Alvaro Jara eng
Álvaro Jara
Lawyer at WAGEMANN Lawyers & Engineers.
As a member of the WAGEMANN team, he provides legal counsel, support services and strategic contractual management regarding engineering and construction projects, in Chile and Central America.
These projects include the construction of infrastructure for copper mines both in the initial phase as well as during operation, the execution of wind farms, private building projects and the improvement of electrical substations. In addition, his experience includes the energy, public concessions and industrial infrastructure sectors.
He has also participated in the preparation and analysis of technical-contractual diagnostic reports, as well as claims and requests for compensation within the framework of infrastructure projects, such as the construction of highways in Chile and the building of hospitals in Central America, among others.
He has also served as a trial lawyer on behalf of national and international companies in construction arbitrations conducted before the Arbitration and Mediation Center of the Santiago Chamber of Commerce (CAM Santiago). He also served as a secretary to an arbitral tribunal in arbitrations administered by CAM Santiago.
In 2020, together with WAGEMANN partner Elina Mereminskaya, he co-authored the paper “Should the Law Foresee the Unforeseeable? The Unpredictable Trends in Chile in the Face of the Covid-19 Pandemic” (or in its original title Should the Law Foresee the Unforeseeable? The Unforeseeable Trends in Chile in View of the Covid-19 Pandemic), published in September 2020 by Construction Law International, the journal of the International Bar Association (IBA), which addressed the challenges of the construction sector in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic.
- Attorney-at-Law, University of Chile.
- Languages: Spanish, English and basic Italian.
Fernando Landeros eng
Fernando Landeros
Head Partner of WAGEMANN | Consulting
Architect with more than 16 years of experience in the fields of Construction Law, he has participated as an expert and advisor in ongoing projects, Dispute Board, arbitrations and trials in Chile and Latin America.
He has collaborated in the resolution of disputes in numerous cases, contributing from a technical point of view with an emphasis on delay analysis and quantum of damages, according to international standards. This experience includes the fields of construction of infrastructure, contract administration and claims analysis in engineering and construction.
He has provided testimony and statement as an expert in numerous arbitrations and trials, in Chile and abroad, preparing expert reports requested by the parties or by the courts themselves. This experience includes CAM arbitrations; ordinary trials; ICC arbitrations, and UNCITRAL arbitrations in Chile, Paraguay, Peru, Colombia, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, among others.
Furthermore, he has also provided services in multiple projects, including claim and contract management, technical consulting, and expert opinions in more than 90 cases of disputes between owners and contractors -for a total amount of over $3,000 MUSD per year-, and which include mining, industrial, port, energy, real estate, hospital, sports, railway and road works, among others.
Within the framework of controversies, he has participated before technical panels and Dispute Boards, presenting requests for rulings regarding situations that have generated delays in the execution of works, and the quantification of damages. This experience includes presentations before the Technical Panel of Concessions of the Ministry of Public Works (MOP Chile) and several Dispute Boards for FIDIC contracts.
He has also been appointed member of Dispute Boards for projects in Chile and abroad.
Fernando was highlighted by the Leaders League international ranking in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 in the category of “Litigation support in Construction & engineering”.
- Architect, University of Chile.
- Former Member of the Infrastructure Committee of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Chile (Camacoes).
- Coordinator of the 2020-2021 Construction Contract Group of the Latin American Construction Association (ALDEC).
- Member of the Construction Law Chilean Society.
- Member of the Association of Architects of Chile.
- 2022 – Member of Dispute Board in power generation project in northern Chile.
- 2022 – Expert witness for arbitration of a highway Construction Contract (Colombia).
- 2021- Expert witness for arbitration for Construction Contract of Women’s Hospital (Burundi – Africa).
- 2021 – Expert opinion in ordinary lawsuit for the construction of a Highway Interconnection Contract between Temuco and Padre Las Casas (Chile).
- 2020- Expert witness in arbitration for the Construction of Route PY-06 (Paraguay).
- 2020 – Expert witness in arbitration for the Construction of the Regional Hospital of San Miguel (El Salvador).
