Ivan Ignacio Bracho Gonzalez has been named the 2017-2018 Young ICCA Full-tuition Scholarship winner.
Legal Background
Bracho Gonzalez received his first law degree from the Universidad del Zulia in Venezuela and his Master of Laws from Ohio State University. The Venezuelan native has served as a judge in Venezuela, mostly recently in the State Court of Appeals in the Venezuelan State of Zulia where he presided over agrarian property dispute appeals. After finishing his first Master of Laws at Ohio State, focusing mostly on domestic negotiation and mediation matters, Bracho Gonzalez applied to Miami Law’s White & Case International Arbitration LL.M. Program to specialize further in international commercial and investment arbitration.
Thankful for Prestigious Scholarship
“Receiving the scholarship has been a blessing; it has given me the opportunity to pursue a lifelong dream,” said Bracho Gonzalez. “The International Council for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA) is the biggest arbitration organization in the world, which assembles the best arbitration practitioners and scholars from around the globe. While I was deeply honored to be selected, I also realized from that moment on that it represented a great responsibility to assume.”
The Young ICCA scholarship winner is chosen on the basis of an essay competition. Bracho Gonzalez wrote on “Thoughts on Enforcement: Dealing with Contumacious Parties.”
Arbitration Proceedings & the Political Situation in Venezuela
“Unfortunately, Venezuela has been subject to multiple arbitrations because of its political situation and that has spawned the initiation of several proceedings against it,” said Bracho Gonzalez.
“Without intending to dwell on its current situation, I found that while claimants often times succeed in the arbitration proceedings, they still face a long and uphill road to enforce the award and materialize the justice that they obtained from the proceedings. The essay advocates for an arbitrator with broader enforcement 'powers' and with a higher level of involvement and relevance throughout the enforcement process.”
Miami Law & Young ICCA Partnership
Miami Law partnered with the Young International Council for International Arbitration to launch this scholarship as Young ICCA is a world-wide arbitration knowledge network for young practitioners and students, which aims to promote the use of arbitration by exposing new practitioners from all corners of the globe to the international practice of arbitration.
Previous winners of the Young ICCA Scholarship, who hailed from Bangladesh, Canada, India, Italy, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom, have found trainee positions and permanent placements with White & Case in Washington, D.C.; Three Crowns in Washington, D.C.; Hanotiau & van den Berg in Brussels, Belgium; Reed Smith (formerly Astigarraga Davis) in Miami, Florida; the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) in Washington, D.C.; and Bacardi Martini in Miami, Florida.. The 2015/16 Young ICCA Scholar Davide Schiavetti interviewed at the world’s two leading arbitration firms: Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and White & Case, and accepted an offer from White & Case.
Lifelong Dream to Study International Arbitration at Miami Law
“Miami Law’s International Arbitration LL.M. Program under the leadership of Professor Jan Paulsson is one of a kind,” said Bracho Gonzalez. “I can confidently say that there is not another program that could offer all the benefits and opportunities that Miami Law does. The classes in this program are taught by the leading arbitration practitioners in the field which have been involved in almost every major arbitration case in the world, providing the students a unique insight about the practice of arbitration and an invaluable opportunity to learn from the experience of the individuals responsible of the so-called 'golden age' of arbitration.”
