Manuel Abdala and Pablo Spiller Join Compass Lexecon

We are pleased to announce that our corporate parent, FTI Consulting Inc., has acquired LECG’s International Arbitration Practice Group and that Dr. Manuel A. Abdala and Dr. Pablo T. Spiller, two world-renowned economists with expertise in the international arbitration arena, have joined Compass Lexecon LLC, along with staff based in the United States, Paris, and Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Dr. Abdala has joined Compass Lexecon as a Senior Vice President, and Dr. Spiller, who is the Jeffrey A. Jacobs Distinguished Professor of Business and Technology at the Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley, has joined Compass Lexecon as a Senior Consultant.

International arbitration is fast becoming the preferred method of resolving cross-border disputes, and the number of international proceedings, as well as the complexity of the disputes, continues to grow dramatically.

Drs. Abdala and Spiller have been leaders in this evolution, providing clients with specialized and sophisticated insights to address complex international arbitration matters. They have been involved in more than 70 international arbitration cases and consulted with government agencies and private clients around the world.

Dr. Spiller stated, “I am absolutely thrilled to be joining the Compass Lexecon team. The firm has a reputation for intellectual excellence and academic rigor and I am looking forward to the opportunity to work with such an exceptional group of professionals.”

Dr. Abdala added that, “Compass Lexecon is one of the world’s leading economic consulting firms. It is very exciting to be a part of a firm where producing high-quality economic analysis is the central motivating force.”

Jonathan Orszag, a Senior Managing Director of Compass Lexecon, said, “Our existing team has worked on some of the most high-profile international arbitration matters. The addition of Pablo and Manuel significantly deepens our capabilities in the global international arbitration market. With our recent expansion into Europe, combined with today’s announcement of expansion into South America, we can now offer clients a global perspective on competition, finance, international arbitration, and other economics-related matters.”

In addition to Drs. Abdala and Spiller, Santiago Dellepiane will join the firm as a Vice President in our New York office. Dellepiane will specialize in international arbitration matters and help to oversee a team of professional staff across Compass Lexecon’s offices, including the new 25-person Buenos Aires office. Other economic experts joining Compass Lexecon include Diego Bondorevsky, Andrés Chambouleyron, Marcelo Schoeters, and Sebastian Zuccon.

Compass Lexecon has more than 300 professionals – including Nobel Prize winners, former chief economists at the Department of Justice’s antitrust division, and other leaders in the field – located in 13 offices (Boston, MA; Brussels, Belgium; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Chicago, IL; Century City, CA; London, England; Los Angeles, CA; Madrid, Spain; New York, NY; Oakland, CA; Paris, France; Tucson, AZ; Washington, DC).