- 2019- Advisor to the Ministry of Public Works and Communications of Paraguay. Main Transport Line System – BTR – Main Corridor Sections 2 and 3. Contract amount: MUSD 45 (Paraguay).
- 2019- Expert opinion for arbitration in Peru for Contract for the supply and installation of fireproofing materials. Amount claimed: MSD 6 (Peru).
- 2019 – Expert opinion for arbitration for the Construction of the Concession Ruta 5 Norte, Segment La Serena – Vallenar. Amount in dispute: MUSD 25 (Chile).
- 2019 – Consultant for the Contractor in contract management. Linares Hospital. Amount of contract: USD 100 M.
- 2019 – Consultant for the Contractor in Technical Survey. Construction of the Antofagasta Hospital. Amount of contract: USD 100 M.
- 2018 – Consultant for the Contractor in contract management. Development project in Santiago of Chile. Amount of contract: USD 80 M.
- 2018 – Consultant for the Contractor in contract management. Underground works project for reservoir in Arica, Chile. Amount of contract: USD 5 M.
- 2018 – Consultant for the Owner in contract management. Oil co-gen plant and refinery project in Concón, Chile. Amount of contract: USD 136 M.
- 2018 – Consultant for the Owner in contract management, gas treatment plant, oil refinery project in Concepción, Chile. Amount of contract: USD 12 M.
- 2018 – Consultant for the Owner in contract drafting. Industrial project in Concepción, Chile. Amount of project: USD 1,200 M.
- 2017 – Consultant for the Contractor in contract management. State-run project Regional Hospital of Quillota, Chile. Amount of project: USD 100 M.
- 2017 – Consultant for the Contractor in negotiation and subsequent arbitration proceeding due to higher project costs of leaching piles construction projects in Antofagasta, Chile. Amount of claim: USD 4 M.
- 2017 – Consultant for the Owner in contract closure. Electromechanic assembly and piping of a cardboard plant in Maule, Chile. Amount under dispute: USD 15 M.
- 2015 – Performer of survey required by the arbitration court in the proceedings against the Chilean Ministry of Public Works over the Concession “Camino de la Fruta”, Chile. Claimed amount: USD 40 M.
- 2013 – Performer of survey required by the courts during the proceedings against the State of Chile over the Construction of the La Reina Military Hospital, Chile. Claimed amount: USD 70 M.
- Chilean chapter of “FIDIC Contracts in the Americas: A Practical Guide to Application” (2023), with Elina Mereminskaya and Alex Wagemann.
- Latin Lawyer Regulator – Construction Chile, with Alex Wagemann and Elina Mereminskaya, 2020-2021.
- Former head of the Contractual Engineering Division of IDIEM, University of Chile.
- Training in Practical Use of FIDIC Contracts – Santiago, Chile.
- Training in management of Dispute Board, Dispute Resolution Board Foundation – Santiago, Chile.
- Course “Arbitration and Dispute Settlement”, Faculty of Law, Pontifical Catholic University of Chile.
- Course “ICC-FIDIC International construction contracts and the resolution of disputes” – Bogota, Colombia.
- Course “Practice and contractual aspects of underground construction works”.
- Course “Advanced project leadership with PMI standards”
- Languages: Spanish and English
Carmen Gloria Valdes eng
Carmen Gloria Valdés
Chief of Administration and Finances at WAGEMANN | Consulting.
Since 2013, she has been in charge of the administration processes of the company.
She is also in charge of coordinating finance management, relationship with suppliers and clients, as well as labor management and human capital development.
- Business Administrator. Institute of Business Training (IFE).
- Architect, Finis Terrae University
- Languages: Spanish and English.
Hector Zuñiga eng
Héctor Zúñiga
Civil Engineer at WAGEMANN | Consulting.
As leader of WAGEMANN‘s expert and technical studies team, he has concentrated his activity on the preparation of forensic analysis reports due to project delays and assessment of damages.
Some of these projects include the construction of roads and highways in Chile, Paraguay and Costa Rica, the building of hospitals in El Salvador, industrial infrastructure in Peru and manufacturing infrastructure in Nicaragua.
As an expert witness, he has participated in depositions for arbitrations regarding infrastructure works in Chile and various Latin American countries, under ICC and UNCITRAL rules.
