Curtis Announces New Partners and Counsels Across Offices in 2020

Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle LLP is pleased to announce the elevation of several attorneys located in its New York, London, Milan, Rome and Muscat offices.

With these new promotions, the firm retains its tradition of grooming promising talent from within the firm to drive its overall growth.

New York Partners

• Ms. Olga Beloded has been promoted to partner. She advises domestic and foreign corporations, high-net-worth individuals, governments and state-owned entities on international tax issues relating to domestic and cross-border corporate transactions, as well as international disputes including investor-state arbitration proceedings. She frequently speaks at international tax programs in the United States, the United Kingdom and the Middle East, and also contributed to the International Chamber of Commerce’s (ICC’s) Business Guide to Trade and Investment, published in 2018. A Ukrainian national, Ms. Beloded graduated from Kiev National University with a B.A. and M.A., later earning a Ph.D. in linguistics and a law degree from the University of Chicago. She speaks Russian, Ukrainian and English fluently.
  
• Ms. Elisa Botero was promoted to partner. She is both an international corporate and international arbitration lawyer, with extensive experience in international transactions and in the representation of sovereign states and state entities in international arbitration proceedings brought under bilateral investment treaties and commercial contracts. Fluent in English and Spanish, she has been a key member of the Curtis team on many of the firm’s most important arbitrations in Latin America, including most recently cases involving the Dominican Republic and Ecuador. Having spent nearly a decade in the firm’s New York and Washington DC offices, Ms. Botero, a Colombian national, relocated to Bogotá at the beginning of last year to better serve Curtis clients in the region. She is admitted in New York and Colombia, and holds an LL.M. with honors from Columbia University School of Law, where she was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar, and a law degree, magna cum laude, from Universidad de los Andes.
  
• Mr. Douglas Ian Glazer has been promoted to partner. He represents public and private clients in corporate and commercial matters, mergers and acquisitions, private equity and financings, with a focus on the middle market. In 2018, Mr. Glazer was an important team member in the Firm’s representation of See-Out and Trademark Vision in connection with their sale to Clarivate Analytics, which won the 2019 M&A Advisor Awards M&A Deal of the Year ($10MM to $25MM). Most recently, Mr. Glazer advised Dos Toros Taqueria in its sale to Founders Table Restaurant Group, a new food-focused holding company, backed by private-equity fund L Catterton, that also owns Chop’t Creative Salad Company. Mr. Glazer obtained his law degree from St. John’s University School of Law and his bachelor’s degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
  
• Dr. Alexandra Maier has been promoted to partner. She has been part of the Curtis international arbitration team in a broad range of both commercial and investor-state arbitrations. Her experience also encompasses general corporate and commercial matters relating to cross-border transactions. Dr. Maier, who obtained her J.D. degree from Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München and her Ph.D. in Jurisprudence from the University of Kiel, is fluent in English and German. She is admitted to practice in the State of New York and in the U.S. District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, as well as in Hamburg, Germany.

New York Counsels

• Mr. Peter Buenger has been promoted to counsel. As a member of the firm’s Restructuring and Insolvency Group, he focuses on representing debtors, foreign representatives, official creditors’ committees, equity committees, potential purchasers, and unsecured creditors in connection with foreign and domestic insolvency proceedings. He is notable for his vast experience in Chapter 15 cases in the U.S. and international Chapter 11 proceedings, as well as for his bankruptcy litigation experience. He has acted on complex contested matters and adversary proceedings, including the Chapter 11 cases of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and its affiliates, the largest bankruptcy case ever filed in the U.S., and represented a Mexican government development bank in the insolvency proceedings of Spain’s largest energy company. Mr. Buenger has an LL.M. from St. John's University School of Law and a law degree from Georgia State University College of Law, magna cum laude.
  
