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People

Maria Carolina Duran
Maria Carolina Duran
María Carolina Durán
Special Counsel
mariacarolina.duran@bakerbotts.com
DETAILS
Practices
International Disputes
Litigation
Details
Overview
Overview Admission & Affiliations Experience News Awards and Community
Practices
International Disputes
Litigation

Overview

María Carolina Durán focuses her practice on international dispute settlement, particularly investment treaty arbitration and international commercial arbitration. Trained both in civil and common law, she has extensive experience representing cross-border investors and States in complex and high-profile disputes relating to investments in multiple economic sectors, including electricity, mining, oil and gas, real estate, and infrastructure development. She has been recognized as a "Rising Star" (The Legal 500 Latin America 2024) and as "One to Watch" (Best Lawyers 2023) in International Arbitration.

Ms. Durán has successfully represented clients in arbitral proceedings conducted in English and Spanish under the ICC, ICSID, ICSID Additional Facility, and UNCITRAL rules. Notable successes include representing clients in various investor-state arbitrations with a total of US $59 billion in claims.

She is also a frequent speaker in international arbitration forums.

Before joining Baker Botts, María Carolina worked for more than a decade in the international arbitration practice of another global firm and in a leading law firm in Colombia. In Colombia, María Carolina advised private entities from different economic sectors, including the mining and hydrocarbons sectors, in the structuring and execution of investment projects in Colombia, and advised clients in administrative processes and administrative litigation.

María Carolina also worked as a consultant at the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank Group, focusing her work on the analysis of public policies related to the foreign investment climate in the Latin American and MENA regions. María Carolina also worked at the Foreign Investment Department of ProColombia, an entity attached to the Colombian Ministry of Trade, Industry and Tourism.

María Carolina is a native Spanish speaker, is fluent in English and speaks French.

María Carolina is Co-founder of Georgetown International Arbitration Alumni group.

Admission & Affiliations

  • District of Columbia Bar
  • New York State Bar
  • Republic of Colombia Bar
  • LL.M., Georgetown University Law Center 2012
  • J.D., Universidad de los Andes 2009

Experience

  • Latin American State – represented respondent against a US $1.3 billion treaty arbitration claim brought by a Spanish company in relation to the intervention and liquidation of an electricity distribution company.
  • Latin American State – represented respondent against a US $500 million treaty arbitration claim brought by a Canadian company in an ICSID arbitration related to investments in the mining industry.
  • Latin American State – represented respondent against a US $50 billion treaty arbitration claim brought by a French company and an individual with respect to a real estate development.
  • Latin American State – represented respondent against a US $7 billion treaty arbitration claim brought by a French individual related to the take over and liquidation of a financial institution.
  • Latin American state-owned company – represented a state-owned company in an energy sector commercial dispute in relation to payment of royalties, which included a counterclaim for US $60 million.
  • Latin American State – represented respondent in a US $30 million treaty arbitration claim in relation to measures adopted to delimit a national park to protect the nesting place of leatherback turtles.
  • Latin American State – represented respondent against a US $150 million commercial arbitration claim related to the concession contract for the expansion and maintenance of the Pan-American Highway.
  • Latin American State – respondent against a US $50 million commercial arbitration claim related to a concession contract for the expansion and maintenance of a highway.
  • Latin American State – respondent against a US $190 million treaty arbitration claim related to measures adopted in the power generation sector.
  • Latin American State – represented respondent against a US $300 million treaty and contractual claim related to the construction of an international airport.
  • Latin American State – represented respondent in a US $1.1 billion treaty arbitration related to certain tax measures in the mining industry.
  • Latin American State – represented respondent in US $250 million treaty arbitration claim related to certain tax measures in the mining industry.
  • Latin American State – represented respondent in a US $300 million treaty arbitration related to a concession contract to operate a 25 kilometer toll road in Lima.
  • Investor – represented claimant in a US $30 million treaty arbitration related to measures adopted for tobacco products.
  • Latin American State – represented respondent in ICSID annulment proceedings.
  • Latin American State – represented respondent in a US $100 million treaty arbitration brought by a Spanish company related to automotive technical inspection services.

Awards and Community

Recognized in The Legal 500 Latin America as a "Rising Star" in International Arbitration, 2024 and in Best Lawyers as "One to Watch" in International Arbitration, 2022-2023