He has also acted as technical advisor in cases of contract disputes regarding construction projects, generating studies on the analysis of changes in the originally agreed technical conditions that had caused variations in time and costs.
He also excels in the application of internationally recognized methods for the forensic analysis of delays and disruptions.
Prior to joining WAGEMANN, he worked as project manager in the Contractual Engineering Division of the Research and Development Center of the University of Chile (IDIEM), developing various technical studies requested as a result of contractual disputes.
He has almost 20 years of experience in the technical inspection of works, development, management and coordination of projects and technical studies regarding contractual disputes.
- Civil Constructor, University of Santiago de Chile.
- Training course “The importance of time in infrastructure projects: Analysis of delays and disruptions in the execution of the work”, University of Chile, May 2016.
- Training course “Drafting and preparation of claims”, University of Chile, February 2016.
- Microsoft Project tools course (spring PV6), University of Chile, October – December 2015.
- Course on “Advanced Project Management”, University of Chile, November 2015.
- Course on “Basic Project Management”, Universidad de Chile, 2013.
- Seminar on “High performance concrete”, Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, 2003.
- Diploma in “Mechanics and soil quality control”, Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, 2003.
Alex Wagemann eng
Alex Wagemann
Founding partner of WAGEMANN | Consulting
He has focused his professional career on providing consultancy services to large companies in engineering, construction and services contracts covering such areas as mining, power generation, manufacturing, public works and concessions. He holds both a broad legal knowledge and an encompassing technical outlook. This unique combination of skills has enabled him to participate in important infrastructure projects both in Chile and abroad.
With more than 25 years of experience, he has led multiple project planning, bidding, and contracting processes; risk analysis; contract and claims management; expert opinions, Dispute Boards, expert reports, and arbitrations. Over this last period of time, his professional focus has been oriented towards providing expert support and directing multidisciplinary teams with experience in the indicated areas.
Since 2018, he acts as the Chairman of the Construction Contracts Working Group at the Confederation of International Contractors’ Associations (CICA), an organization whose members represent 57% of the specific PIB of the Construction Industry. Its main task is to promote and propose improvements to construction contracts on a global scale, as well as the most widespread international construction standards, specially the FIDIC models, where he acted as Friendly Reviewer of the Green Book and is currently part of Working Group No. 9 on Subcontracts – and NEC Contracts.
Furthermore, he is a member of the Board of Directors of the Latin American Association of Construction Law (ALDEC), of the Dispute Boards Committee of the Spanish Arbitration Center (CEA), of the Construction Law group of the International Bar Association (IBA) and of the Dispute Resolution Board Foundation (DRBF). Locally, he has been a founding member and member of the Board of Directors of the Chilean Society of Construction Law, National Counsel of the Chilean Chamber of Construction (CChC) and former president of the Client-Contractor Working Group of said organization, a position in which he served for seven years.
He has participated as co-author of two books in his field of specialty: “Contracting and Contract Management Strategy – Investment Projects” (2015, Engineers Institute of Chile) and “Construction Law: A theoretical and practical analysis” (2017, Editorial DEN). At the same time, he has written a number of columns and articles on technical/legal conflicts in infrastructure projects, published on domestic and foreign media.
In recent years, he has profiled himself as speaker at various international congresses on Construction Law in America and Europe.
In 2019 and 2020, Who´s Who Legal has distinguished him as one of the 12 Leading Individuals in Latin America in the Construction category. Additionally, he was selected by Latin Lawyer for two consecutive years: in 2019 to prepare, together with Elina Mereminskaya, the chapter on References for Construction in Chile; and in 2020 and 2021, to develop the Regulator edition of Construction in Chile, together with the firm’s partners Elina Mereminskaya and Fernando Landeros.
Within the academic field, he is a professor of the Engineer Faculty of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, lecturing in the Construction Management Master’s Program (MAC), the Diploma Course in Contract Management and the Diploma Course in Advanced Management and Project Leadership, on subjects such as contract modalities for engineering and construction, contract management, alternate dispute resolution methods, and claim management.
