Jose F. Sanchez
The Grace Building
1114 Avenue of the Americas
32nd Floor
New York, New York 10036
Jose has acted as lead counsel on, and won, high-profile bet-the company cases and cases involving claims for several hundred million dollars. He is a trilingual lawyer with almost 20 years of experience handling +80 disputes in English, Spanish, and Portuguese around the world, including New York, Texas, Hong Kong, Japan, Switzerland, Spain, Mexico, Chile, Brazil, and Peru, among many others. Jose’s 16 years of experience practicing arbitration in New York, his previous years of experience practicing in a civil law jurisdiction, and his language skills, uniquely position him to represent clients in international disputes.
Jose has a strong reputation for obtaining, and defeating requests for, injunctive relief in high-stake arbitrations, and his seminal article on the standard for injunctive relief in international arbitration is cited around the world.
Since 2017, Jose has been ranked as a leading counsel in international arbitration by the most relevant publications, including Chambers and Partners Global, Chambers and Partners USA, Chambers and Partners Latin America, the Legal 500 US, the Legal 500 Latin America, Latinvex, and Latin Lawyer.
Jose also acts as arbitrator. He has sat as arbitrator approximately 15 times in cases handled by, among other institutions, the ICC, the PCA, and the AAA. Jose was a graduate of the first ever Arbitrator’s Academy for North America held by the International Chamber of Commerce.
Recent Construction & Infrastructure Disputes
The international consortium awarded the concession to build a major airport terminal in an arbitration involving claims in excess of $160 million against its contractor tasked with building the terminal
A government-owned entity in an arbitration involving claims in excess of $150 million against the international companies responsible for the construction works for the expansion and modernization of the largest oil refinery in the country
A government-owned entity in an arbitration involving claims in excess of $200 million against the Spanish contractor responsible for auxiliary and additional works concerning the expansion and modernization of the largest oil refinery in the country
An American energy company in an arbitration under Texas law involving claims in excess of $50 million concerning the construction of a floating LNG liquefaction facility
An American company and its local subsidiary in several arbitrations under New York law involving claims in excess of $100 million against its contractor tasked with building five separate power plants
Two North American companies in four arbitrations involving claims in excess of $300 million against an instrumentality of a sovereign regarding the construction of gas pipelines
The owner of a large-scale port terminal for the handling of oil imports and exports in Latin America in a multimillion dollar arbitration related to the construction of that terminal
An American military contractor in a multimillion dollar arbitration against a Latin American country related to the construction and maintenance of two warships
The Republic of Turkey in a multibillion dollar arbitration related to the construction of the largest infrastructure project in the country, involving Istanbul’s railway system
A European consortium of construction companies in a multimillion dollar arbitration against the Dominican Republic involving the construction and operation of a major highway
An American company in an arbitration under Texas law concerning claims in excess of $400 million dollars concerning alleged force majeure events excusing trades for the purchase and sale of natural gas
An American oil company in a multimillion dollar arbitration under Texas law concerning the management and operation of oil assets and contracts in Cameroon
The owner and developer of a large underground mining project in an arbitration concerning claims in excess of $140 million against the buyer of that project
An American oil company in several arbitration proceedings concerning claims in excess of $300 million against the buyer of its oil and gas subsidiaries in the US and Latin America for over $1.2 billion
A Spanish energy company in an arbitration concerning claims in excess of $400 million under New York and Spanish law against several European energy companies purchasers of LNG in the Caribbean and Europe
A Spanish energy company in an arbitration under New York law against a European energy company concerning discrimination in the sale of LNG in the Caribbean
A European energy company and its subsidiary in an arbitration against the sovereign with which it signed an oil production sharing agreement concerning claims in excess of $120 million under that agreement
An American energy company in an arbitration under New York law against a Jamaican corporation concerning force majeure claims affecting its LNG terminal in Jamaica
A Texan energy company and its subsidiary in an arbitration against an instrumentality of the sovereign with which it signed a concession agreement for oil exploration concerning force majeure claims impacting the exploration and the agreement
A US-listed company in an arbitration under Hong Kong law against BVI and Chinese companies concerning the control of the US-listed company
A pharmaceutical company in a US $1 billion dollar arbitration under Japanese law concerning the validity of a license agreement to collect royalties worldwide on certain patents
A Japanese manufacturer in a US $1 billion dollar arbitration under Illinois law concerning the dissolution of a multibillion dollar joint venture with an American conglomerate
The majority shareholder of a North American company with revenue of over US $1 billion in an arbitration under New York law over ownership and control of the company
A multinational financial-services company in a multimillion dollar arbitration concerning misappropriation of highly sensitive confidential information and related contractual claims
An American company in a multimillion dollar arbitration against a Brazilian licensee over licensing and indemnification rights
An American company in a multimillion dollar arbitration against a licensee in Colombia over licensing and manufacturing rights
An American company in a multimillion dollar arbitration against a licensee in the Dominican Republic over breach of the license agreement
The international consortium awarded the concession to build a major airport terminal in an arbitration involving claims in excess of $160 million against its contractor tasked with building the terminal
A US-listed company who sought an order by the arbitrator that its contractual counterpart terminate parallel proceedings against it in the British Virgin Islands
A US-listed company who sought an order by the arbitrator that its contractual counterpart terminate parallel proceedings against the company’s subsidiaries in the People’s Republic of China
An American company and its subsidiary opposing a request for interim relief from its contractor building five power plants, who sought to stop drawing on letters of credit
The majority shareholder of a North American company with revenue of over US $1 billion opposing a request for interim relief from a shareholder that, to take control of the company, sought orders directing the majority shareholder to drop parallel litigation proceedings with claims in excess of US $600 million
The owner of a large-scale port terminal for the handling of oil imports and exports opposing a request for interim relief from the contractor tasked with building that terminal who sought to stop drawing on letters of credit
The owner of a large underground mining project opposing a request from the buyer of that project who sought to prevent the owner from selling shares of numerous entities and transfer allegedly related assets worth over US $300 million
An American oil company who sold oil and gas companies for over $1.2 billion and opposed a request by the buyer who sought emergency relief of immediate payment of over US $130 million
An American energy company who opposed a request for emergency relief (of payment of $40 million) by its contractor for the construction of a floating LNG liquefaction facility
A Spanish energy company who opposed a request for emergency relief by its contractual counterparty who sought expedited adjudication and payment of counterclaims in excess of $80 million
Credentials
- Georgetown University Law Center, 2009; Master’s in Business and Economic Law (LLM); Distinction and Dean’s List
- Sergio Arboleda University, Bogota, Colombia, 2005; Bachelor of Law (JD equivalent); summa cum laude
- Before joining Vinson & Elkins, Mr. Sanchez practiced for 10 years at other large litigation law firms in New York and Washington DC, and before that at a distinguished Colombian law firm representing clients in litigation proceedings before the Colombian Supreme Court and in arbitration proceedings.
- Chambers USA, International Arbitration (Nationwide), 2022 and 2023; “Up and Coming” in International Arbitration (Nationwide), 2022; International Arbitration: Counsel (Nationwide), 2024
- Chambers Latin America-Wide, 2020: “Jose Sanchez continues to impress, with interviewees referring to him as ‘a star’ and continuing: ‘He really gets completely involved; it’s like he’s defending his own mother. He’s well spoken, writes very well and comes up with fantastic ideas. He’s really very impressive.'”
- Chambers USA, 2019: “José Sanchez… [has] a burgeoning reputation in the field, garnering accolades from clients as a ‘brilliant, relentless and persuasive’ advocate and for his ability to ‘produce outstanding results under incredible pressure.’ He focuses his practice on Latin American disputes, frequently appearing in international arbitrations conducted in English, Spanish and Portuguese.”
- Chambers USA, International Arbitration (Nationwide), 2020 and 2021; “Up and Coming” in International Arbitration (Nationwide), 2021: “Jose Sanchez has a growing reputation for his work on international arbitrations, with … source[s] [being] ‘very impressed with his deep knowledge of the international arbitration practice. He combines his experience with very smart solutions, and is simultaneously a very fine and strategic attorney.’”
