The firm was founded by partners Juan Felipe Merizalde and Stephan Adell, and aims to bring their experience gleaned in Dubai, Paris and Washington D.C., while working for top-notch firms, to Latin America.

“Adell & Merizalde is an international law firm dedicated to providing alternative dispute resolution services in Latin America,” according to the firm. Its lawyers have accumulated over 30 years' experience and have been involved in more than 200 arbitrations in a wide range of industries that include construction, oil and gas, energy, telecommunications, mining, and pharmaceutical, in both commercial and investment cases.  

“Operating in an arbitration-focused structure ensures our work is conducted in an environment free of conflicts of interest, whether acting as counsel or as arbitrator, with the flexibility to adapt our billing arrangements to the specific needs of our clients and the region,” the firm said, highlighting that its geographical location directly connects it with the political, legal, and social reality of the region, allowing it to better understand and address the specific sensibilities of our clients operating in Latin America.

Co-founding partner Juan Felipe Merizalde is a civil and common law lawyer with more than 15 years of experience in international arbitration. His practice focuses on international commercial and investment arbitration, particularly disputes involving Latin American parties.  He has considerable experience as counsel and arbitrator in over 70 cases, representing States, State-owned entities and private parties before the most renowned institutions.  

He has acted in arbitrations under all of the major arbitral rules such as the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR), securing many landmark victories for his clients. 

For his part, co-founding partner Stephan Adell is dual Bolivian-French national with over 15 years of international arbitration experience whose practice focuses on international commercial and investment arbitration. 

He has intervened in over 90 arbitrations, focusing on complex construction and investor-state disputes.  

Stephan has acted under major arbitration rules and institutions such as the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA), the Dubai International Arbitration Centre (DIAC) and the International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR).