Updated 4:58 p.m.
Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan has expanded its Washington office with the addition of an international arbitration partner, the firm announced Tuesday.
David Orta, formerly a partner at Arnold & Porter in Washington, joins Quinn Emanuel and will serve as the head of the firm’s Washington international arbitration practice.
Orta’s practice is a mix of investor state treaty arbitration, where one side is a government and the other an investor, and international commercial arbitration. Orta, who is fluent in Spanish, has been actively representing companies in Latin America on issues related to investment treaty and commercial arbitration disputes. Recently, he represented the Republic of Guatemala as lead counsel in a case filed by a U.S. railway management company.
“Our plan is to establish a top tier international arbitration practice and to do so quickly,” John Quinn, firm managing partner, said in a written statement. “Within the coming months we will be adding well known international arbitration specialists in other major arbitration centers, including London.”
In an interview, Orta said that he was contacted by Quinn and name partner William Urquhart, as opposed to a recruiter. He said that instilled confidence as the firm builds out the practice.
“They seem incredibly committed to growing and putting resources behind the international arbitration practice,” Orta said of Quinn and Urquhart.
Orta said that the firm is currently in negotiations with other international arbitration attorneys, and that some of the discussions are “quite advanced.”
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