Alexander A. Yanos

• Obtained a finding of unlawful expropriation in a $1.2 billion ICSID arbitration on behalf of a Canadian mining company against Venezuela following the nationalization of the company’s mining investments. The case was one of the largest investment treaty cases ever filed.
• Obtained a partial award in favor of one of the world’s largest energy companies and its downstream subsidiary in an ICC arbitration brought by Venezuela’s state-owned energy company.
• Obtained a decision of the U.S. Supreme Court reinstating his client’s award against Argentina involving a breach of a bilateral investment treaty.
• Obtained a decision holding that Venezuela unlawfully expropriated the oil investments of one of the world’s largest energy companies.
• Obtained a decision holding that Ecuador unlawfully expropriated the investments of a U.S. retailer following Ecuador’s imposition of a 99% tax on its revenues.
• Obtained an award in favor of an international energy company in an ICSID arbitration against Argentina involving violation of the France–Argentina bilateral investment treaty.
• Represented Lithuania in an ICSID arbitration involving concession claims.

As co-leader of Alston & Bird’s International Arbitration & Dispute Resolution Team, Alex Yanos focuses on complex international disputes in court and before arbitral tribunals.

Alex’s arbitration practice includes commercial, financial, and treaty-based disputes, particularly in the energy and mining sectors and in Latin America. He obtained a finding of unlawful expropriation in one of the largest investment treaty cases ever filed before the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) in an arbitration against Venezuela. In another decision against a sovereign state, the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the award of a British multinational oil and gas company client against Argentina. He has also obtained results for clients in disputes involving governments around the world. He has advocated for his clients before nearly every international arbitration tribunal, including the ICSID, International Chamber of Commerce, London Court of International Arbitration, American Arbitration Association, Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre, Inter-American Commercial Arbitration Commission, International Court of Justice, and Stockholm Chamber of Commerce.

Alex also has considerable experience representing clients in the securities, banking, antitrust, and insurance industries facing multijurisdictional disputes. He is fluent in six languages.

He has been ranked as one of the top international arbitration lawyers by Chambers USA, Chambers Global, and Chambers Latin America and recognized by The Legal 500 United States.

Languages

• French
• German
• Greek
• Russian
• Spanish

Bar Admissions

• New York
• District of Columbia (Not Admitted)

Education

• Columbia University (J.D., 1993)
• Princeton University (B.A., 1989)

Memberships