Marta García Bel is a International Associate based in our New York office. She is a member of the dispute resolution practice group and specializes in commercial and investment arbitration.
Marta advises major corporates and states in international arbitrations, many involving complex and high value claims, conducted under the rules of the major arbitral institutions (ICSID, ICSID AF, ICC, LCIA...). Her recent experience includes representing Governments and multinational companies with investments in Latin America and Europe in a variety of sectors, including power and utilities, banking and financial services, pharmaceuticals, technology, telecommunications and food production and distribution. Marta also provides legal advice to corporates concerning public and private international law matters and on sustainability and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) transformation.
Marta spent nine months on secondment at Eni S.p.A, where she focused on energy-related arbitrations. Before joining Freshfields in early 2015, she worked as an associate at Uría Menéndez in Madrid and Barcelona where she represented clients in corporate criminal liability and white collar crime investigations and proceedings before the Spanish courts.
Marta advocates in Spanish, English and Italian. She also speaks fluent Catalan and some German and French. She regularly publishes and speaks on arbitration and international law topics. She is also a champion for diversity and inclusion, co-founder of the Italy Women's Network (2016) as well as of the Equal Representation in Arbitration Pledge Young Practitioners Subcommittee, where she serves as Secretary since 2020.
*Admitted in Spain and Italy. Law Clerk in New York, Supervised by New York-qualified lawyers.
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Marta’s recent experience includes advising:
- a family of Spanish investors in two parallel arbitration proceedings under the ICSID Additional Facility Rules and the UNCITRAL rules against Venezuela arising from the expropriation of their investments in the food importation and distribution sector and other measures;
- an Italian international energy services company in two gas price review arbitrations under the UNCITRAL and ICC rules;
- a Spanish financial group in an arbitration claim against Bolivia in relation to the expropriation of a contract;
- a Mexican telecommunications multinational company in an arbitration claim against Colombia in relation to the expropriation of their assets;
- a Peruvian investor in an arbitration under the ICSID Additional Facility Rules against Venezuela in relation to the expropriation of his investments in the telecommunications sector;
- an Ecuadorian company in a contract-based arbitration under the UNCITRAL rules arising out of the lack of compensation after Ecuador’s termination of the agreements regulating the operations of two oil blocks;
- a Spanish investor in an arbitration under the UNCITRAL rules against Venezuela concerning the expropriation of his investments in the telecommunications sector;
- a primary financial institution in civil and criminal proceedings before Italian courts.
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University education
- 2010 - University Pompeu Fabra (Barcelona) (Law Degree, J.D.)
- 2011 - University Pompeu Fabra (Barcelona) (Master in Legal Sciences)
- 2012 - University Pompeu Fabra (Barcelona) (Ph.D. courses)
- 2012 - 2013 Visitor researcher at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
Professional qualifications
- 2010 - Admitted to the Barcelona Bar Association
- 2019 - Admitted to the Italian Bar (Avvocato)
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