Zach Torres-Fowler
Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP
USA
United States
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; New York, New York
Construction Disputes and Arbitration
English; Spanish
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, B.A., 2007
University of Virginia School of Law, J.D., 2012
Speaking Engagements
Moderator, “Webinar 2: Project Counseling and Dispute Avoidance, International Construction Arbitration: Core Concepts for Arbitration Practitioners,” July 27, 2021.
Moderator, “Webinar 1: Front-End Project Delivery Issues, International Construction Arbitration: Core Concepts for Arbitration Practitioners,” June 29, 2021.
Moderator, “COVID-19 and Construction: How COVID-19 Has Affected the Construction Sector in the Americas,” International Centre for Dispute Resolution® Young & International, May 27, 2020.
Moderator, “International Arbitration Survey – Driving Efficiency in International Construction Disputes,” ABA Forum on Construction Law ; Division 8, March 18, 2020.
Panelist, “Taking of Evidence in International Arbitration: Document Disclosure and Examinations,” Art of International Arbitration, Pepper Hamilton LLP, October 11, 2019.
Panelist, “Transparency: How Much Is Enough and Can We Achieve It?,” Penn Law, Third Annual International Arbitration Conference, March 22, 2019.
Publications
Co-author, “SCOTUS to Resolve Circuit Split After All — Can Federal Courts Order Discovery For Use in Private, Commercial International Arbitrations?,” Troutman Pepper, December 15, 2021.
Co-author, Representing the Foreign Owner, in Construction Litigation: Representing the Owner, August 10, 2021.
Co-author, “Society of Construction Law Establishes Delaware Valley Regional Division,” The Legal Intelligencer, August 31, 2021.
Co-author, “Arbitration Update - The 2021 ICDR Arbitration Rules: A Welcome Update for International Construction Arbitration,” Construction Law International, June 25, 2021.
Co-author, “Servotronics, Inc. v. Rolls-Royce PLC: What the U.S. Supreme Court’s Upcoming Decision on 28 U.S.C § 1782 Means for International Construction Arbitration,” The Dispute Resolver, April 1, 2021.
Co-author, “2020 Updated to the IBA Rules: Modest Changes for Challenges New and Old,” Mealey’s International Arbitration Report, March 2021.
Co-author, “Int’l Arbitration Rules Revision Reflects Flexible Approach,” Law360, February 25, 2021.
Co-author, “International Arbitration Experts Discuss the New LCIA Rules,” Mealey’s International Arbitration Report, February 2021.
Author, “S. Supreme Court Concludes That Non-Signatories to Arbitration Agreements Can Compel International Arbitration,” International Bar Association, November 26, 2020.
Co-author, “Dispute Boards: An Approach to the Efficient Resolution of Disputes in the Construction Sector,” Dispute Resolution Magazine, American Bar Association, October 9, 2020.
Author, “Not So Severable After All: Third Circuit Lets Courts Determine Arbitration Agreement Existence When Underlying Contract’s Validity Is Challenged,” com, September 29, 2020.
Co-author, “GAR Know How Construction Arbitration,” Global Arbitration Review (GAR) Know-How Series, July 2020.
Co-author, “What the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement Means for International Construction Disputes,” Under Construction, Summer 2020.
Co-author, “Internationalizing Domestic Arbitration: How International Arbitration Practices Can Improve Domestic Construction Arbitration,” Dispute Resolution Journal, June 2020.
Co-author, “Supreme Court Interprets New York Convention to Allow Arbitration Agreement Nonsignatories to Invoke International Arbitration,” Client Alert, June 2, 2020.
Co-author, “ADR for Construction Disputes During COVID-19: How to Manage Dispute Resolution Before and After the Dust Settles,” ConsensusDocs, April 14, 2020.
Co-author, “The Intersection of International Arbitration and Construction Disputes: A Review of the 2019 Queen Mary University of London International Arbitration Survey,” The Construction Lawyer, Spring 2020.
Co-author, “The Seoul Protocol: Guidelines for Remote Arbitration Hearings During the COVID-19 Outbreak,” com, April 6, 2020.
Co-author, “Dispute Boards: A Different Approach to Dispute Resolution,” Chapter From International Mediation: The Comparative Law Yearbook of International Business, April 1, 2020.
Co-author, “New Int’l Arbitration Study Offers Construction Dispute Insight,” Law360, December 4, 2019.
Co-author, “Expanding Disclosure in International Arbitration: Sixth Circuit Rules That 28 U.S.C. § 1782 Permits Parties to Pursue Discovery in Support of Private Commercial International Arbitrations,” com, October 3, 2019.
Co-author, “New York Appellate Court Affirms Decision to Deny Motion to Compel Arbitration in Multi-Billion Dollar Construction Dispute,” com, August 29, 2019.