He has also been a professor in the specialization course on Dispute Resolution Boards given by the Lima Chamber of Commerce and the Peruvian Society of Construction Law and in the Projekmanagement course of the Technical University of Dresden (Germany).
- Attorney-at-law, University of Chile.
- Master in International Construction – University of Stuttgart, Germany.
- Diploma in Supply Chain Management (purchases and contracts), Industrial Engineering Department, University of Santiago.
- Diploma in Organizational Leadership, Industrial Engineering Department, University of Chile.
- International Adjudicator (Dispute Board) of the Dispute Resolution Center of the Colegio Federado de Ingenieros y Arquitectos de Costa Rica.
- International Adjudicator (Dispute Board) of the Arbitration and Mediation Center of the Chamber of Commerce of El Salvador.
- International Adjudicator (Dispute Board) of the Arbitration and Mediation Center ANKAWA International.
- Member of the list of Dispute Boards of the Arbitration and Mediation Center (CAM) of the Santiago Chamber of Commerce (CCS).
- Member of the panel of experts of the Mining Arbitration and Mediation Center (CAMMIN).
- International Adjudicator of the Lima Chamber of Commerce (CCL) Arbitration Center.
- Member of the general arbitration list of the Arbitration and Mediation Center (CAM) of the Santiago Chamber of Commerce (CCS).
- Chairman of the Construction Contracts Working Group at the Confederation of International Contractors’ Associations (CICA).
- Member of the Infrastructure Committee of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Chile (Camacoes).
- Board member of the Latin American Association of Construction Law (ALDEC).
- Former Director of the Chilean Society of Construction Law.
- Former National Councilor and Chairman of the Principal-Contractor Task Force of the Chilean Construction Chamber (CChC).
- Member of the Dispute Resolution Board Foundation (DRBF).
- Member of the Construction Law Group of the International Bar Association (IBA).
- Member of the Contract Management Commission of the Engineers Institute of Chile.
- Member of the Experts Committee of Implementation of Dispute Boards for public works contracts in Chile.
- Professor of the Master’s Program in Construction Management (MAC) – Pontifical Catholic University of Chile.
- Professional selected by the Dispute Resolution Board Foundation to act as Chair of Dispute Boards in the Olympic Games of Rio 2016.
- Professor of the Diploma Course in Project Management – Pontifical Catholic University of Chile.
- Languages: Spanish, English and basic German.
Daniel Reinaga eng
Daniel Reinaga
Civil Engineer at WAGEMANN | Consulting.
As part of the WAGEMANN team, he has specialized in the development of technical reports for owners and contractors regarding the assessment of impacts in time and work programs, and the evaluation of higher, as well as additional costs due to the loss of productivity.
In this field, he has advised large infrastructure companies in Chile, within the framework of construction projects for hospitals, highways, reservoirs and cogenerators, among others.
He has also participated in the preparation of reports for engineering and construction companies in Latin America, including the construction of hospitals in El Salvador, road works in Paraguay and industrial infrastructure in Nicaragua and Peru, among others.
During his activity at WAGEMANN, he has provided technical consulting services and given his expert opinion in more than 30 dispute cases.
Prior to joining WAGEMANN, he worked as a project consultant in the Research and Development Center of the University of Chile (IDIEM). Along with generating reports associated with contractual claims for owners and contractors, he presented multiple expert opinions requested by Courts and Conciliatory Commissions.
He also served as a Project Engineer at the DICTUC which is part of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, for projects requested by the Center of Excellence for The Quality of Construction (CECC) and the Service for Quality in Construction (Secal).
He also has extensive know-how regarding the public sector, thanks to his previous professional experience working at the Comptroller General of the Republic of Chile as a member of the Technical Control of Works Division (currently Infrastructure and Regulation Division), in charge of technical audits regarding construction, use and exploitation of public works.
- Civil Engineer, with a specialty in Construction Engineering and Management, Pontifical Catholic University of Chile.
- Course of Projects Leadership PMI, Advanced Level, IDIEM (2013).
- Course “Primavera P6” (2016).
- Languages: Spanish and English.
Claudio Inostroza eng
Claudio Inostroza
Lawyer at WAGEMANN Lawyers & Engineers.
He is a professional with experience in the National and International Arbitration field, focused on the settlement of disputes related to project construction.
He has a solid background in National and International Public Law and Constitutional Law.
He worked at Bofill Mir & Álvarez Jana Abogados Law firm. He was a graduate teaching assistant in several courses at the Faculty of Law of the Adolfo Ibáñez University.
- Attorney-at-law, Adolfo Ibáñez University.
Francisca Mariscal eng
Francisca Mariscal
Lawyer at WAGEMANN Lawyers & Engineers.
His practice focuses on the contractual and strategic management of infrastructure construction contracts and civil works in general, such as the industrial grid of power plants, substations and transmission lines in Chile.
He has also participated in advising contractors for projects regarding design and construction of high complexity hospitals in the country.
As a member of WAGEMANN, he has drafted numerous claims and administrative appeals and entered requests for statements before the Comptroller General of the Republic of Chile.
During 2020, he co-authored two legal analysis articles, together with Alex Wagemann. The first, entitled “The Execution of the Public Works Contract in South America Before COVID-19: Possible Alternatives to Maintain Economic Balance or Terminate It Early”, published in the journal “Law & Society” of the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru (PUCP) and, the second, “Public Works and Dispute Boards: A Pending Debate in South America“, published in the journal “Construction Law International” of the International Bar Association (IBA).
He has recently been accepted by King’s College London to obtain a Master´s degree in Construction Law & Dispute Resolution, beginning his studies in late 2021.
- Attorney-at-Law, Pontifical Catholic University of Chile.
- Master of Laws (c), with a Specialization in International and Comparative Law, University of Chile.
- Graduate Certificate in International Contracts and Business Law, American University of Washington College of Law.
- “Risk sharing or how the implementation of FIDC standards in Chile would decrease conflict in construction”. Construlegal Newsletter, August 2019.
- Training in Contract Management, Pontifical Catholic University of Chile.
- Training in Practical Use of FIDIC Contracts, Lámbal Formación (Spain).
- Training in Project Technical Office Management, Technological Development Corporation of the Construction Chilean Chamber (CChC).
- Languages: Spanish and English
Elina Mereminskaya eng
Elina Mereminskaya
Lawyer and partner of WAGEMANN Lawyers & Engineers.
She has focused her professional practice on providing consultancy services to Chilean, Latin-American and European companies in construction, infrastructure, mining and energy projects, in both public and private sectors. She is experienced in the field of dispute prevention and claim management in construction contracts, excelling also as a specialist in arbitration.
Before joining WAGEMANN, she worked as Senior Lawyer in the Litigation and International Arbitration Group at Bofill Mir & Álvarez Jana Abogados. Prior to that, she worked as Counsel for International Arbitration in the Center for Arbitration and Mediation of the Santiago Chamber of Commerce (CAM Santiago).
Between 2017 and 2021, she served as a member of the Board of CAM Santiago and as a member of its Ethics Committee. Since 2016, she has been part of its list of referees. In addition, she belongs to the list of arbitrators of various arbitration centers, such as the Lima Chamber of Commerce, the International Center of Dispute Resolution (ICDR) and the Center for Conciliation and Arbitration of Panama, among others.
Between 2004 and 2018 she was a graduate and postgraduate professor of National and International Arbitration, International Commercial Arbitration, International Contracting and Private International Law at the Faculty of Law of the University of Chile. She is currently a professor in the Diploma Courses in Construction Law at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile and at the Los Andes University.
Elina Mereminskaya is FCIArb (Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, CIArb).
In 2018 and 2019, she was highlighted by Who’s Who Legal (WWL) as Future Leader in Arbitration. In 2020, she was distinguished in two WWL rankings as one of the expert lawyers in construction law in Chile, as well as one of the best four specialist lawyers in the Arbitration ranking. In 2021, she was also highlighted by WWL, twice again: as Thought Leader in Construction, as well as Global Leader in Arbitration (in the latter category, as one of the top five experts in the country).
In 2021, The Legal 500 included her in the Arbitration Power List – Latin America.
