Simon Navarro Gonzalez

Practice Areas

SIMON NAVARRO GONZALEZ is a Co-Leader of Sidley’s Global Arbitration, Trade and Advocacy Practice, focusing on international arbitration litigation. With a global practice and over 20 years of experience, Simon has won and collected 10-figure awards in the U.S., Europe and Latin America; devised award-enforcement strategies worldwide; obtained annulment of awards before domestic courts; and successfully led coordinated investor-state arbitration, commercial arbitration, and international trade claims for foreign investors.

Simon has acted as counsel and arbitrator in some of the most complex, high-value commercial, and investment treaty arbitrations, both ad hoc and under the rules of the major arbitral institutions. He has advised in a broad range of industries, including oil and gas, renewable energy, banking and insurance, M&A transactions, construction, maritime, infrastructure, airports, and concession contracts. He extensive experience, as counsel and arbitrator, in cases involving projects located in US, Europe and Latin America. He has led dozens of multi-party arbitrations involving States or State-owned entities. He is also a recognized expert in award enforcement proceedings, on behalf of both investors and sovereign States.

Simon is currently representing clients in various international arbitrations, including one of the largest oil and gas cases in the world, the largest NAFTA claim against Mexico, and a combined strategy of disputes leveraging investor-state arbitration, commercial arbitration, and international trade claims. He also has extensive experience in litigation in support of arbitration, and is currently representing a sovereign State in multiple award enforcement proceedings in the U.S., in what has been reported as one of “Four International Arbitration Cases to Watch for 2026” by Law360. Simon has obtained a USD 1.4 billion arbitration award against a Latin American State-owned company, which is one of the highest awards ever issued in Latin America. He also won the first investor-state arbitration under a Singapore treaty and collected that award against Mexico, and successfully represented a client in the annulment of an ICC award by the High Court in London, which was only the second successful challenge for lack of jurisdiction of the Arbitral Tribunal in the past five years before that court. This achievement led to his selection as a runner-up for “Litigator of the Week” by The American Lawyer’s Litigation Daily (2025).

Beyond disputes, Simon is a trusted advisor to financial institutions, energy and infrastructure companies, private equity firms and governments. Simon helps them achieve their business goals by devising novel strategies and leveraging the entire Sidley platform. Simon is also an active member of the Hispanic and Latin community in the United States and is a member of the International Advisory Council of the Hispanic Society Museum and Library. He is also an Adjunct Professor of Advocacy at IE Law School.