Juan Perla

Mr. Perla is experienced in litigating international and complex cross-border disputes in U.S. courts, from the critical motions stage through the appellate process including at the certiorari and merits stages in the Supreme Court. He clerked for Judge L. Felipe Restrepo of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and Judge C. Darnell Jones II of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Mr. Perla spearheads the firm’s partnership with The Appellate Project, a non-profit dedicated to diversifying the appellate bar and bench. He is also a member of Law360’s Appellate Editorial Advisory Board for 2022.

He is also experienced in international arbitration under the rules of the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), and the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), with a focus on post-award annulment and enforcement proceedings. Together with partners Joseph Pizzurro and Robert Garcia, Juan co-authored a chapter in “The Guide to Challenging and Enforcing Arbitration Awards” (First and Second Editions) published by Global Arbitration Review.

He has advised clients on a range of issues including economic sanctions, internal investigations, anti-corruption laws, public international law, international human rights law, diplomatic and consular affairs, and U.S. foreign relations law. He has also written on the economic analysis of international treaties, namely “A Game Theoretic Analysis of the Inter-American Convention Against Corruption” published in the Richmond Journal of Global Law and Business and cited by Transparency International as an example of “studies using innovative research designs.”

Demonstrating a strong commitment to pro bono practice, Mr. Perla was a member of the Curtis team that represented the respondent in the case United States v. Vaello-Madero, which challenged the constitutionality of excluding Puerto Rico residents from federal entitlements legislation. Following the Curtis team’s success in the district court, the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico issued a resolution recognizing their efforts to bring equal rights to the residents of Puerto Rico.

Mr. Perla has also represented asylum-seekers in administrative proceedings and advised non-profits on general corporate matters and intellectual property law.

Before joining the firm, Mr. Perla worked on a variety of human rights and refugee rights issues as a field intern for non-governmental organizations at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland.