Simon Navarro

SIMON NAVARRO GONZALEZ focuses on international arbitration and litigation, with an emphasis on U.S., Latin America, and Spain. He is a trusted adviser to companies, C-suites and governments on issues beyond disputes, devising complex strategies to help them achieve their business goals.

With over 20 years of experience in the Americas and Europe, Simon has acted as counsel and arbitrator in some of the most complex, high-value commercial, and investment treaty arbitrations, both ad hoc and under the rules of the major arbitral institutions. He has advised in a broad range of industries, including oil and gas, renewable energy, banking and insurance, M&A transactions, construction, maritime, infrastructure, airports, and concession contracts. Simon has extensive experience, as counsel and arbitrator, in cases involving projects or parties from Latin America, under the substantive laws of the U.S., UK, Spain, and most Latin American jurisdictions, including Mexico, Colombia, Costa Rica, Panamá, Chile, Perú, Argentina, Honduras, Brazil, Venezuela, and Bolivia. He has led dozens of multi-party arbitrations involving States or State-owned entities.

Simon is currently representing clients in various international arbitrations, including one of the largest oil and gas cases in the world, the largest NAFTA claim against Mexico, and a combined strategy of disputes leveraging investor-state arbitration, commercial arbitration, and international trade claims. He also has extensive experience in litigation in support of arbitration, and is currently representing a sovereign State in award enforcement proceedings in the U.S., in what has been reported as one of “Four International Arbitration Cases to Watch for 2025” by Law360. He also successfully represented a client in the annulment of an ICC award by the High Court in London due to lack of jurisdiction of the arbitral tribunal, which was only the second successful challenge under those grounds in the past five years before that court. This achievement led to his selection as a runner-up for “Litigator of the Week” by The American Lawyer’s Litigation Daily.

Simon has been named as one of “Latin America’s 100 Lawyers” by Latinvex —which included only 10 arbitration practitioners— and has been honored by Chambers Latin America for his work in International Arbitration - International Counsel (2025), where he received praise for his “global outlook with a hands-on approach and attention to detail” (2025). He has also been recognized as a “Future Star” by Benchmark Litigation (2024–2025), a “Future Leader” by Who’s Who Legal in the U.S., a “Next Generation Partner” (2024–2025) by Legal 500 Latin America, and a “Rising Star” at the annual meeting of the International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution.

Simon has dual training in civil and common law, is licensed to practice in New York and Spain, and is bilingual in English and Spanish. He earned law degrees from Instituto de Empresa (IE Law School), where he was ranked first in his class, and Columbia Law School, where he was awarded the James Kent Honors for outstanding academic achievement. Simon is also a professor of Advocacy at IE Law School’s LLM on International Dispute Resolution. He regularly participates in panels on current arbitration topics organized by various institutions, including Columbia Law School, Harvard Law School, NYIAC, and others.

• A Canadian company in the largest ever NAFTA investor-state claim against Mexico (in excess of US$2.4 billion).
• A combined strategy leveraging investor-state arbitration, commercial arbitration, and international trade claims in connection with a public concession in Mexico.   
• A European telecommunications company in ICSID arbitration against a Latin American state over the reversion of assets associated with a concession. Claims in excess of US$400 million.
• British and Spanish investors in an investor-state case against the state of Colombia in connection with a toll-road concession, and the inter-related commercial arbitration against the state-owned entity.
• A U.S. private equity firm in an ICC arbitration in connection with one of the largest real estate transactions ever conducted in Europe, in excess of €8 billion, and involving more than 3,000 individual claims.   
• A Peruvian company in the enforcement proceedings of an award before United States courts.  
• A Canadian company in an ICC arbitration in connection with a shareholder dispute over the ownership of the shares and the proceeds from a public concession in a Latin American country.
• A Latin American state in an ICSID arbitration proceedings against a Spanish investor.  
• An Asian company in an ICC arbitration against a Latin American state in connection with the exploitation of the largest iron ore deposit in the world.
• A European company in national and international disputes concerning expropriatory measures adopted by a Latin American state.
• A Brazilian company in two AAA arbitrations involving a joint venture to transport iron ore in Brazil.
• A U.S. private equity manager in an ICC arbitration regarding the early withdrawal of funds by investors.
• A Spanish construction company in commercial arbitration involving a put option agreement over the shares of a joint venture.
• Two European oil and gas companies in an UNCITRAL arbitration in connection with an LNG project in a North African country.
• An ICDR arbitration involving a sale and purchase agreement and a put option agreement over the shares of a U.S. tracking devices company.

*Some of the above matters were handled prior to joining Sidley.