• Mr. Mohannad El-Murtadi has been promoted to counsel. He advises states, state-owned and commercial entities in both contentious and non-contentious matters. Mr. El-Murtadi has acted in several commercial and investor-state arbitrations. He has been a key member of the Curtis team defending the State of Libya and the Libyan National Oil Corporation in several high profile cases in ICSID and the ICC. Mr. El-Murtadi has a particular focus on disputes relating to production sharing agreements, concession agreements, oil and gas and construction matters, and has also advised governments and state entities on matters such as enforcement of arbitral awards and treaty interpretation. Dual qualified in Libya and New York, he holds an LL.M. in International Business and Trade Law from Fordham University School of Law and a Licentiate Degree in Law (First in Class Award) from the University of Tripoli, Libya.
  
• Ms. Susan Maples has been promoted to counsel. Her practice encompasses international arbitration and corporate transactions. She has extensive experience advising governments and state-owned companies on contracts and disputes involving natural resources, particularly within Africa. Having previously worked as a legal and fiscal expert for the IMF, the World Bank, the African Legal Support Facility, the German Corporation for International Cooperation, the UK’s Department for International Development and other international institutions, she has a strong grasp of the fiscal aspects of drafting economic development agreements and legislation. She has led numerous petroleum sharing contract negotiations, negotiated farm-ins with major international oil companies, advised on bid rounds, and worked with clients in over 30 countries. In recent years, she has put this experience to use in major international arbitrations. Ms. Maples holds a J.D from the Columbia University School of Law, where she was a Stone Scholar, and a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy, graduating summa cum laude from the University of Georgia.

London Partner

• Ms. Luciana Ricart has been promoted to partner. She has broad experience in public international law and investor-State arbitration. She played a key role in several recent and ongoing ICSID and UNCITRAL arbitrations involving European, African and Middle-Eastern governments, including representing the governments of Cyprus, Uganda, Tanzania and Kuwait, for which the firm recently secured an absolute victory concerning a US$320 million claim brought by an Egyptian tourism investor. She is also currently acting for the United Arab Emirates in three cases before the International Court of Justice. Ms. Ricart frequently advises states on topics such as the enforcement of arbitral awards, treaty interpretation, sovereign immunity and territorial disputes. She recently co-authored a book entitled, “The Iran-UAE Gulf Islands Dispute: a Journey through International Law, History and Politics,” together with partner Charles Buderi. Ms. Ricart has trained in both civil and common law; she earned her LL.M degree from New York University School of Law and is admitted to practice in Argentina. She is a dual national of Argentina and Italy.

Dubai Partner

• Mr. Patrick Callinan has been promoted to partner. A dual English and Irish qualified lawyer, he advises regional companies, leading international businesses and government authorities in respect of high-value investments, corporate restructurings, fund formations, complex cross-border joint ventures, private equity, cross-border mergers and acquisitions transactions and regulatory matters in the United Kingdom, European Union, the former Yugoslavia, Central Asia, and the Middle East. Mr. Callinan is a native Irish language speaker and he also speaks fluent Serbian. He studied both French literature and law at the National University of Ireland, Galway and at the Université de Caen Normandie.

Muscat Partner

• Mr. Dominic Pilkington was promoted to partner. Mr. Pilkington has a particular focus on construction disputes, and is also a qualified civil and structural engineer. He has represented clients in a range of construction disputes, drawing on his experience in negotiating major infrastructure projects. His experience covers contractual disputes over time and costs as well as complex claims concerning the technical performance of mechanical, electrical or telecommunications systems. An Australian national, Mr. Pilkington is admitted in South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia. He holds a Bachelor of Law from the University of Adelaide, a Bachelor of Engineering from the University of Adelaide, and a Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice from the University of South Australia.

Italy Partners

• Mr. Francesco Caccioppoli has been promoted to partner and is located in the Rome office. His practice focuses on administrative law in judicial and extra-judicial contexts, most notably in public procurement. He is particularly experienced with tenders, specifications, contracts, project financing agreements, agreements with local authorities and related litigations. He represents public and private companies in administrative and civil courts, clients in Real Estate sector transactions and in relation to environmental law issues. An Italian national, Mr. Caccioppoli holds a law degree from Università degli Studi di Roma La Sapienza.
  