Her most relevant publications are the book International Commercial Arbitration in Chile: Challenges and Development, Thomson Reuters, 2014; “Latin Lawyer References – Construction Chile”, 2019, and “The formation of consent in the contract for the construction of private works: the role of clarifications and responses to inquiries”, Derecho de Construcción, 2017, both with Alex Wagemann, and “Suggested Policies for Tribunal-Appointed Experts in Construction Disputes”, TDM Papers Special Issue on Non-Legal Adjudicators in National and International Disputes, 2017, with Fernando Landeros.
- Doctor in Law (Ph.D.), University of Göttingen, Germany.
- Master of Laws, University of Göttingen, Germany.
- Attorney-at-law, Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University (former Kaliningrad State University), Russia.
- FIDIC contracts practical use (module 1 FIDIC).
- Variation and claim management and dispute settlement (module 2 FIDIC).
- Dispute Board Experienced User & Practitioner Workshop DBRF.
- Specialty in Construction Law, Los Andes University.
- Member of the list of arbitrators of the International Center of Dispute Resolution (ICDR).
- Member of the list of international arbitrators and international adjudicators of the Lima Chamber of Commerce Arbitration Center (CCL).
- Member of the list of arbitrators of the Center for Analysis and Resolution of Conflicts of the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru.
- Member of the list of arbitrators and alternate member of the Court of AMCHAM Peru.
- Member of the list of arbitrators of the Conciliation and Arbitration Center of Panama.
- Member of the Arbitration Center of the Montevideo Stock Exchange (Uruguay).
- Member of the Ethics Committee of the Santiago Chamber of Commerce.
- Vice President of the Infrastructure Committee of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Chile (Camacoes).
- Vice President of the Project Initiation Subcommittee of the International Bar Association (IBA).
- Vice President of the Americas Initiative of the Institute for Transnational Arbitration (ITA).
- Member of the Chilean Society of Construction Law.
- Languages: Russian, Spanish, English and German.
- Latin Lawyer Regulator – Construction Chile, with Alex Wagemann and Fernando Landeros, 2020-2021.
- “Should the law foresee the unforeseeable? The unforeseeable trends in Chile in view of the Covid-19 pandemic”, with Álvaro Jara, published in Construction Law International Magazine, Vol 15 N°3, September 2020, of the International Bar Association, London, United Kingdom.
- “Corruption in state arbitration in the Republic of Peru: cases, lessons and possible solutions”, with Claudio Inostroza, published in The Russian Arbitration Journal, January-February 2020 edition.
- “Latin Lawyer References – Construction Chile”, with Alex Wagemann, 2019.
- “When the seat of arbitration is not the place of arbitration and the lex arbitriis not the law of the seat of arbitration”, Lima Arbitration, 2018.
- “The formation of consent in the contract for the construction of private works: the role of clarifications and responses to inquiries”, Derecho de Construcción, Editorial Metropolitana, 2017, with Alex Wagemann, 2017.
- “Suggested Policies for Tribunal-Appointed Experts in Construction Disputes”, TDM Papers Special Issue on Non-Legal Adjudicators in National and International Disputes, with Fernando Landeros, 2017.
- “Third-party funding of litigation and its arrival in Chile”, CAM Santiago Newsletter, Nº 3, 2017.
- “Long live the arbitration! Once it has been born”, International Law Current Issues. In honor of Mario Ramírez Necochea,
- In collaboration with Andrés Jana, attorney-at-law, “International Commercial Arbitration in Latin America: Myths and Realities”, Journal of International Arbitration, 2015.
- “The path is made as you go: Appeal for nullity in Latin-American case-law”, International Commercial Arbitration. Recognition and Execution of foreign arbitration judgments and awards, Organization of American States (OAS), 2014.
- International commercial arbitration in Chile: Challenges and Development, Thompson Reuters, Santiago, Chile, 2014.
- “Santiago Arbitration and Mediation Center (CAM Santiago)”, World Arbitration Reporter, JurisNet, 2014.
- “Results of the Survey on the Use of Soft Law Instruments in International Arbitration”, Kluwer Arbitration Blog, 2014.
- “Application of an arbitration agreement to a non-signatory party in Chilean law: Reality and prospects”, Commercial Law Department Journal, University of Chile, 2014.