About

As a versatile international lawyer, Josefa Sicard-Mirabal has vast experience in international arbitration and international business transactions. Her multifaceted career spans across legal systems, cultures and languages.  She was named one of the “20 Leading Latinas in Business” by Hispanic Enterprise magazine and one of the “100 Most Influential Hispanics” by Hispanic Business magazine.

Ms. Sicard-Mirabal is an independent arbitrator and party counsel in arbitrations under international and regional institutional rules and ad hoc arbitrations under a variety of national laws. In the transactional sphere, she represents international and domestic clients in mergers and acquisitions, project finance, banking and securities matters in the construction, energy, telecommunications, consumer products and hotel industries. She is also a trained mediator.

She commenced her legal career as a judge in the Dominican Republic and continued her legal practice in the United States, first as an associate at the law firm of Thelen, Reid & Priest and then as a Of Counsel at Winston & Strawn and Greenberg Traurig.

Ms. Sicard-Mirabal is co-author of the book, Introduction to Investor-State Arbitration, with Yves Derains, Kluwer Law International, 2018. She has authored many articles, appeared on numerous television programs, domestic and international newspapers, and is a frequent speaker at conferences and seminars all over the world.

She is an adjunct professor of law at Fordham University School of Law in New York City teaching International Business Transactions, LL.M. International Arbitration Practicum, and Introduction to Investor-State Arbitration.

Ms. Sicard-Mirabal is a dual-qualified lawyer in New York State and the Dominican Republic. She is fully bilingual English/Spanish;  speaks French,  has working knowledge of Italian and Portuguese and basic Turkish.

Download CV (English) Download CV (Spanish)

Experience and Professional Background

Ms. Sicard-Mirabal has more than 25 years of international arbitration and transactional experience. She frequently serves as an arbitrator in disputes administered by international and regional arbitral institutions, as well as in ad hoc proceedings under a vast array of applicable laws. She has worked extensively with clients and entities in Asia, Latin America, the United States and Western Europe and has a particular focus on transactions and disputes stemming from joint venture and partnership agreements, distributor and supply agreements, intellectual property and license agreements, mergers and acquisitions, construction and engineering contracts, and telecommunications.

  1. Recent arbitrator appointments:

    • President, ICC arbitration involving a share purchase agreement between a Commonwealth of the Bahamas company and Honduran companies. Spanish language, Honduran law.
    • Sole arbitrator, Centro de Resolución Alternativa de Controversias de Santo Domingo (CRC), breach of contract between a Colombian company and a Dominican company. Spanish language, Dominican Republic law.
    • President, Centro de Arbitraje y Conciliación de Panama (CeCap) breach of joint venture agreement, between a Spanish company and a Panamanian company. Spanish language, Panamanian law.
    • President, Centro de Arbitraje y Conciliación de Panama (CeCap), breach of distribution agreement between Panamanian, Costa Rican and US entities. Spanish language, Panamanian law.
    • Co-arbitrator in an UNCITRAL arbitration, between a North American company and the Central American branch of an international organization, related to a lump sum contract for the construction of a hospital. Spanish language, UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts.
    • President, FINRA arbitration, unjust termination between a financial institution and an employee. English language, New York law.
    • President, FINRA arbitration, breach of contract. English language, New York law.
  2. Recent Counsel Cases include:

    • External advisor to a Cayman Islands energy company in an arbitration brought against a State agency and State for breach of contract under ICC Rules. Spanish language, Dominican Republic law.
    • Represented an Argentinian and Panamanian entities suing U.S. company for patent infringement in AAA arbitration. English language, New York law.
    • Represented a Dominican agent in an arbitration brought under and agency agreement by a UK shipper under Maritime Rules of Arbitration. English Language, Dominican law.
    • Represented an Italian party against a US party involving a breach of contract in the fashion industry. English language, United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods.
  3. Sanctions Committee of Interamerican Development Bank (IDB) Experience:

    • The Sanctions Committee (anti-corruption tribunal) is the second and final instance of the IDB’s Sanctions System adjudication process. The tribunal decides the appeals presented against the Sanctions Officer’s Determinations. (See https://www.iadb.org/en/sanctions-committee)
    • As a Member of the Sanctions Committee from 2010-2020, Josefa Sicard-Mirabal heard and decided on appeal, more than 45 cases stemming from IDB-bank loans for infrastructure projects in IDB member countries, including Bolivia, Costa Rica, Haiti, Paraguay, Peru, Spain, among others.
  4. Experience as a Judge

    • Ms. Sicard-Mirabal commenced her legal career as a Judge of a Small Claims Court and subsequently as Chief Justice of the Civil, Commercial and Labor Court in La Vega, Dominican Republic. During her eight-year tenure, she rendered hundreds of decisions on commercial, civil, and labor matters. She also had stint sittings as substitute judge at the Court of Appeals of the Judicial Department of La Vega.

Academia

Ms. Sicard-Mirabal is an adjunct professor of law at Fordham University School of Law in New York City. She teaches International Business Transactions, LL.M. International Arbitration Practicum and Introduction to Investor-State Arbitration. She has been a guest lecturer on international commercial and investment arbitration at several law schools including, Harvard University, Columbia University, Boston University, Northwestern University, the Law School at the Università degli Studi di Firenze, and La Sapienza – Università di Roma, Italy, and the Universidad de Montevideo, Uruguay, among others.

Professional Background

Ms. Sicard-Mirabal began her legal career as a judge in the Dominican Republic where she rendered a vast array of decisions on commercial, civil, and labor matters. She continued her legal practice in the United States, first as an associate at the law firm of Thelen, Reid & Priest and then as a Of Counsel at Winston & Strawn and Greenberg Traurig. Because of her language abilities and civil law and common law background, her practice focused on international business transactions as well as international litigation and dispute resolution.

