Chilean firm Wagemann Arbitration launches

The new boutique firm has launched in response to the rise in the number of arbitration and litigation cases in Chile, and the increasing need to serve clients in such cases, the firm said in a statement.

The firm advises property owners, concessionaires and contractors in local and international arbitration cases involving construction, engineering and infrastructure cases.

The new firm is led by director Elina Mereminskaya and founding partner Alex Wagemann.

Elina Mereminskaya has worked on international arbitration cases with companies engaged in the infrastructure, construction, mining and energy sectors, as well as the insurance, financial and real estate sectors.

She was a partner at Wagemann Abogados & Ingenieros since 2017.

Due to her experience in the field, he has a particular sensitivity to the needs of companies as end users of arbitration. Her legal advice provides value based on the knowledge of the best international arbitration practices and the handling of technical matters in the field of construction, thus achieving greater efficiency in the resolution of disputes, the firm said.

She is a member of the list of arbitrators of the Santiago Chamber of Commerce since 2016, and served as a member of the board of directors of the guild entity, also forming part of its ethics committee between 2017 and 2021.

In 2022, the European Commission included her as the only Chilean lawyer among the list of candidates to preside over arbitral tribunals that may resolve disputes arising under trade treaties concluded by the European Union with other states.

She holds a doctorate in law from the University of Göttingen, Germany, and a master’s degree in law from the same university, and studied a degree in law at the Kalinigrad State University in Russia.

For his part, Alex Wagemann has focused his professional practice on providing advice to large companies in engineering, construction and services contracts in the mining, energy, industrial, public works and concessions areas.

“He has a unique combination of a broad legal background and a vast technical vision, which has allowed him to participate in important infrastructure projects throughout Latin America,” the law firm said.

With more than 25 years of experience, he has led multiple project planning, bidding and contracting processes; risk analysis; contract and claims management; expert opinions, dispute boards, expert opinions and arbitration.

Since 2018, he has acted as chairman of the Global Working Group on Construction Contracts at the International Confederation of Contractors' Associations (CICA), a global organization whose 67 member countries represent 57% of the global GDP of the construction industry.

He graduated in law from the Universidad de Chile and holds a master’s degree in international construction from the University of Stuttgart, Germany.