Héctor Fernández
Managing Partner, Founder, AFALEGAL, S.C.
Héctor is an international lawyer admitted to practice law in Colombia and in Venezuela. He is the Founder and Managing Partner of AFALEGAL, S.C. Hector has more than 20 years of experience in Art Law, advising auction houses, artists´ foundations, prominent art galleries, art collectors and artists in Latin America, in a wide variety of matters, including art-related disputes, provenance property, art trade, exhibition and consignments, licit exportation, copyrights, authentications, certifications and mechanisms to fight against counterfeited works of art. Among its clients is Odalys Auction House, one of the main art auction houses in Latin America.
Héctor also has extensive experience in complex commercial & corporate disputes, both international arbitration and domestic arbitration, art-related disputes, class actions and group litigation. He has a successful track record representing victims of commercial aviation disasters, including Santa Barbara Airlines, S.A., Flt. 518, near Mérida, Venezuela 2008; Conviasa Airlines, Flt. 2350, Bolívar, Venezuela, 2010; Dynamic Airways, Flt. 405, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, 2015; LaMia, Flt. 2933, near Medellín, Colombia, 2016 (Chapecoense Plane Crash). Hector was advisor at the United State Embassy and Colombian Embassy in Venezuela (2007 - 2017). Héctor has been working as an independent consultant with the International Arbitration Department of Reed Smith LLP since May 2021.
Since 2003, Héctor has been teaching Civil, Procedural and Commercial Law in the School of Law at top universities in Venezuela and in Colombia, and has published several articles in a wide variety of matters.
He is a member of Latin American and Caribbean Association of Economic Law (ALACDE), the Venezuelan Institute of Procedural Law (INVEDEPRO) and the Venezuelan Chamber of Franchises (PROFRANQUICIAS). Héctor is also a member of the Miami International Arbitration Society (MIAS) and the Miami Law International Arbitration Society (MLIAS), as well as a member of the Asociacion Venezolana de Arbitraje (AVA). Hector has participated in numerous speaking engagements and has made TV guest appearances.
Hector’s educational background includes Universidad Católica Andrés Bello, Venezuela (LL.B. 1998); Universidad de Salamanca (LL.M. in Procedural Law 2004); Universidad Católica Andrés Bello, Venezuela (LL.M. in Procedural Law 2005); a Law Degree Validation from Universidad Católica of Colombia (2018) and University of Miami School of Law (LL.M. in International Arbitration 2021).
Jurisdiction: Colombia; Venezuela