Season 5: Finale: Damián Vallejo Segura

International Disputes Partner at Duning Rievman & MacDonald LLP in New York City

Damián Vallejo Segura

International Disputes Partner at Duning Rievman & MacDonald LLP in New York City

How did he land a BigLaw job in international arbitration through student organization events?

When Damian pursued his LLM at Georgetown, his goal was clear: to secure a job in the U.S. upon graduation. He joined the Georgetown International Arbitration Society (GIAS), a student organization that hosted ten to fifteen events that year alongside an intense class schedule. By the spring semester, Damian hadn’t found anything promising. One day in March, Damian met a partner from Chadbourne & Parke (later acquired by Norton Rose)..  They kept in touch. It was late in the firm’s hiring cycle. By late April, Damian went to New York to meet with the partner again in person. At the end of their conversation, the partner told him, “Look, we’re down to the final rounds of interview for candidates, but if you’re interested, send in your application, and we’ll consider it.” The firm ended up hiring two internationally trained associates, and Damian was one of them.

How did Damian find his first job in the U.S.?

How did he advance his career and eventually make partner?

As a partner who often interview candidates, what does he look for when hiring internationally trained lawyers?

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Where did you grow up, and why did you choose to study law?

I’m from Barcelona, Spain. That’s where I was born and raised until I was 10 years old. Then my family moved to Ecuador, where we lived for about six years. We moved back to Barcelona when I was around 16, where I finished high school and later studied law. The reason I went into law school is that I had been exposed to law all my life. My mom is a judge, and my grandfather was a lawyer and a few of my uncles are lawyers, so I had early exposure to law.

I wasn’t necessarily sure I wanted to practice, but I saw it as a great foundation for whatever I chose to do. In Spain, and in most civil law jurisdictions, you go straight to law school after high school, so you’re about 17 or 18 years old when you make that choice. At that age, you don’t always know what you want to do. Some people are very clear about it, but I wasn’t sure. I just felt that law would give me a solid base, no matter what I decided to do in the future. And, as it turns out, I really enjoyed practicing law after I finished school.

I’ve interviewed a lot of people who have family legacy in the law. I feel like for each generation, somebody got to become a lawyer. To take one for the team. I don't know if you are an only child or if you have siblings. If so, are they lawyers too?

They are not. Actually, I'm one of three, and the oldest. I have two sisters, one of them went into business school, and the other one studied engineering. Probably both of them saw me in law school, and they decided that that wasn't for them.

Why did you come to the United States to study law?

I practiced in Spain for a few years after graduating from law school. I was doing maritime law, as well as some insurance and construction law, and most of the work is international. Many of the larger contracts are subject to foreign laws and arbitrations - foreign from a Spanish perspective. You often deal with disputes governed by English law, New York law, or Hong Kong law, for example. It really depends, but most of the larger disputes and contracts refer to jurisdictions outside of Spain. We were seeing a lot of arbitrations, and the firm I worked for handled many of those cases, often collaborating with international firms.

At that point, I decided I wanted to specialize in arbitration and really study the process. While I learned it through work, at the time, people didn’t really specialize in arbitration during law school. Arbitration was covered for a few days during your third or fourth year of law school, but that was it. When I was studying in Spain, law school took about five years to complete, so the exposure to arbitration was very limited. Even though I was gaining experience while working, I thought, "There are great institutions out there; let me look into educational programs and see which ones offer the best opportunities." That’s when I discovered Georgetown. I had friends who had attended Georgetown, and knew the law school had a great international arbitration program. So it was a no-brainer to apply to Georgetown. Luckily, I was accepted.

What languages do you speak, and could you tell us more about your current work as an international resolution and arbitration lawyer in NYC?

I speak Spanish and Catalan natively, though I don’t really use Catalan on a day-to-day basis, especially not for work. I also speak fluent English. My wife is American, and I’ve been living and working in New York for the past nine years, so I primarily work in English. At home, I speak English with my wife, but I speak Spanish with my kids, even though they were born in New York. I want them to learn Spanish at a native level.

Speaking multiple languages is a competitive advantage in our field, especially in New York, where much of the work from Latin America finds its way to the U.S. or New York. Being able to speak the language - Spanish in this case - gives you a better chance of handling the case and working closely with firms in Latin America. We also work with clients from Spain doing business in the U.S. and in other jurisdictions, particularly Latin America. The work I handle is around 75 - 80% in English, with the other 20 - 25% in Spanish.

We handle some international arbitrations fully in Spanish, even if they don’t have a direct connection to the U.S. That’s not standard because it doesn’t always make sense to involve a U.S. firm for a foreign arbitration, but if there’s a U.S. angle, it’s much easier. We’ve also taken cases without a U.S. connection, usually due to our relationship with the client or another firm in a different jurisdiction.

Would you share any interesting stories you encountered as a multilingual lawyer doing international arbitration work?

