Herbert Smith Freehills strengthens its Latin America practice

Anglo-Australian law firm Herbert Smith Freehills has promoted lawyer Florencia Villaggi to Of Counsel, specialising in international arbitration, as part of the firm’s Latin America Group.



Villaggi has represented clients in several complex international arbitrations under the rules of the all of the major arbitral institutions. Her experience encompasses both commercial and investment arbitration, and she has a particular focus on the energy sector. 



She graduated as a lawyer from the University of Buenos Aires Law School in 2007 and has postgraduate studies in oil & gas law and international arbitration from the University of Buenos Aires and Cornell Law School. She graduated with honours in a master’s degree in international dispute resolution from Queen Mary University of London in 2012.

Prior to joining Herbert Smith Freehills, Villaggi worked as an associate in the Argentininian law firms Pérez Alati, Grondona, Benitez, Arntsen & Martinez de Hoz, and Díaz Bobillo, Richard & Sigwald.


The firm’s Latin America Group is led from its New York office and coordinates the activities of lawyers worldwide to develop the practice in the region.

The Latin America Group is headed by Christian Leathley, who is also US head of International Arbitration for the firm, which also announced this month that another key member of the team, Pedro Rufino Carvalho, has been promoted to partner, effective May 1.

The team comprises native Spanish and Portuguese speakers, including lawyers from the region who have worked in private practice, in-house and for governmental institutions.