M-RCBG Senior Fellow-Led Study Group: David Mizrachi

Monday, February 10,  4:15-5:45    M-RCBG Conference Room: B-102  NEW: Bell Hall (Belfer Bldg. 5th Floor)

On December 31, 1999, the Panama Canal Authority (“PCA”), an agency of the Government of Panama, took over the operation of the Panama Canal from the United States, in accordance with the 1977 Panama Canal Treaties. Since then, the PCA has safely and efficiently operated the Canal as a for-profit business, turning it into the country’s most important source of government revenue. This session will analyze the history of the Panama Canal, particularly since it reverted to Panamanian hands with a special emphasis on its business model as an example of a governmental agency running a profitable business for the benefit of world trade.

This study group / discussion is open to all HUID holders. Registration is not necessary. 

M-RCBG welcomes individuals with disabilities to participate in its programs. To request accommodations or ask questions about access provided, please email: mrcbg@hks.harvard.edu


David Mizrachi head shot photo

David M. Mizrachi Fidanque is a lawyer, academic, author and civic leader. He is the founder of MDU Legal in Panama, Republic of Panama. His private legal practice focuses on foreign direct investment and international dispute resolution. He constantly interacts with government agencies on behalf of his clients and has handled complex international administrative, contractual and investment claims. He is dually admitted to practice law in Panama and the State of Florida and began his career as a commercial litigator in South Florida, moving to his native Panama in 1993. He has been a member of the board of the Mining Development Corporation – Cerro Colorado (public mineral rights concession), Caribbean American de Panamá and Worldwide Medical Assurance (private insurance companies), Fondo de Emergencia Social (public human development fund), PSA Panama International Terminal (port operations), B’nai B’rith of Panama, Fundación Holzer and the Lions Club of Panama (non-governmental entities) to name a few. He serves in the National Concertation Board of Panama on an ad honorem basis. David is a lecturer at Quality Leadership University on International Business Law and Legal Environment of Business. His courses have been accredited by the University of Louisville, Towson University and Illinois State University, among others. He has served as President of the Central Jewish Community Council and B’nai B’rith of Panama. Mr. Mizrachi is a frequent speaker on matters of Panamanian law, locally and internationally. David is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, (BA) majoring in Economics and Political Science (with distinction), of Tulane University Law School (JD cum laude) and holds an Executive LLM in Global Business Law from Columbia University Law School, where he received the Parker School Recognition of Achievement in International and Comparative Law. As an M-RCBG Senior Fellow, he will be focusing his research on the relationship between sovereign arbitrations and foreign direct investment in select Latin American countries. His faculty sponsor is Professor Mark Wu, Henry L. Stimson Professor of Law at Harvard Law School. Email: david_mizrachi@hks.harvard.edu