Clara Brillembourg
Foley Hoag
International energy law (afternoon panels session, day 2)
Clara Brillembourg specializes in counseling sovereign States in international disputes against other States, foreign investors and U.S. plaintiffs. In her public international law practice, she has successfully represented States before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in disputes involving territorial rights, human rights and environmental harm, including Ecuador v. Colombia (concerning harms caused by aerial spraying of herbicides), Georgia v. Russia (concerning ethnic cleansing in Abkhazia and South Ossetia), and Uruguay v. Argentina (regarding international environmental protection and sustainable development). She also has substantial experience counseling States in maritime boundary disputes before the ICJ, UNCLOS Annex VII arbitral tribunals, and the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea (ITLOS). Recent cases include Ghana v. Cȏte d’Ivoire (ITLOS Special Chamber), Bangladesh v. Myanmar (ITLOS), Bangladesh v. India (PCA, Annex VII), and Nicaragua v. Colombia (ICJ).
In her investment arbitration practice, she offers extensive experience representing sovereigns in investment arbitrations before the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) and other prominent arbitral fora. Clara has been recognized as a leader in international arbitration by Legal 500 USA and Legal 500 Latin America. She is also ranked among the top women attorneys in international arbitration by Latinvex. She recently successfully defended Uruguay in an ICSID arbitration brought by Philip Morris challenging the State’s tobacco control regulations.
Before joining Foley Hoag, Clara worked in the World Bank’s Environment and African Human Development Departments, focused on the bank’s legal policies on the environment and indigenous peoples, and implementing development projects in Africa.