M-RCBG Senior Fellow-Led Study Group: David Mizrachi
Thursday, November 7, 4:15-5:45 M-RCBG Conference Room: B-102
M-RCBG Senior Fellow David M. Mizrachi Fidanque is a Panamanian business lawyer with over three decades of professional experience. In this study group session, Mr. Mizrachi will discuss his practical experience in dealing with Investor State Disputes within the context of Foreign Direct Investment Projects. He will explain the nuances of negotiating dispute resolution clauses in international development projects, the protections afforded to the investors by existing laws and international treaties and the practical aspects of pursuing claims against sovereign states. David will draw upon his own professional and academic experience both on the negotiation of projects and settlement of disputes. The session will then turn into a discussion of whether the benefits of the Investor State Dispute Settlement Mechanism have been outlived by the proliferation of Investor claims against Sovereigns with a focus in Latin America.
This study group / discussion is open to all HUID holders. Registration is not necessary.
M-RCBG welcomes individuals with disabilities to participate in its programs. To request accommodations or ask questions about access provided, please email: mrcbg@hks.harvard.edu
David M. Mizrachi Fidanque is a lawyer, academic, author and civic leader. He is the founder of MDU Legal in Panama, Republic of Panama. His private legal practice focuses on foreign direct investment and international dispute resolution. He constantly interacts with government agencies on behalf of his clients and has handled complex international administrative, contractual and investment claims. He is dually admitted to practice law in Panama and the State of Florida and began his career as a commercial litigator in South Florida, moving to his native Panama in 1993. He has been a member of the board of the Mining Development Corporation – Cerro Colorado (public mineral rights concession), Caribbean American de Panamá and Worldwide Medical Assurance (private insurance companies), Fondo de Emergencia Social (public human development fund), PSA Panama International Terminal (port operations), B’nai B’rith of Panama, Fundación Holzer and the Lions Club of Panama (non-governmental entities) to name a few. He serves in the National Concertation Board of Panama on an ad honorem basis. David is a lecturer at Quality Leadership University on International Business Law and Legal Environment of Business. His courses have been accredited by the University of Louisville, Towson University and Illinois State University, among others. He has served as President of the Central Jewish Community Council and B’nai B’rith of Panama. Mr. Mizrachi is a frequent speaker on matters of Panamanian law, locally and internationally. David is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, (BA) majoring in Economics and Political Science (with distinction), of Tulane University Law School (JD cum laude) and holds an Executive LLM in Global Business Law from Columbia University Law School, where he received the Parker School Recognition of Achievement in International and Comparative Law. As an M-RCBG Senior Fellow, he will be focusing his research on the relationship between sovereign arbitrations and foreign direct investment in select Latin American countries. His faculty sponsor is Professor Mark Wu, Henry L. Stimson Professor of Law at Harvard Law School. Email: david_mizrachi@hks.harvard.edu