The following is an excerpt from Practice Perspectives: Vault's Guide to Legal Practice Areas.
Christian Albanesi has acted as counsel and arbitrator in some of the most complex international arbitrations in Latin America and advises clients regularly in compliance investigations and other major crises. Christian draws on his prior experience at the ICC International Court of Arbitration where, as managing counsel, he supervised the nine case management teams of the ICC Secretariat to ensure uniformity of practices and decisions of the Court, and as counsel in charge of the Latin America, Spain, and Portugal case management team, he oversaw hundreds of cases from filing to scrutiny and notification of awards. Christian has been recognized by Chambers & Partners in International Arbitration for Latin America, as a Recommended Global Leader by Who’s Who Legal Arbitration, and as one of the “most highly regarded individuals” in international arbitration under 45 in the Who’s Who Legal Arbitration—Future Leaders.
As a former U.S. Department of the Interior and American Wind Energy Association lawyer, Lauren Bachtel assists clients with navigating complex environmental permitting, compliance, and regulatory issues across all types of projects and transactions, and advises clients on current and forthcoming requirements and risks of environmental regulatory changes. Lauren leads the firm’s U.S. ESG team. She has significant experience assisting clients with tracking and complying with existing and incoming ESG laws, policies, programs, and initiatives. Lauren also has significant experience advising on international environmental and social standards and risk management systems in the context of major energy and infrastructure project financings. Lauren is Chair of the ABA SEER Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Committee and an active member of the LGBTQ+ Bar. She has been acknowledged as a Green Ambassador by The Legal 500 Green Guide: United States 2025.
Describe your practice area and what it entails.
Christian: I focus on international arbitration with a particular emphasis on Latin America. We do both investor-state and commercial arbitrations. We advise corporations, governments, and state-owned entities dealing with high-profile clients in very complex, high-profile, and high-value disputes.
Lauren: I lead Linklaters’ U.S. environmental team and have an amazingly broad and fun portfolio. My work spans multiple practice groups, including energy and infrastructure, corporate, and banking. With the energy and infrastructure team, the environmental team helps with everything from assisting developers with identifying and obtaining the necessary permits and authorizations for its projects to helping investors analyze environmental risks and negotiating the necessary provisions in transactional documents to minimize environmental risks. With the corporate group, we help clients analyze the environmental risks associated with market-leading M&As, such as project-site contamination, asbestos litigation, and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances issues, and negotiate the transactional documents to minimize environmental risks. With the banking team, we advise on multi-jurisdictional matters that require compliance with international environmental standards, such as the World Bank Environmental and Social Framework, International Finance Corporation Performance Standards on Social & Environmental Sustainability, Equator Principles, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. The environmental team gets to work on a little bit of everything throughout the various practice groups, which is super fun and fast-paced.
What types of clients do you represent?
Christian: We represent both corporations, states, and state-owned entities in a variety of sectors, with a particular focus on infrastructure, energy, and mining.
Lauren: All of them! Because we work with multiple practice groups throughout the firm, our client base is super broad. It includes everything from offshore wind developers and solar developers to chemical facilities and global investors. The breadth of our work both domestically and globally makes it difficult to truly identify one type of client.
What types of cases/deals do you work on?
Christian: We work on commercial arbitration and investor-state disputes mostly focused on, for me, Latin America, but we have widespread coverage across all relevant regions, including the United States, Europe, Asia, and Africa, as well. I have acted as counsel and arbitrator in some of the most complex international arbitrations in Latin America (with respect to the International Criminal Court (ICC), the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes, the London Court of International Arbitration, the Partnership for Central America, American Arbitration Association, United Nations Commission on International Trade Law, the Lima Chamber of Commerce, American Chambers of Commerce Peru, the Bogota Chamber of Commerce, and Dispute Adjudication Board proceedings).
Lauren: Linklaters, in general, works on market-leading transactions and matters. Therefore, the environmental team gets to work on nearly all of the market-leading transactions and matters that come through various practice groups. For example, this year we have assisted offshore wind developers with competing for competitive leases and offtake agreements, solar developers with obtaining the necessary federal permits for development, banks with investing in large portfolios of renewable energy and transmission projects, and various clients with acquiring renewable energy portfolios, lithium facilities and mines, and industrial facilities.
How did you choose this practice area?
Christian: I always wanted to do something international. I wanted to become a diplomat, first of all; that’s why I began studying different languages including Russian and French. But, in the end, I discovered this area of law, which is international arbitration, where I get to work with people from all over the world, applying laws of both common law and civil law countries, so it’s as good as it gets, I would say.
Lauren: I was a biologist in undergrad; I wanted to (and still want to) save the world. I started studying and fell in love with environmental law; then I was drawn into the energy market, and here I am—and I haven’t looked back.
What is a “typical” day like and/or what are some common tasks you perform?
Christian: The good thing is that there is no typical day because it really depends on the status of a given case. It could entail preparing for a hearing; appearing at a hearing; or working on a submission, on a letter, or on correspondence to the tribunal or to the other side. There are no two days that are alike, and a big part of the job is looking for other opportunities.
What is the most challenging aspect of practicing in this area?
Christian: Clearing conflicts, I would say!
It’s unique in the sense that we apply different national laws to complex disputes or even international law. Also, each case requires you to know the sector in which you are advising the clients very well, and you get to develop expertise in a variety of industries, and as mentioned, layered on top of that is the application of different laws and working in different languages. For example, I have worked on cases in Spanish, English, French, and Portuguese.
Lauren: Finding time because there’s a wealth of opportunity and interesting, exceptional work here. Every time you are approached with a new matter—such as the first lithium M&A or an innovative facility or new ESG regulations or helping the Philippines put in place a green court—what are you going to say, “No”? The work is so fascinating and unique. There is so much going on, and you do not want to miss anything.
What do you like best about your practice area?
Lauren: All the people. I work with a ton of different attorneys and consultants, and everyone is brilliant in their own respect. It is really nice working with a broad range of people and experts so that every day you get to learn something new.
What is unique about your practice area at the firm?
Lauren: I am an environmental and permitting specialist, so—unlike attorneys in some more-practice-specific groups— I work with all the different groups and on a variety of diverse matters.
What are some typical tasks that a junior lawyer would perform in this practice area?
Lauren: Junior lawyers are exposed to a myriad of opportunities to learn and develop their skill set. There is a lot of research and writing. Through exposure to agreements, they can see the different market provisions and how to mark them up. They sit in on calls with clients so they can understand the different postures that are part of a negotiation. They get to see it all. A summer associate will have a lot of fun in my practice too. Like I mentioned, there is not a typical day, so it really is what is happening in the market as well as the news. As new regulations are handed down, everything shifts, and we have to be ready for it and advise our clients as necessary for their specific matters. So, it is a lot of fun hands-on learning and growth because no deal is the same, and everything keeps evolving.
How do you see this practice area evolving in the future?
Christian: I think it will continue to grow. Arbitration is, in my view, the most recommended way of resolving cross-border disputes between sophisticated, corporate, and state or state-owned entities.
Lauren: It will continue to grow. There is a big focus on ESG abroad, and more so in the states recently, so as we continue to get more regulations on ESG, the practice will continue to expand.