffetz Lindsey LLP

• “Aspectos Prácticos de la Carta de Crédito Comercial”, abogados.com.ar (March, 2021).
• “Origen y Alcance de la Jurisdicción Arbitral: La Confirmación de un Criterio”, Revista de Derecho Comercial, Ed. Abeledo Perrot/Thomson Reuters, Vol. 284, page 711 (May/June 2017).
• “Responsabilidad del Estado por Omisión”, Revista de Derecho Administrativo, Ed. Abeledo Perrot/Thomson Reuters, Vol. 108, page 1131 (November/December 2016).
• “Abstracción y autonomía. Situación del portador legitimado del pagaré ante el cobro: oposición de excepciones. Acciones cambiarias y extracambiarias”, Anuario de la Revista Argentina de Derecho Comercial y de los Negocios, Ed. IJ Editores, Vol. 2, page 157 (2014).

• “Rol del Árbitro de Emergencia y las Medidas Cautelares”, CLA-40, XIII Conferencia Latinoamericana de Arbitraje, Speaker (Montevideo, June 2022)
• “Diploma en Arbitraje. Módulo: Acuerdo Arbitral”, Montevideo University, Co-Professor with Mr. José Martinez de Hoz Jr. (Montevideo, August 31, 2021)
• “English Commercial Law Course”, Montevideo University, Co-Professor with Mr. Santiago Gatica and Mr. Marcelo Sheppard (Montevideo, March-July 2021)
• “Ley Aplicable en el ámbito de inversiones: Derecho internacional vs. Derecho nacional”, Ilustre Colegio de Abogados de Cajamarca, Speaker (Perú, November 19, 2020)
• “Cuestiones Prácticas del Arbitraje Comercial y de Inversiones”, Centro de Estudios de Economía, Derecho y Política, Professor in class about the arbitral award (Asunción, November 17, 2020)
• “Introduction to US Civil Procedure: Pre-Trial Practice”, IE Law School, Co-Professor with Ms. Rainbow Willard (Madrid, May 12, 2020)

• Founding Member, Argentinean Young Arbitration Practitioners (Organización – AYAP)
• Founding Member Argentina Chapter, Energy Related Arbitration Practitioners (Our Chapters – ENERAP)
• Group Advisor, Young ICCA Mentoring Programme 2021-2022 (Mentoring Programme | Young ICCA)