I represent clients before the world’s principal dispute resolution bodies helping them solve their complex international disputes.
Corporates and sovereign states alike turn to Diana Paraguacuto-Maheo when their most sensitive cross-border disputes call for more than technical precision—they call for the judgment of a lawyer who has sat on both sides of the bench, and who moves fluently between civil law and common law traditions. A partner and Global Co-Chair of the International Litigation and Arbitration Department, Diana leads the Paris office and specializes in international litigation and arbitration, alternative dispute resolution (ADR), and the representation of sovereign states.
With more than 20 years of experience, she has acted as counsel and arbitrator in numerous international commercial and investment arbitrations—including proceedings under the ICC, ICSID, ICDR, ICAC, and UNCITRAL rules—spanning disputes across construction, defense, energy, infrastructure, mining, green energy, oil and gas, telecommunications, and transportation and logistics. She navigates the sensitive issues that arise in complex industrial projects, including the termination of long-term partnerships, allegations of corruption, revocation of licenses and exploitation rights, expropriation of foreign investors, application of exclusion clauses, and violations of due process. She also brings significant experience to post-M&A disputes, partnership disputes, and commercial and corporate disputes more broadly.
Her practice spans every phase of arbitration proceedings, from securing emergency relief to litigating immunity from jurisdiction and enforcement, annulment proceedings, and the negotiation of settlement agreements. Diana advises on arbitrations conducted ad hoc or under the auspices of leading institutions, including the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA), and the Paris Centre for Mediation and Arbitration (CMAP).
Diana has considerable experience with conflicts of law and represents clients before local courts as well as in arbitration proceedings worldwide, arguing questions of applicable law, jurisdiction, enforcement of arbitration agreements, document discovery disputes, and cross-border enforcement of judgments. She has particular expertise in international disputes involving common law issues, and her multicultural approach—trained and having practiced in both civil law and common law jurisdictions—makes her particularly valuable in cross-border disputes.
Diana is also frequently nominated as presiding arbitrator, co-arbitrator, and sole arbitrator, and serves as emergency arbitrator in commercial proceedings. This vantage point on both sides of the tribunal is rare in the field and gives her a distinctive edge in knowing what drives successful outcomes in arbitration. She regularly assists clients in negotiations and has served as mediator in more than 20 international commercial mediations.
Diana's standing in the field is recognized year after year by leading legal directories. A former member of the ICC International Court of Arbitration, where she reviewed hundreds of awards from around the world, Diana currently sits on the ICC's international commission. She is an adjunct professor at Sciences Po Paris and at the University of Paris II Panthéon-Assas, and she co-chaired the ICC International Commission's international task force on emergency arbitration.