- Chambers Latin America-Wide, 2019: “José Sanchez is praised by interviewees [who note that]: ‘He [gives] a very strong and positive impression from the start. He is dedicated, careful in the details, has a very strong legal basis and transmits total confidence to the client in every aspect…”
- Chambers USA, 2018: “José Sanchez… is deemed ‘one of the brightest lawyers in the field’ by impressed clients. He holds and excellent reputation for his expert advocacy, which includes proceedings held in Spanish and Portuguese. Sources state: ‘He is dedicated, careful in the details, has very strong legal basis and transmits total confidence to the client.”
- Chambers Latin America-Wide, 2018: “José Sanchez has impressed markets commentators, with one reporting: ‘It gave me great confidence to have someone as passionate, sharp and hard-working as him handling our case.”
- Legal 500 Latin America, International Arbitration, 2019 and 2025; “Rising Star” in International Arbitration, 2021 and 2022; “Next Generation Lawyer” in International Arbitration, 2023 and 2024
- Chambers Global, “Star Associates” in International Arbitration (Latin America-wide), 2020 and 2021; “Associates to Watch” in International Arbitration (USA), 2020 and 2021; “Up and Coming” in International Arbitration (USA), 2022; International Arbitration (Latin America), 2022–2025; International Arbitration: Counsel (USA), 2025
- Chambers Latin America-Wide, International Arbitration, 2018–2024
- Global Arbitration Review GAR 30, 2024
- Global Arbitration Review GAR 100, 2025
- Latin Lawyer 250, 2020
- Latinvex, Latin America’s Rising Legal Stars, 2020
- Legal 500 U.S., Dispute Resolution: International Arbitration, 2020–2024
- The Best Lawyers in America© (BL Rankings, LLC), International Arbitration–Commercial (New York), 2023–2025
- Selected to the New York Super Lawyers list, Super Lawyers (Thomson Reuters), 2023 and 2024
- North America Regional Representative, ICC Young Arbitrators Forum
- Arbitration Committee Member, New York City Bar
- Former North America Regional Representative, LCIA Young International Arbitration Group
- Former Member of the Global Advisory Board, ICDR Young and International Group
- Fellow, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, New York Branch
- NITA Advocate Designation
- ICC Young Arbitrators Forum
- New York
- Colombia
- United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
- United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
- United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York
- Rankings & AwardsJune 5, 2025
- Rankings & AwardsFebruary 13, 2025
- Rankings & AwardsNovember 1, 2024
- Rankings & AwardsOctober 24, 2024
- Rankings & AwardsAugust 22, 2024
- Rankings & AwardsJune 12, 2024
- Rankings & AwardsJune 6, 2024
- Rankings & AwardsMarch 22, 2024
- Rankings & AwardsFebruary 15, 2024
- Rankings & AwardsSeptember 22, 2023
- Rankings & AwardsAugust 24, 2023
- Rankings & AwardsAugust 21, 2023
- Rankings & AwardsJune 12, 2023
- Rankings & AwardsJune 1, 2023
- Rankings & AwardsFebruary 16, 2023
- Rankings & AwardsSeptember 2, 2022
Publications
- “Applying the Model Law’s Standard for Interim Measures in International Arbitration,” in Maxi Scherer (ed), Journal of International Arbitration, (© Kluwer Law International; Kluwer Law International 2020, Volume 37 Issue 1) pp. 79 – 86.
- “U.S. Supreme Court reaffirms pro-arbitration stance,” International Law Office Arbitration Newsletter, March 1, 2012
Events
- “The Standard for Interim Measures in International Arbitration and in Emergency Arbitrations,” Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, New York (US), March 2020
- “ICDR-AMCHAM International Arbitration Conference,” Sao Paulo (Brazil), December 2019
- “ICC Chilean Arbitration Day,” Santiago (Chile), November 2019
- “Arbitrating Technology and Intellectual Property Cases: Latin American and European Approaches,” Miami Technology and Intellectual Property Arbitration Seminar, Miami (US), November 2019
- “iLaw2017: The ILS Global Forum on International Law,” Miami (US), November 2017
- “El arbitraje comercial internacional: un mecanismo eficiente de solución de controversias,” ICC Mexico, September 2016