Biography
Pietro is an Associate at Signature Litigation with experience in public international law, investor-State arbitration, and international commercial arbitration.
He has advised and represented corporations, individuals, and States on matters of public international law before national and international courts and tribunals, as well as arbitral tribunals constituted under major arbitration rules (eg ICC, ICSID, LCIA, SCC, and UNCITRAL).
He is also often engaged in pro bono litigation involving human rights issues.
Before joining Signature Litigation, Pietro was an Associate at Morrison & Foerster LLP. Prior to entering private practice, he worked at the European Union Delegation to the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and at the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL).
Pietro is admitted to practice in Brazil and Portugal, and is a Registered Foreign Lawyer with the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) in England and Wales. He is fluent in Italian and Portuguese, and speaks Spanish.
Pietro is ranked in The Legal 500 UK 2022 guide as a Recognised Practitioner for Dispute Resolution: Commercial Litigation (Premium) and an Associate to Note for Dispute Resolution: International Arbitration. He is described as “very approachable” and someone who “stands out for his extreme knowledge of details of a case, his level of coordinating all process matters and very friendly attitude.”
Experience
Public International Law and Human Rights
- Petitioning an African court against an abortion ban in light of the State’s obligations under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and other human rights treaties.
- Representing individuals who seek leave to remain in the United Kingdom as stateless persons.
- Advising an African state on electoral best practices in light of its public international law obligations.
- Advising a non-profit organisation on strategic litigation before the courts of African state and before the East Africa Court of Justice on law reforms affecting the ability of the civil society in that state to self-organise as a non-profit entity.
- Working with the Alliance for Marriage in the Americas to ensure marriage equality through the Inter-American Human Rights System.
Investment Treaty Arbitration
- Advising a State on issues of investment treaty arbitration and bilateral investment treaties for an eventual drafting of a new Model BIT.
- Advising a Latin American company on the possibility of bringing an investment treaty claim against another Latin American State for indirect expropriation and FET violation.
International Commercial Arbitration
- Representing the Claimant in an ICC commercial arbitration concerning engineering and prototype agreements.
- Representing the Respondent in an ICC commercial arbitration concerning technology and procurement agreements.
- Counsel to the Respondent in a class action in a Middle-Eastern State trying to suspend the proceedings and enforce the arbitration clause.
- Drafting contractual dispute resolution provisions for a corporate client for an eventual arbitration under the auspices of the London Metal Exchange.
Litigation
- Acting as counsel to the Defendants in the English High Court in a Section 68 application to set aside an LCIA award.
- Counsel to the Respondent in a class action securities litigation.
Investigations
- Member of the US Department of Justice Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) Monitorship Team for a major Latin American engineering and construction group accused of bribing foreign public officials in more than ten countries.
- Managing an anti-money laundering investigation for an international management consulting firm prompted by the “Luanda Leaks”.
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