Daniela Paez
Daniela Paez is a Senior Associate based in our New York office, bringing over a decade of experience in dispute resolution across the energy, infrastructure, and mining sectors.
Apart from acting as counsel in high-stakes commercial and investment arbitration proceedings, Daniela advises clients from Europe, the United States, and Asia on complex matters involving Latin American jurisdictions, including investment protection, pre-arbitration strategy, litigation case management, and ESG-related risks. She plays a pivotal role in the firm’s Latin American Group, contributing deep regional insight and cross-border expertise.
Daniela has been ranked as a "Rising Star" in the International Arbitration category by The Legal 500 Latin America in 2019, 2020 and 2021 as well as Latin America “Rising Legal Star” by Latinvex 2026.
Qualified to practice in both Ecuador and New York, Daniela is a native Spanish speaker and fluent in English.
Experience & capabilities
Selected matters
- representing an international energy company in an ICC arbitration (New York seat) arising out of Seller’s non-compliance with a Sales and Purchase Agreement governed by New York law and failure to deliver LNG cargoes thereunder (claim in excess of US$ 1 billion)
- representing seven entities within a major energy company in an ICC arbitration (Houston seat) relating to alleged breaches of contracts for the supply of fuel and diesel in a Latin American state (claim US$ 400 million)
- successfully representing a South American oil company in an AAA / ICDR commercial arbitration (New York seat) relating to rights and remedies pursuant to an agreement governed by New York law to share costs and monetary awards of investment arbitration against a South American state (claim US$ 558 million)
- successfully representing a major E&P company in an ICDR arbitration (New York seat) against a drilling company under three deep-water drilling rig contracts (governed by New York law) for an indemnity claim arising out of a recently created tax in the U.S.
- successfully representing a South American oil company an AAA / ICDR commercial arbitration (New York seat) relating to indemnity claims arising out of joint operations of an oil block in South America governed by New York law (claim US$ 309 million)
- representing a European construction company in an ICC arbitration (Paris seat) in relation to an investment claim against Venezuela (claim US$ 100 million)
- representing a South-American joint venture in an ICC commercial arbitration (Madrid seat) relating to the breach of an EPC contract for the construction of an off shore regasification terminal in a South American state (claim US$ 700 million)
- representing a Spanish oil company in a CIArb commercial arbitration (London seat) relating to the termination of a contract governed by English law regulating potential business ventures in an African state
- successfully representing the Republic of Costa Rica in international investment arbitration proceedings David Aven and others v. Costa Rica under DR-CAFTA and UNCITRAL arbitration rules. The case involved the development of a residential project by American investors that was suspended by the environmental agency for infringements on wetlands. The firm won Latin Lawyer's Dispute of the Year Award in 2018 for this victory
- representing the subsidiary of a major energy company in an AAA/ICDR commercial arbitration (New York seat) relating to a JV corporate dispute regarding a business venture in the methanol market in the Caribbean
- advising an international mining company in connection with recent ESG developments, local and global environmental trends for extractive industries, and their application to its day-to-day operations in Chile
- advising a South American energy company on the performance and compliance with contracts for sale and purchase of natural gas (governed by New York law) for the production of methanol in another South American state
- successfully representing a major oil company in its negotiations with a South-American state to settle a billion dollar tax-related dispute and avoiding recourse to international avenues
- acting for a major U.S. investment bank on the assessment of potential investment arbitration claims against a North American state under various bilateral investment treaties related to foreign investments in the tourism sector in the country
Sectors
Background
Daniela graduated summa cum laude and second of her class from San Francisco de Quito University. She obtained an LLM from Harvard Law School in 2015, where she served as Submissions Editor for the Harvard International Law Journal. Prior to joining the firm, Daniela worked as an associate in the Ecuadorian law firm Pérez Bustamante & Ponce.
Daniela is deeply engaged in the international arbitration community. She serves as Senior Assistant Editor for Latin America for Kluwer Arbitration Blog, a position she has held since 2022 (previously acting as Assistant Editor since 2015). Daniela is also a member of the Inter-American Affairs Committee at the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, the Advisory Board of the Institute for Transnational Arbitration (ITA), the Club Español e Iberoamericano del Arbitraje (CEIA-40) and has been appointed as Next Generation Representative for the US (2025-2026), for the Asociación Latinoamericana de Arbitraje (ALARB). She is also the co-founder of the Young International Arbitration Practitioners of New York, an initiative launched by HSF Kramer's New York office in 2015.
Education
- LL.M., Harvard Law School, 2015
