Article 03.12.25
I always appreciated Rafael's no nonsense approach to legal work and the transparency in his legal advice.
Rafael T. Boza focuses his practice on all aspects of international arbitration, dispute resolution and litigation. He also practices in transactions and corporate matters.
Rafael has over 20 years of experience advising local and multinational companies, litigating and arbitrating. His experience includes providing legal services in the United States and abroad, utilizing his comprehensive legal knowledge of multiple jurisdictions, including the United States, Latin America and Europe.
He is a litigator in arbitrations, domestic and international, and in Texas and federal courts in a variety of matters. He participates in complex, high-stakes, ICC, ICSID, LCIA and other international arbitration cases. He has also arbitrated cases (as arbitrator) since 2003 in a variety of economic sectors, including commercial, construction, investment and intellectual property disputes in mostly ad hoc cases. Rafael possesses a deep understanding of international arbitration law and procedural rules and is skilled in handling all stages of the arbitration process, from drafting arbitration agreements and initiating proceedings, to conducting hearings and enforcing arbitral awards.
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He is also an accomplished transactional lawyer, experienced in structuring and negotiating a wide range of business deals, including commercial contracts, joint ventures, private equity investments and mergers and acquisitions, with a comprehensive understanding of contract law in multiple jurisdictions.
As a former in-house counsel in the Americas region for two important European companies, Rafael is also experienced and familiar with large companies’ approaches to legal operations, risk management and compliance activities in the Americas. He understands the pressures in-house counsel faces in overseeing all legal aspects of commercial deals, supply chain, project execution, general compliance programs, trainings and investigations, within strict budgetary constraints. With that experience, he is able to provide his clients with tailored legal services, which are both effective and efficient.
He has a strong command of cross-cultural and multilingual dynamics and can arbitrate and litigate cases and conduct arbitral hearings, in English, Spanish or bilingual hearings, if needed.
Representative Experience
- Represented pro bono client defending Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, International Child Abduction Remedies Act claims; obtained complete defense judgment after trial in the Southern District of Texas.
- Advised leading Swiss tower fields services company in transaction with major national oil company to work on the refurbishment of a large refinery in South America.
- Represented small business in a client claim litigation which involved complex corporate matters.
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- Secured recovery in excess of $5 million for a leading crane company on insurance claim related to Hurricane Harvey’s floods.
- Secured recovery in excess of $11 million for a leading crane company on insurance claim.
Professional Highlights
- Co-chair, District 4 of the Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee (UPLC), State Bar of Texas
- Chair, Houston Bar Association, International Law Section
- Co-chair, Houston Bar Association, Fee Dispute Committee
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- Co-editor-in-chief, ITA in Review, Center for American and International Law, Institute for Transnational Arbitration
- Arbitrator Certification, ICC Advanced Arbitration Academy for North America, 2023 – 2024
- Blog Posts
- “Performance Bond Primer: Need to Knows and Need to Dos,” Pillsbury’s Gravel2Gavel, January 26, 2022
- “How to Lose Your Contractor’s License in 90 Days (or Less): California and Louisiana,” Pillsbury’s Gravel2Gavel, October 27, 2021
- External Publications
- “Chinese Participation in the Investor-State Dispute Settlement System,” The Institute for Transnational Arbitration, 2024. Co-author.
- “The Sultan of Sulu Award: Is It Enforceable in the U.S. under the New York Convention?”, The Institute for Transnational Arbitration, 2022.
- “Substantive Protections: Expropriation,” The Guide to Investment Treaty Protection and Enforcement - First Edition, GAR, January 2022. Co-author.
- “Protectionist Amendments to Peru’s Arbitration Law Disguised as Transparency,” Kluwer Arbitration blog, 2020.
- “The Amorphous “Form” Objection,” 4 HLRe: Off the Record 73, 2014.
- “Expansion of the Lawyer’s Role to Problem Solver: Increased Opportunities for Pro Bono Work,” 51 South Texas Law Review 3, 2010. Co-author.
- “Caveat Arbiter: The U.S.-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement, Peruvian Arbitration Law and the Extension of the Arbitration Clause to Non-Signatories. Has Peru Gone Too Far?” Currents: International Trade Law Journal, Summer, 2009.
- “Protecting Andean Traditional Knowledge and Biodiversity. Perspectives under the U.S.-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement,” Currents: International Trade Law Journal, Summer 2008.
Education
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J.D., South Texas College of Law, 2009
Postgraduate Degree, Peruvian University of Applied Sciences, 2005
Electricity, Gas & Energy Law, Peruvian University of Applied Sciences (UPC)LL.M., Catholic University of Leuven, 2002
cum laudeLL.B., University of Lima, 1999
Admissions
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Texas
New York
Peru
Courts
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U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas
Languages
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Spanish
Portuguese