Her experience includes having served for ten years as an External Member of the Sanctions Committee of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) (anti-corruption tribunal). The Sanctions Committee is the second-tier of the IDB Sanctions System. The Committee reviews and makes final decisions on cases concerning fraud and other Bank-prohibited practices committed by beneficiaries of IDB Bank loans for IDB-sponsored projects.

She was the Executive Director (formerly, Regional Director) of Arbitration and ADR for North America for the ICC International Court of Arbitration/SICANA, Inc. During the same period, she served as Director of Dispute Resolution Services of the United States Council for International Business, ICC-USA.

Ms. Sicard-Mirabal is a dual-qualified lawyer and is admitted to the bars of New York State and the Dominican Republic. After receiving a law degree from the Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra, Santiago, Dominican Republic, she continued her legal studies, attending the Foreign Lawyers Graduate Program at Fordham University School of Law in New York. Ms. Sicard-Mirabal is fully bilingual English/Spanish; speaks French and has working knowledge of Italian, Portuguese and basic Turkish.

Recognitions and Awards

Ms. Sicard-Mirabal was named one of the “20 Leading Latinas in Business” by Hispanic Enterprise magazine in its 2007 issue and one of the “100 Most Influential Hispanics” by Hispanic Business Magazine in its 2006 issue. In addition, she has received the following awards:

  • 2013 “Latino Trailblazer’s Award” from LatinoJustice
  • 2013 “Award for Excellence in Professional Achievements” from Dominican Week
  • 2011 “Professional Achievements Award” from the Presidency of the Dominican Republic
  • 2009 “Award for Professional Achievements” from APEC University and Dominican Week
  • 2008 “Award for Service to the International Legal Community” from the Dominican Bar Association
  • 2007 “Corporate Leadership Award” from the Dominican Women’s Development Center
  • 2006 “Latino Trendsetters Award” from DTM Magazine.

Presentations & Publications

Presentations 2017-2020

  • Expert witnesses, Peruvian Institute of Arbitration (IPA) International Conference (December 2020)
  • Conflicts of Interests, IPA, Peru (November 2020)
  • Conflicts of interests, Master Class 3 – CRECIG: Party Representation and Conflicts of Interest in international arbitration, Guatemala. (October 2020)
  • Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, Centro de Conciliación y Arbitraje de Panamá, CeCAP, Panama (September 2020)
  • Investment Arbitration in international negotiations, Cámara de Comercio y Producción de Santiago, Dominican Republic (August 2020)
  • Independence and impartiality in Arbitration, IPA, Peru (July 2020)
  • International Contracts & Dispute Resolution, Confindustria Toscana Sud, Siena, Italy. (July 2020)
  • ADR: Rethinking the Paradigm, Think Tank Peruvian Arbitration, Peru, (July 2020)
  • The Revision of Final Awards: when, if ever, is it acceptable? Moderator, 17TH ICC Miami Conference, Miami (November 2019)
  • Evolution of International Arbitration: moving towards a more efficient alternative, Santo Domingo Chamber of Commerce, Dominican Republic (November 2019)
  • Blockchain and Cryptocurrency 101: Its Impact on US and DR Markets, Moderator. Dominicans on Wall Street, New York (September 2019)
  • International arbitration panorama in the energy, mining and infrastructure sector, CeCap, Panama (July 2019)
  • International Contracts and Arbitration: Strategy and Analysis of the Mock Case, Program Director and speaker. Confindustria Toscana Sud, Siena, Italy (June 2019)
  • Quisqueya: Lo Bello y Lo Feo. Unpacking Our Identities, 13th Annual National Dominican Student Conference, Columbia University, New York (March 2019)
  • An exchange of judges of different regions sharing of their experience in applying the New York Convention in their jurisdictions, Judge representing the Dominican Republic, “New York Convention 60th Anniversary Conference”, Asian Academy of International Law, Hong Kong (September 2018)
  • Drafting Distribution Agreements, Confindustria Toscana Sud, Siena (June 2018)
  • The effect and consequences of the different approaches of common law and civil law to M&A and Joint Ventures agreements in arbitration cases, GAR Live Istanbul, Turkey (June 2018)
  • Cognitive bias in Arbitration, 4th ICC International Arbitration Forum in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (May 2018)
  • New trends in International Arbitration, ANJE Asociación Nacional de Jovenes Empresarios, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (May 2018)
  • Financial Literacy Primer, moderator, DOWS, New York (April 2018).
  • Roundtable discussion on Anti-Money Laundering, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and DR legal Breakthroughs in Foreign Investment, Moderator, DOWS, New York, (May 2018)
  • The New US Administration’s Policies: Potential impact on trade, investment, and local and global markets, Moderator, DOWS, New York (April 2017)

Publications

  • Introduction to Investor-State Arbitration, co-author Yves Derains, Kluwer Law International, 2018
  • Precedential Value of International Arbitral Awards, Contemporary Issues in International Arbitration and Mediation: The Fordham Papers, 2015
  • The Effect of Culture on International Mediation, co-author Rachel Clarke, Contemporary Issues in International Arbitration and Mediation: The Fordham Papers, 2014
  • The “Culturalization” of Multiparty Arbitration: Developing International Best Practices, co-author Rachel Clarke, World Arbitration and Mediation Review 2013, Vol. 7, No.2
  • Mandatory Rules: What’s a lawyer to do? Arbitration Advocacy in Changing Times: Twentieth Congress of the International Council of Commercial Arbitration (ICCA) in Rio de Janeiro 2010 link to ICCA recording