Liat Tapia

Practice Areas

Litigation, arbitration and Competition and Antitrust

Career

Liat Tapia is a lawyer and arbitrator. Her main areas of expertise are domestic and international arbitrations and litigation.

Ms. Tapia predominantly acts as counsel, representing her clients in domestic and international disputes. She also provides advice on contract negotiation and management. Liat Tapia is a member of the CAM Santiago Young Arbitrators' Panel and, also, belongs to the Santiago Court of Appeals Panel.

Ms. Tapia's experience includes commercial and investment disputes administered by the ICSID, the Permanent Court of Arbitration, the International Court of Arbitration of the ICC, and the CAM Santiago, among others. She has also litigated before ad hoc arbitration tribunals. She has represented companies from various industries, such as mining, construction, renewable and conventional energies, oil and gas, electric power, the financial sector, and public works.

Before joining Ugarte & Correa, Ms. Tapia worked at the law firm Philippi Prietocarrizosa Ferrero DU & Uría (2014 to 2017 and 2019 to 2020), where she was the Principal Associate of the Dispute Resolution team. She also worked as an International Associate at Three Crowns, a renowned arbitration boutique in the UK.

The Legal 500 recognized Ms. Tapia as a "Next Generation Partner" in the Litigation and Arbitration category.

Professional Memberships

In 2019, Liat was admitted to practice as a lawyer in the state of New York, United States. She is a member of the Club Español del Arbitraje and the Chilean Bar Association.

Publications

1. «Are the Judicial Procedural Rules Issued During the Pandemic Applicable to International Arbitrations Seated in Santiago?», Kluwer Arbitration Blog, October 7, 2020.

2. Speaker at the Webinar «LatAm Perspectives on International Arbitration: Necessary Responses in Crisis”, organized by the New York City Bar, 2020.

3. Speaker at the Webinar «Covid & Force Majeure: Practical Aspects in Relation to Contracts», organized by the Chilean-Australian Chamber of Commerce, 2020.

4. Report on investment arbitration titled «Teinver SA et al. Against Argentina» (ICSID Award ARB/09/1, CII 966, 2017.

5. «Good faith as an efficient integration mechanism,» IX Civil Law Review, Editorial Abeledo Perrot, Thomson Reuters, 2015.

6. Speaker at the IX Conference on Civil Law, Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Chile, 2014.

7. Speaker at the 1st ICC Chilean Arbitration Day, 2022.

8. Speaker at the seminar “El papel de las instituciones arbitrales en el comercio internacional”, organized by – Seminario Internacional de la Biblioteca de Arbitraje.

Work Highlights

Domestic Arbitration. Mining industry. Representation of one of the main service providers to the mining industry in an ad hoc arbitration against a state-owned company.

• International Arbitration against the State of Chile (Corfo). Mining. Currently representing a US mining company in an arbitration against the State of Chile before the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) regarding the payment of commissions for the extraction and commercialization of lithium from the Atacama Salt Flat.

• International Arbitration. Investment. Tax Stability Clause. Representation of an oil pipeline construction company in an investment arbitration administered by the Permanent Court of Arbitration under UNCITRAL rules for the breach of a tax stability clause by a Latin American state.

• International Arbitration. Investment. Energy. Representation of an electricity company in an investment arbitration administered by ICSID for the breach of an investment treaty through the intervention and liquidation decision of the company adopted by a Latin American state.

• International Arbitration. Construction. Representation of a foreign company responsible for the engineering, design, and construction of an oil refinery in two ICC arbitrations against various electromechanical assembly subcontractors.

• International Arbitration. Share Purchase Agreement. Advisory to an unconventional energy generation company in a CAM Santiago arbitration for breach of a share purchase agreement by an Asian company.

• Domestic Arbitration. Energy. Representation of a mining company against an electric holding company for differences arising from the construction of a solar plant, a power supply contract, and an option to purchase. USD $220 million.

• Domestic Arbitration. Negligent Management. Representation of a concessionaire to build and operate hospitals in a CAM Santiago arbitration for breach of a services contract related to the concession.

• Domestic Arbitration. Mineral Sales. Representation of a mining company in a CAM Santiago arbitration against an international smelter for breach of a contract for the sale of copper concentrates.

• Domestic Arbitration. Real Estate. Construction. Representation of a principal company in a CAM Santiago arbitration against a construction company for breach of a contract to build an office building and a hotel.

• International Arbitration. Mining project. Currently representing a transnational company in two international arbitrations for breach of contract and acts of corruption.

• International Arbitration. Design and construction of an electricity project. Successful representation of a foreign company in two proceedings related to the design and construction of an electricity project.

Education

Awards

Languages Spoken

Spanish and English