Of course, and it's perhaps a cautionary tale. A lot of people claim to speak certain languages at a high level, but it’s funny when you actually put them to the test and they have to handle a case in that language. We're currently handling a case related to a hotel project in Panama. The arbitration is in Miami, the contract is governed by Panamanian law, and the arbitration agreement states that the arbitration is to be conducted fully in Spanish.

For some reason, the other side found what seems to be the only lawyer in Miami who doesn’t speak Spanish. In the first call with the counterparty’s counsel, they asked if we could conduct the arbitration in English and modify the language of the arbitration from Spanish to English. After having been in the U.S. for about seven years (this was a couple of years ago), and constantly going up against American lawyers in English, I thought, "I have a competitive advantage here. I’m not giving in." It was in our client's favor to do this in Spanish. If their client hired them despite the lawyer not being able to handle the case in Spanish, that's on them. We stuck to the agreement, and we’re handling the case in Spanish.

It’s always interesting when people think they can perform at a certain level in a language, but then they actually have to do it. You have to be careful with that.

How did you find your current job?

It’s one of those things about being in the right place at the right time. I met one of the founding partners of my firm, Brian Dunning, in October 2018. At that time, I had stopped working. I was at Cooley before that, but my contract with them had expired. I was in that situation for about seven or eight months, and I knew I wasn’t going back to my old firm. So I was looking for a new firm, a new position. That’s when I met Brian.

At the time, he hadn’t yet founded our current firm, but he was the president of the Spain-U.S. Chamber of Commerce. He’s an American lawyer and speaks Spanish, Catalan, and Portuguese fluently. In conversations with him, it became clear that what he was doing was what I wanted to do. At that point, about 80-85% of his practice was dispute resolution, both litigation and arbitration. He had strong connections to Spain and Latin America through the Chamber and his personal experiences—he lived in Barcelona in the 80s, teaching English to lawyers. So he had a lot of inbound work from those regions. I thought it would be very interesting to work with a lawyer who had these language skills and this practice focus.

This was in October 2018. Fast forward three months, and I saw on LinkedIn that he and two other partners had opened what was then called Dunning, Rievman & Davis. I sat down with them to understand their plan for the firm. Their idea was to create a boutique specializing in dispute resolution, both litigation and arbitration, domestic and international. They wanted to grow, and they had a hiring need. It’s one of those things where being in the right place at the right time made all the difference. If it had happened six or seven months later, they probably would have found someone else, and I might not be at the firm today.

How did you find your first job in the U.S.?

When I graduated from Georgetown and I moved to New York to work the international arbitration group of Chadbourne & Park. This was in August 2016 and a few months after that, Chadbourne announced that it was merging with Norton Rose, and the team that I was working for decided to move to Cooley. So it was pretty much the same team, same cases, just different firms.

But how did I find it?

When I was at Georgetown, I had the opportunity to become a board member of GIAS, the Georgetown International Arbitration Society. Together with other students, I was in charge of organizing events, both at the law school and outside of the law school (at firms, international institutions like the World Bank, etc.). So it was a pretty busy year in that sense. Doing the LLM already implies a busy year, but when you get involved with one of those organizations, it's even busier. But it also gives you the exposure and the network, because you're constantly talking to partners at law firms. You're asking them whether they would be available to host a group of students at their offices, or to come to the university to give a conference or talk on a panel. There's dozens of events that are organized throughout the year about different topics, but at least during my year at Georgetown with GIAS, I think we organized over 10 or 15 events. So you're constantly networking. You're constantly talking to people that you're interested about. You want to hear about their experience. You want to hear about how they got to be where they are. And one of the people that I talked to while trying to organize an event was a partner in the arbitration group of Chadbourne. So we initially talked, I think it was via Skype. And then during a weekend, or a long weekend that I was coming up to New York with family, I sent him an email to see whether he'd be available to grab a coffee with me. I met with him, and this was a little bit late in in the game, in terms of the hiring process, because I think this was in April or beginning of May. So at that point, while there were still some open positions, most of the positions at the big firms had already been filled. I was lucky enough that they told me they were still going through the process and, while they were down to the last two candidates, I could send my applicationfor them to consider it. They ended up hiring two foreign associates from Spain, and I was lucky enough to be one of those.

When I graduated from Georgetown, I moved to New York to join the international arbitration group at Chadbourne & Parke LLP in August 2016. A few months later, Chadbourne announced its merger with Norton Rose, and three of the four partners I worked with decided to move to Cooley. So, it was essentially the same team and same cases—just a different firm.

At Georgetown, I’d had the opportunity to join the board of Georgetown International Arbitration Society (GIAS). Alongside other students, I helped organize events at the law school and outside, involving firms and international institutions like the World Bank. Doing an LLM is already a busy year, and getting involved with an organization like that makes it even busier. But it’s great for exposure and networking. I was constantly speaking to law firm partners, asking if they’d host groups of students at their offices or come to campus to speak on panels.

