Gardere Arena Adds International Arbitration Attorney in Mexico City

Online, March 13, 2013 (Newswire.com) - International arbitration attorney Viviana Castro-Hurtado has joined the Mexico City office of Gardere Arena y Asociados S.C. as a member of the Firm's Mexico and Latin America practice, where she will focus on representing clients involved in commercial and investment arbitrations.

Formerly of White & Case, Ms. Castro-Hurtado has handled dozens of arbitration matters under various international arbitration rules, including the American Arbitration Association/International Centre for Dispute Resolution, International Chamber of Commerce, International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes and United Nations Commission on International Trade Law. Ms. Castro-Hurtado also worked with the ICC in New York and the Inter-American Development Bank in Washington, D.C.

"Ms. Castro-Hurtado's addition is part of the Firm's strategic commitment to further grow and strengthen our Mexico and Latin America Practice, especially in the area of cross-border disputes," says Steve Good, Gardere's Managing Partner.

Roberto Arena, Managing Partner of Gardere's Mexico City office, adds, "We are very excited about Viviana's addition to our team. As well as strengthening our expertise in international arbitration matters, she also provides the opportunity from a more local venue for the Firm to represent clients who find themselves in cross-border business disputes."

Fluent in English and Spanish, Ms. Castro-Hurtado earned her law degree from the Universidad Católica Andres Bello in Caracas, Venezuela, and her LLM from Georgetown University Law Center, where she was a Fulbright Scholar. Ms. Castro-Hurtado is a former visiting scholar at Harvard University.

In 2012, partner Juan M. Alcalá joined Gardere to lead the Firm's international disputes practice. Mr. Alcalá focuses on international arbitration and litigation. The Firm's Mexico and Latin America Practice is ranked in both Chambers Latin America: Latin America's Leading Lawyers for Business and the Latin America edition of The Legal 500.

Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP, an Am Law 200 firm founded in 1909 and one of the Southwest's largest full-service law firms, has offices in Austin, Dallas, Houston and Mexico City. Gardere provides legal services to private and public companies and individuals in areas of corporate, litigation, energy, tax, real estate, financial services, government affairs, hospitality, intellectual property, labor and employment, and environmental. For more information, contact Dorothy L. Seals at 214.999.4019 or [email protected].