Herbert Smith Freehills LLP‘s substantial team is led by the highly-rated Christian Leathley, who co-chairs the Latin America practice and is US head of international arbitration; Leathley now splits his time between New York and London. Among the large department of fluent Spanish and Portuguese speakers, Paris-based Thierry Tomasi, himself a Portuguese speaker, leads the Brazil-focused group; many in the department are dual qualified in New York and a Latin American jurisdiction. Leveraging the strength of the team and the global firm’s standing in international arbitration, its Latin America practice covers energy, construction, infrastructure, telecommunications and financial services, among other sectors. It is also noted for its experience in the enforcement of arbitral awards; recent mandates include acting for Andes Petroleum Ecuador in an arbitration to recover its 40% share of a $1.06bn arbitral award from Occidental Exploration and Production Company, as well as representing Sigma in the enforcement of three foreign arbitral awards rendered against the Republic of Guatemala before the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. Senior associates Benjamin Guthrie and Daniela Páez are also key members of the team, the latter being a native Spanish speaker and admitted to practice in Ecuador and New York.