When I was at Georgetown to become a board member of GIAS or Georgetown International Arbitration Society. I think we organized over 10 or 15 events that year and one of the people that I talked to while I was trying to organize an event was a partner in the arbitration group of Chadbourne. We initially talked, I think it was via Skype and then during a weekend or a long weekend that I was coming up to New York. I shoot him an email to see whether he'll be available to grab a coffee with me. This was a little bit late in the game from the hiring perspective because I think this was in April or beginning of May. Most of the positions at the big firms are already filled. I was lucky enough that they told me that "look, we're going through the process; we're down to the last two candidates. But if you're interested, send your applications, send your papers and we'll consider you." That year, they ended up hiring two foreign Associates. I was lucky enough to be one of those. 

You are a founding partner at a firm and you also went through the job search process yourself. What do you think are the qualities that firms are looking for when hiring internationally trained lawyers?

That's a very good question, and I’m going to give you a bit of a lawyer’s answer. I think it depends - it really depends on the institution, the type of firm, the group, the partners in that group, and the cases they’re handling. It’s very different if there’s a need to hire a first-year associate versus a more senior-level role. But let’s assume you’re looking to bring on a first-year associate. One advantage LLMs have is that most have at least some practice experience or internships in their home jurisdictions. Some people even have four, five, or six years of experience. That’s an advantage over someone with no experience, although some firms might see it as a mixed factor. With experience, you may bring certain biases from your previous role and you are most costly, but you’re also likely to add more value because you’ve been working for several years.

In our case, we’re really looking for the right attitude. Obviously, we want to ensure the candidate has a genuine interest in the practice area we’re hiring for—in my case, international arbitration and some litigation. They need to have a serious interest in dispute resolution.

If we have specific language needs for a case, like for example a case involving Colombia, we’ll likely look for someone who speaks Spanish at a native level and perhaps a Colombian-trained lawyer. Even though some of us speak Spanish and understand the legal culture there, it can be helpful to have someone with direct experience in that jurisdiction.

My next question is about time management. You're a partner at a firm, and you're teaching as adjunct professor at Fordham Law, and you're an appointed arbitrator in prominent international arbitration forums, and you have published papers and articles. You have speaking engagement at conferences and you have young children at home. How do you do all these things when there's only 24 hours in a day? What's your tip on time management?

I often find myself wishing for a few more hours each day. Instead of 24, maybe 30 or 34 hours. But as one of my partners said, no matter how much time you get, you’ll always find a way to fill it.

To answer your question, yes, time management is important—at every level of your career. Even as a junior associate, not just as a partner, it’s crucial to identify what’s a priority and what’s not, how you want to spend your time, and how you want to develop yourself. It’s definitely a work in progress. I’m by no means perfect, even though I’ve been working for 13 years. It’s all about balance. You can do it all, just not all at once.

When you have a big deadline, you might need to compromise other things—maybe some hobbies, maybe time with friends or even family on weekends if there’s a hearing or a deadline. But when you have downtime, it’s important to use it well—to enjoy family, friends, and your hobbies. It’s always a work in progress and always challenging.

Who is your role model in the law?

That's a very good question, and I don’t think I could point to just one person specifically. I think I have a few, each with different qualities I admire. I have six partners at the firm, and the two founding partners on the disputes side are very different. They’re both very capable lawyers, but I look up to them in different ways and try to follow some of their examples in certain skill sets.

One of them is a bit more commercially minded, has a thick skin, and doesn’t take things personally—he’s very patient. The other has these qualities too, but I look up to him for other reasons. For me, rather than having just one role model, I try to pick qualities I like from the people I work with and apply them to myself. It’s not necessarily about mirroring them. At the end of the day, you have to find your own way and figure out how you want to do things. You can take bits and pieces from what you see and adapt them to your own style.

You mentioned that your mother is a judge. What impact has she had on you in terms of pursuing a career in the law?

I think it does, or at least it did at the time. I’m not necessarily sure it was about the substance of the law itself. My mother is a judge. I’ve never been a judge, and most likely, I never will be one. The closest thing might be my work as an arbitrator, which resembles, in some ways, what a judge does. But in terms of seeing my mother develop her career, it was more about the passion she had for it than anything else—how much she enjoyed it. And bear in mind that you have to read a lot of documents. Many nights, you end up working late and on weekends, just by nature of what we do. When you’re handling cases, whether it’s a dispute or a transaction, where you have hundreds, if not thousands, of pages to go through, it just requires time. You really have to enjoy it.

Seeing how passionate my mom was about what she was doing and how much she enjoyed it—how varied her cases were, too—really stuck with me. She’s been both a civil and a criminal judge, so she’s looked at a huge range of cases, both procedurally and from a substance perspective. I thought, if I could find something I’m as passionate about as she is, that’s enough. Forget about becoming the best and all that; I just want to enjoy it. She enjoys what she does, and that’s probably what led me to it.