“Strategy is Paramount”

History Matters
“History matters to international dispute resolution”
Latinvex (2024)

Jonathan C. Hamilton has joined Paul Hastings as a partner in Washington, D.C., and global co-chair of its international arbitration practice. “Jonathan Hamilton is a consummate professional: a thoughtful and accomplished litigator and a master problem-solver of complex international issues with a practiced eye for bringing disparate parties together for mutually rewarding results,” says Eric Farnsworth, a public policy veteran and Vice President of the Americas Society/Council of the Americas in Washington. “And he’s great company, to boot, which is super important when you have to spend significant time together in high pressure environments."

How has the post-pandemic world shaped the legal market?

We live in dynamic times…. The era of globalization has changed and the pandemic only exacerbated those changes. Geopolitics is back. The stakes are high and clients are navigating complex opportunities and risks. These trends have accelerated differentiators in the marketplace....

How has the market for international arbitration evolved and where is it heading?

History matters to international dispute resolution. As dynamic as the field is, arbitration did not sprout on its own – it grew in tandem with globalization. But politics and markets are always in motion. Like the world around us, the field of arbitration is in transition. The disruption in the world is driving complex arbitration. ESG is one good example. Arbitration pioneered these issues before they were either cool or controversial, and is well-positioned to confront these challenges going forward.

How does Latin America fit into these trend lines?

The concept of an inexorable movement towards globalization and open markets in the region hit the realities of political disruption. The Council of the Americas Trade Advisory Group issued a statement related to the last Summit of the Americas emphasizing the continuing importance of the rule of law, good regulatory practices, environmental standards and governance, as well as the importance of reliable dispute resolution mechanisms. Those goals remain critical to the capacity of contract and treaty arbitration to serve as vehicles for the resolution of disputes....

What comes next?

The future of arbitration will derive from but be different from the past.... we cannot rest on the assumptions that got the field this far: strategy is paramount. Here comes the future.

Arbitration: Strategy is Paramount
“The globalization era has changed significantly”
Latinvex (2023)

Jonathan C. Hamilton discusses the changing nature of globalization and implications for international arbitration.

“International dispute mechanisms matter to development and investment,” stated Hamilton. “A lot of assumptions about international arbitration, and global legal practice, are rooted in the post-Cold War perspective of globalization.”

“The globalization era that sparked the explosive growth of arbitration has changed significantly due to shifting perspectives on globalization,” according to Hamilton. “We are pioneering an emerging era of ESG arbitration" involving environmental, social and governance issues, he explains. "ESG issues are not only reshaping the global regulatory and investment environment – they are also a battleground for international disputes. International arbitration goes to the heart of sustainability and governance issues that are central to the post-pandemic era of globalization.”

As international arbitration evolves, Hamilton concludes: “Strategy is paramount. It will not be boring.”

Surveying Key Cases
“A string of high-profile investor-state arbitrations”
Global Arbitration Review (2024)

Jonathan Hamilton has left White & Case, where he was head of Latin American arbitration, to become global co-chair of international arbitration at Paul Hastings in Washington, DC.  He has acted on a string of high-profile investor-state arbitrations. He represented the claimants in the landmark Abaclat case, helping to establish jurisdiction for 60,000 Italian bondholders affected by Argentina’s sovereign debt default in 2002. Argentina paid US$1.35 billion in 2016 to settle the case, which has been described as the first mass claim in ICSID’s history. Economist Pablo Guidotti, a former treasury secretary in the Argentine government who worked with Hamilton to achieve that settlement, says: “Jonathan is an exceptional international lawyer, with profound knowledge of international finance as well as a unique ability to design a comprehensive legal strategy to resolve difficult and important cases.” Another career highlight was helping a group of investors settle a dispute with Ecuador over an airport upgrade project. Steve Nackan of Aecon Concessions, which was among the investors, says: “Jonathan epitomised the best lawyer a business consortium could ask for in a moment of great adversity”. For Bulgaria, he also helped to defeat an ICSID claim by Cypriot entity Plama – the first Energy Charter Treaty claim to reach an award on the merits. Nikolay Vassilev, Bulgaria’s former deputy prime minister and minister of economy, worked with Hamilton on that case and says: “What impressed me the most was not only the precision of his legal work, but his deep knowledge of globalisation and macroeconomics, and his full dedication to his client.” Alongside his legal practice, Hamilton is also the chair of the International Arbitration Institute at the University of Miami. He holds degrees in law, communications, and history, and completed the Oxford Strategic Leadership Programme at Saïd Business School of Oxford University.

Navigating the Future of International Arbitration
“Arbitration is all the more important”
The American Lawyer (2024)

The American Lawyer (2024)
Jonathan Hamilton joined as a partner and a global co-chair of Paul Hastings’ international arbitration practice. Hamilton was previously head of White & Case’s Latin America arbitration practice…. Hamilton indicated that international arbitration has been a pioneer with “issues that we now call ESG issues,” which has created more demand within the practice. “As those kinds of issues have become pressure points and risk management points for clients, arbitration is all the more important,” said Hamilton.