• Ms. Irene Petrelli, who became counsel last year, has now been promoted to partner and located in the Milan office. She has represented clients in numerous high-profile arbitrations, including the multibillion-dollar claims brought by the oil companies ConocoPhillips and ExxonMobil against Venezuela and its oil company. Highly experienced in investor-state and international commercial arbitration, Ms. Petrelli is a key member of the Curtis team in several ongoing high-value oil and gas disputes, and was part of the Curtis team representing Uganda in a number of tax-related arbitrations. She assisted Cyprus in its written and oral submissions before the Court of Justice of the European Union in the Achmea case and Tanzania in an ICSID arbitration brought by the Hong Kong subsidiary of Standard Chartered Bank. An Italian national, Ms. Petrelli is admitted to practice in Italy. She holds an LL.M. from Queen Mary University of London and a law degree from Roma Tre University.
  

Italy Counsels

• Mr. Filippo Bianchi has been promoted to counsel in the Rome office. He is part of the Corporate gro with a focus on banking & finance transactions. He primarily assists financial institutions and companies, both domestic and international, across a broad range of transactions, such as general lending, leverage and acquisition financing, real estate and project finance transactions (infrastructures and energy), as well as out-of-court debt restructuring and debt capital market transactions. An Italian national, he holds a J.D. from Roma Tre University.
  
• Mr. Jacopo Cordiano has been promoted to counsel in the Milan office. His broad-based litigation practice is focused on commercial litigation, arbitration and dispute resolution, particularly in matters related to insurance and commercial law. He assisted Italian and foreign companies as well as States, government companies and sovereign wealth funds in the context of disputes and out-of-court negotiations, which includes numerous cross-border transactions. His experience spans bankruptcy and restructuring matters, as well as drafting and negotiation of commercial contracts. An Italian national, he has a law degree in Jurisprudence from Commercial University Luigi Bocconi.
  
• Mr. Francesco Dell’Atti has been promoted to counsel in the Rome office. His practice includes advising national and international investment funds, sovereign wealth funds, asset management companies, investment vehicles such as SICAVs and UCIs in the Real Estate sector. He also represents state-owned entities and multinational companies in the structuring and management of significant cross-border transactions, with a special focus on the energy and telecommunications sectors, and assists institutional clients in litigation and commercial arbitrations. Mr. Dell’Atti has a law degree in Jurisprudence from University of Pavia (Italy), summa cum laude.
  
• Mr. Renato Treves has been promoted to counsel in the Milan office. He has significant experience in public international law and investor-state disputes. He is currently part of the team representing the Russian Federation in two arbitrations against Ukraine under the framework of Annex VII of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and assists the United Arab Emirates in proceedings before the International Court of Justice. His investment arbitration experience includes representing states (such as Uganda and Tanzania) and state-owned entities in disputes involving the energy sector. Mr. Treves was also part of the team representing Colombia before the International Court of Justice in two cases against Nicaragua. He is national of Italy and Mexico. Admitted to practice in both Italy and New York, Mr. Treves received his LL.M. from New York University School of Law and a J.D., summa cum laude, from the University of Milan.
  
• Ms. Alice Venturini has been promoted to counsel and is located in the Milan office. She has experience in investor-state and commercial arbitration, as well as in international corporate transactions. She has represented States, State-owned entities and large corporations in proceedings under the ICSID, UNCITRAL, ICC and CAM Rules. She was part of the team that successfully defended Uganda in a US$400 million UNCITRAL arbitration over tax measures, and the teams assisting the Algerian national oil company and Algeria in UNCITRAL and ICSID arbitrations arising out of the 2006 introduction of a windfall profits tax on hydrocarbons, as well as Kazakhstan in an UNCITRAL arbitration against a Canadian company in the mining sector. An Italian national, Ms. Venturini is admitted to practice in both Paris and Milan. She holds an LL.M. degree from the University of Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne in International Economic Law and has law degrees from the University of Paris I and the University of Florence.

“These individuals excel in their practice areas and the promotions are very well-deserved. We look forward to seeing each of these attorneys strengthen their practices and achieve many successes,” said Curtis Chairman George Kahale III.

Both promotions follow swiftly on the heels of the firm’s announcement of two new U.S. disputes partners, Jason Wright and Eric Cassidy, in December 2019.