Fluent in both English and Spanish, Astigarraga has handled a broad array of matters from a multitude of countries. He has handled disputes in a variety of industries including in disputes stemming from concession agreements, construction contracts, distribution agreements, investment & other financial disputes, joint ventures, licensing arrangements, petrochemical contracts and projects, power/energy projects, shareholder agreements, state contracts & investment disputes, and utility/public service tariffs, among others.

International Arbitration. He is one of only five lawyers worldwide ranked in the top band of international arbitration practitioners for Latin American business disputes by Chambers Latin America 2024 and is ranked as one of the top 10 international arbitration practitioners in the United States by Chambers USA 2023.

Astigarraga has held a variety of leadership positions in the field of international arbitration. He was one of ten Americans initially appointed by the U.S. Government to advise the NAFTA Commission on the development of international arbitration and dispute resolution in the region. He served on the ICC’s Commission on Arbitration for years, and co-chaired one of its Task Forces. He served as Vice President of the London Court of International Arbitration, having been appointed to successive five-year terms on the Court. He has chaired, among other things, the International Bar Association’s worldwide Task Force on the Guidelines for Arbitrator Conflicts of Interest and the Americas’ Initiative of the Institute for Transnational Arbitration, which seeks to promote the use of international arbitration in the Americas through education and training. He successfully led the effort to have the Florida Bar authorize non-Florida lawyers to handle international arbitrations in Florida and personally argued the petition before the Florida Supreme Court. He is a founder and director of the Asociación Latinoamericana de Arbitraje.

His practice extends beyond Latin American disputes. He has lectured across the globe on arbitration topics, including in Europe, Latin America, China and elsewhere in Asia. Astigarraga has served as sole arbitrator, co-arbitrator or chair before the International Chamber of Commerce, the London Court of International Arbitration, the International Center for Dispute Resolution, and the American Arbitration Association, among others.

International Litigation. With roots as a commercial litigator in U.S. courts and many years of experience, Astigarraga defends and prosecutes substantial business disputes in state and federal courts in the U.S. He is listed in Best Lawyers of America for commercial litigation. He served as an officer of the Civil Procedure Rules Committee of the Florida Bar and has lectured extensively on U.S. litigation issues, including to groups such as the corporate counsel section of the Law Society of England.

Management Of Foreign Disputes. With his intimate knowledge of foreign systems, rules and culture, Astigarraga handles complex business disputes overseas that have sensitive political, criminal and regulatory ramifications. He is regularly engaged to oversee local counsel in foreign jurisdictions, devising the overall strategy in such cases. Astigarraga has lectured abroad on a variety of topics pertinent to cross-border disputes, including the “Impact of Culture on the Resolution of Disputes.”

International Law. The U.S. Department of State designated him to represent the United States as an expert at the Organization of American States’ Conference on Private International Law. The World Bank engaged him to conduct an assessment of Latin American insolvency systems, which he co- authored and the World Bank published. The University of Miami School of Law’s Inter-American Law Review honored him for his contributions in the field of international law, awarding him its “Lawyer of the Americas” Award. Astigarraga has long been active in efforts to promote commercial law reform and modernization in the Americas, including through service for many years as Vice Chair of the Board of the National Law Center for Interamerican Free Trade. 

José is the editor of the Global Arbitration Review/Latin Lawyer Guide to Arbitration in Latin America 2022.

1. Legal 500 Latin America 2021
   
2. Legal 500 Latin America 2024
   
3. Chambers USA 2022
   
4. Chambers USA 2022
   
5. Chambers Global 2020
   
6. Legal 500 USA 2022
7. Chambers US 2023
   
8. Chambers Global 2022
   
9. Chambers USA 2023
   
10. Chambers Latin America 2020
    
11. Chambers Latin America 2018
    
12. Legal 500 2020