• Attorney – Universidad Privada de Santa Cruz de la Sierra (UPSA) – Bolivia

• Spanish
• English

Diego Villarroel is a partner at Ferrere and manages its operation in Bolivia. Also, he leads the Litigation & Arbitration, Banking and Antitrust teams.

In the arbitration area, he actively concentrates on analysis and planning of strategies and on conducting domestic and international arbitration (commercial and investment), advising local and international companies. In this context, he has experience in the application of the arbitration rules of the ICC, CAINCO and the National Chamber of Commerce of Bolivia.

In the judicial sector, he has broad experience in civil (ordinary and executive) and labor (benefit settlements, reinstatements) procedures. He also regularly represents clients in constitutional processes, such as amparos and unconstitutionality claims, deriving from different types of proceedings (civil, commercial and labor, inter alia).

In the antitrust field, he has advised local and foreign companies in the context of administrative procedures conducted by the regulator (AEMP) for alleged anticompetitive conducts by domestic and international clients. Likewise, it conducts training and preventive advice to companies in various fields to avoid the possible commission of anticompetitive conduct.

In the banking area, as Assistant Legal Manager he provided comprehensive legal advice to a major bank in Bolivia, its controlling company and related enterprises (securities broker and SAFI investment company) in multiple areas, particularly on regulatory aspects related to the financial system oversight authority (ASFI), corporate and contract matters, diverse types of financing transactions, securities markets, etc. Currently, he advises various international banks in a diverse range of financing operations. Likewise, he advises local and foreign banks on various regulatory and corporate matters of their operations in Bolivia.

Since 2018 he has been recognized and ranked by the British magazine The Legal 500. Currently, for the 2021 edition, it is recognized as a Rising Star in the area of dispute resolution. Likewise, in 2021 the IFLR1000 magazine recognized him as a Rising Star Partner.

Diego is very active in academia. He is the author of the book Arbitraje, Control Judicial y Orden Público (2017) and specialized articles on arbitration, antitrust and economic analysis of law. Likewise, he is a regular guest at conferences on arbitration and law & economics. Likewise, he is a professor of the subjects of Arbitration and ADR at the Franz Tamayo Private University (UNIFRAZ).

He graduated first in his class in law from the Private University of Santa Cruz (UPSA).