The National Law Journal (2024)
Jonathan Hamilton joined as a partner and a global co-chair of Paul Hastings’ international arbitration practice. Hamilton was previously head of White & Case’s Latin America arbitration practice…. On his move, Hamilton said in an interview that “there is both an important heritage brand in international arbitration at Paul Hastings, but also a very dynamic platform that is looking to the future of the field as well.” A White & Case spokesperson said that Hamilton has “made many very significant contributions to our international arbitration practice over the years” and wished him well.

The Global Legal Post (2024)
Arbitration heavyweight Jonathan Hamilton joins in Washington. “Jonathan’s exceptional experience and international reputation will enable us to further expand our international arbitration and complex litigation platforms,” said Paul Hastings’ chair, Frank Lopez. “He is known as an innovative and strategic leader, and we are thrilled that he has joined us.”

Law 360 (2024)
Paul Hastings adds longtime White & Case arbitration pro. Hamilton had been with White & Case for 25 years, beginning his career there in the New York office. He also is a professor at the University of Miami, where he is distinguished faculty chair of the International Arbitration Institute…. But while Hamilton's work has spanned the globe, early experiences in his home state of Mississippi helped shape his perspective, including working as a reporter.  “At a young age, I had to navigate how to cover public officials, interact with public officials, gather information from them,” he told Law360 Pulse. Today, he's an avid newspaper reader, subscribing to four that he said he devours each morning: The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and The Financial Times. While attending law school at the University of Virginia, Hamilton also had a stint as a research assistant to attorney and bestselling legal thriller writer John Grisham, a fellow Mississippian.

Starting a New Chapter
Latin Lawyer (2024)

The move marks the start of a new chapter for Hamilton, who has worked at White & Case since he started his legal career in 1999. He was made partner in 2007 and appointed head of the Latin American arbitration group five years later. During his 25-year tenure at White & Case, Hamilton has forged an impressive reputation acting on multiple high-profile investor-state arbitrations.... More recently, Hamilton helped to convince a US court to uphold United Nations Commission on Trade Law (UNCITRAL) awards totalling US$197 million in favour of a construction consortium against the Peruvian municipality of Lima in a dispute over a motorway concession. Commenting on his move, Hamilton has noticed “tremendous momentum at Paul Hastings across its impressive global footprint, as well as strong synergy between the firm’s platform and my practice.” Paul Hastings boasts a top-tier Latin America group.

Premium Lawyering
“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication”
Law 360 (2024)

“We can cite a lot of international treatises and international arbitrators, but I'll refer to Steve Jobs. Steve Jobs said 'Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication,” Hamilton said. “We think that focusing simply on premium lawyering and being on a platform that supercharges that kind of focus on premium lawyering is what it's all about....”

Toll Road Project
“Fair and square”
Global Arbitration Review (2024)

A US court has upheld UNCITRAL awards totalling US$197 million against the Peruvian municipality of Lima in two arbitrations over a highway concession, rejecting allegations of fraud. On 12 March, Judge Ana Reyes of the US District Court of the District of Columbia rejected Lima’s bid to vacate the two awards in favour of the Rutas de Lima consortium, saying it had won them “fair and square”. She also confirmed the awards. The judge condemned Lima’s “improvident invitation” to overturn the awards issued in 2020 and 2022, saying the court would “not upend well-settled law by rehearing a claim two tribunals have independently rejected”. (Acted as counsel to Claimant)

Power Project
“Complex negotiations can deliver creative solutions even in the face of a web of contract and treaty disputes”
Global Arbitration Review (2014)

Two Spanish companies are to pay US$40 million to the government of Peru to settle three ICSID cases over the building of power transmission lines. The agreement brings an end to an investment treaty claim … as well as a contractual claim that Peru had lodged at ICSID…. The three cases concerned the granting of 30-year concessions to design, build, operate and maintain two power transmission lines in the south of the country. Caravelí signed the concession contracts with Peru in 2008 but failed to obtain the necessary financing for the project, blaming the global financial crisis that followed the collapse of Lehman Brothers. As a result, the lines were never built. Peru put out a tender in 2010 for a new contractor to construct another line in the same region, ultimately awarding that contract to Colombian group ISA. Caravelí did not compete for the new contract, complaining that it had been required to submit to more onerous credit requirements than other contenders. In 2011, Caravelí filed a claim at ICSID … alleging that the contracts’ requirements were excessively onerous in light of the global recession. The settlement agreement was authorised by a Supreme Resolution approved by the Council of Ministers and published in Peru’s national gazette. Jonathan Hamilton, in Washington, DC, says, “The agreement demonstrates how complex negotiations can deliver creative solutions even in the face of a web of contract and treaty disputes. The outcome protects and promotes the framework for investment and development.” (Acted as counsel to Respondent)