Co-author, ”‘Walmart’ Puts Spotlight on Foreign Construction Compliance Risks,” The Legal Intelligencer, August 16, 2019.
Author, “New Conventions, New Problems?: A Pair of Recently Announced International Conventions Aim to Replicate the Success of the New York Convention,” com, August 8, 2019.
Co-author, “GAR Know-How Construction Arbitration - United States,” Global Arbitration Review (GAR) Know-How Series, July 3, 2019.
Author, “UPDATE: GE Energy Power Conversion France SAS v. Outokumpu Stainless USA, LLC: U.S. Supreme Court Grants Write of Certiorari to Decide the Question of Whether the New York Convention Permits Non-Signatories to Compel Arbitration Under the Doctrine of Equitable Estoppel,” com, July 2, 2019.
Author, “The Prague Rules: What U.S. Practitioners Need to Know About the Civil Law World’s Answer to the IBA Rules on the Taking of Evidence in International Arbitration,” The Construction Lawyer, Winter 2019.
Co-author, “A Pivotal Ruling for Appellate Arbitration Award Enforcement,” Law360, March 11, 2019.
Co-author, “Kavanaugh’s First Opinion: In Arbitration Agreements, Delegation Means Delegation,” Client Alert, January 11, 2019.
Author, “Boring Through the Details: U.S. District Court Declaring Boring Company Dispute Not Covered by Insurance Policies,” com, January 8, 2019.
Author, “Deciding Arbitrability and Arbitration Agreements: Eleventh Circuit Refines its Interpretation of the Federal Arbitration Act and United Nations Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards,” com, November 8, 2018.
Author, “When a Flow Down Provision Doesn’t Flow Up: Oregon Appellate Court Holds that a Flow Down Provision From a Prime Contract
With an Arbitration Clause Does Not Grant Subcontractors a Right to Compel Arbitration With Owner,” com, September 27, 2018.
Co-author, “2nd Circ. Issues Problematic Opinion on Role of Party-appointed Arbitrators,” The Legal Intelligencer, July 12, 2018.
Co-author, “Shedding Light on the AAA’s Streamlined Three-arbitrator Panel Option,” AGC Law in Brief, July 2018.
Author, “Are Consent Awards Under the New York Convention Enforceable in U.S. Courts? Federal Court in Texas Says Yes,” com, April 26, 2018
Co-author, “The 2018 Update to the CPR’s Non-Administered Arbitration Rules: A Reflection of Current Trends in Arbitration,” ConsensusDocs, April 2018.
Co-author, “Expectations and Practices Concerning Examinations in International Arbitration,” The Legal Intelligencer, January 15, 2018.
Co-author, “Abuse of Due Process in International Arbitration: Is Due Process Paranoia Irrational?,” American Journal for Construction Arbitration & ADR, December 2017.
Author, “Federal District Court in South Dakota Compels Arbitration Despite Defendant’s Failure to First Submit the Dispute to the Project Engineer as Required by the Disputes Clause,” com, September 14, 2017.
Member, Global Advisory Board of the International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR) Young & International (2020-2023)
Regional Director, Society of Construction Law, North America
Website Officer, International Construction Project's Committee of International Bar Association
Member, International Construction ABA Forum on Construction Law - Division 8
Member, Arbitration Committees of the International Bar Association
Member, International Arbitration Committee of the ABA Section on International Law
Member, Young ITA of the Institute for Transnational Arbitration
Member, Young Arbitrators Forum of the International Chamber of Commerce
Member, Hispanic National Bar Association, International Law Section
Member, LCIA Young International Arbitration Group
Member, Rising Arbitrators Initiative
Member, Young SIAC
Zach is a partner in Troutman Pepper's Construction Practice Group. He concentrates his practice on construction-related disputes, and specializes in complex domestic and international arbitration proceedings. He has experience before arbitral panels and tribunals under a wide variety of U.S. domestic and international arbitration rules including the AAA, JAMS, ICDR, ICC, LCIA, and ICSID.
His experience includes advising clients in connection with construction and infrastructure projects in the U.S., Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America. He has significant experience representing owners, contractors, and suppliers/subcontractors in connection with disputes arising from a wide variety of construction projects including power plants, airports, commercial buildings, and other civil infrastructure works.
In addition to his disputes practice, Zach regularly advises clients on contract drafting and negotiation, contract administration, and dispute avoidance. While many of these engagements involve bespoke EPC and other construction contracts, Zach has significant experience with a large number of industry-standard agreements, including FIDIC.
Zach is a regular author and speaker in the field of construction and international arbitration and has been published in multiple academic and professional journals. He is also an adjunct professor at Charles Widger School of Law at Villanova University where he teaches courses on international commercial arbitration.