Panama Canal Expansion Negotiations
“Deal Reached to Resume Expansion of Panama Canal”
New York Times (2014)

Latin American Investment Protections
“An ideal first port-of-call”
Review of Book in Global Arbitration Review (2012)

No area of international arbitration has over the past two decades been the subject of so much attention as investment arbitration. And no area of the world has seen such an explosion of investment arbitration, or so many heated debates on the subject, as Latin America. Regional developments in this area have been fast and furious, and countries’ positions have swung from one extreme to the other on the underlying political, economic and social issues that impact so clearly on questions of investment protection.

In these circumstances, important gaps have opened in the market for books on Latin American investment protection and related disputes. This valuable country-by-country guide fills one such gap, helping investors, states and (particularly) counsel to access and digest, in the words of the book's prologue, the “intricate web of laws, international treaties and disputes involving foreign investment in the region”.

The 600-page work is edited by Jonathan Hamilton, partner and head of Latin American arbitration at White & Case….

The 18 country-specific chapters follows a similar structure, exploring the relevant country’s domestic and international framework for the protection of foreign investment and resolution of related disputes as well as the known investment arbitration cases involving the country. Practically every country in the region is covered except Cuba.

Each chapter examines the country’s laws regarding state responsibility and investment protections; its international investment treaties; and significant investment disputes. The book surveys more than 160 investment arbitrations related to Latin America. The authors are experts in the field and include world-renowned arbitrators, counsel or advisors to investors and states….

The book will be an ideal first port-of-call for detailed and accessible information on a particular country’s investment protection and dispute resolution framework, its track record in investment disputes and a useful aid for making comparisons. It offers a unique analysis of legal frameworks and case precedents demonstrating how investment protections have evolved in the region, and is sure to interest corporate representatives, policymakers, transactional and disputes-focused counsel, non-governmental organisations, arbitral institutions, academics and all interested in the past, present and future of Latin America.

A Brave New World
”The world’s first mass claim in investor arbitration”
American Lawyer (2012)

Return of Machu Picchu Artifacts
”An agreement to return Inca treasures”
The Economist (2010)

Promotion to Partner
“Strong and consistent annual growth”
Global Arbitration Review (2007)

White & Case LLP has promoted international arbitration specialist Jonathan Hamilton to partner. Hamilton started his career with White & Case in New York in 1999, worked in the Mexico City office for several years, and then moved to Washington, DC. He also worked as a visiting associate with a firm in Peru. He says: “We have experienced strong and consistent annual growth in Latin American arbitration throughout my career with the firm. We have two dozen arbitration lawyers fluent in Spanish and work across our offices to serve clients with disputes relating to Latin America.” …. At the moment Hamilton is working on disputes relating to Argentina, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico and Peru, including representing 170,000 Italian holders of Argentine bonds in an arbitration against the Republic of Argentina at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes in Washington, DC. He says he has advised on matters concerning more than 15 countries in the region. Hamilton also successfully defended RWE Nukem against a US$174 million award in an American Arbitration Association dispute with US Energy. He is advising the Republic of the Philippines in International Chamber of Commerce and ICSID disputes with contractors involved in the construction and operation of an airport terminal at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila. He is also representing the Republic of Bulgaria in the first ICSID arbitration to go to the merits stage under the Energy Charter Treaty, in a dispute brought against it by the Plama Consortium relating to an oil refinery.

Documentary Film
“By turning my lens on the former Soviet Union, I was exploring today’s global village”
Meridian Star (1994)

Jonathan C. Hamilton has been awarded a National Endowment for the Arts Southeast Media Fellowship for Into the Russian Winter, a documentary film he shot on location in the former Soviet Union…. Hamilton is no newcomer to the role of director…. Hamilton produced a video which landed him in a New York Times article. That video helped him earn a full scholarship to Brandeis University in Boston. A history major at Brandeis, he has studied at Oxford University in England, and he recently completed a master’s degree at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill…. “By turning my lens on the former Soviet Union, I was exploring … today’s global village.”

About History
“A responsibility and an opportunity”
Daily Times Leader (1990)

“It is important to understand that history did not have to happen the way it happened. So much history happened because of one decision made here and there. That fact buys hope for us. It offers us a responsibility and an opportunity to guid history as it unfolds.”

What Your Life is About
“Show your talents”
New York Times (1988)

Jonathan Hamilton created a dramatic setting…. Working with borrowed equipment, he made a tape…. Hamilton sent the tape to nine schools, including Brandeis University, which he now attends as a scholarship student…. “I don’t think it needs to be some gimmick-type thing,” Mr. Hamilton said. “Show your talents through it and what your life is about.”