Carmen, a partner in the Madrid office, has appeared as advocate in numerous investment treaty and commercial arbitrations. She has handled arbitrations under the rules of the major arbitral institutions and ad hoc across a variety of jurisdictions, with a particular focus on Latin America and Spain. Carmen also sits as arbitrator.
Carmen is recognised in all major publications, including as a “Leading Individual” in The Legal 500 Latin America, with sources describing her as “one of the most impressive legal minds I have encountered”, a “truly gifted practitioner”, who “has worked on some of the biggest cases of all time”, delivers “in a friendly and folksy tone, a very persuasive oral argument and a devastating cross-examination”, “gets into the details while keeping a strategic mindset”, “understands problems very well in a global way”, “has a lot of availability for the client”, and “has certainly been building up a fantastic reputation” in the market for her work in both investment treaty and commercial arbitrations. She has also been described as a “brilliant arbitrator”.
Carmen is dual-qualified in civil law and common law, and regularly handles contentious work in English, Spanish, and French. She is admitted to the New York and Madrid Bars, and is a Solicitor of the Senior Courts of England & Wales. Carmen holds law degrees from Columbia Law School, the College of Europe and the University of Murcia (Premio Nacional Fin de Carrera and Premio Extraordinario Fin de Carrera).
Carmen serves in a variety of leadership positions, including as the President of the British Chapter of the Spanish Arbitration Club (Club Español del Arbitraje), a Vice-President of the ICC International Court of Arbitration, a member of the Arbitrator Appointment Committee of the Madrid Arbitration Court, and a team leader for the IBA Task Force for the Revision of the 2010 IBA Rules on the Taking of Evidence. Carmen writes and speaks regularly on arbitration-related issues.
Bar and court admissions
Languages
Spanish
English
French
“One of the most impressive legal minds I have encountered...a truly gifted practitioner”
Who's Who Legal
Obtaining a billion-dollar award on behalf of Occidental Petroleum Corporation in an ICSID arbitration against Ecuador
Obtaining a favourable award against the Kingdom of Spain arising from regulatory measures adversely affecting investments in the hydro energy sector
Representing Sacyr in its UNCITRAL investment arbitration against the Republic of Panama arising from the Expansion of the Panama Canal
Representing the Republic of Chile in its ICSID arbitration with a Colombian construction and power distribution company under the Chile-Colombia Free Trade Agreement
Representing a Latin-American oil & gas and petrochemical company in its UNCITRAL investment treaty dispute with Ecuador
Representing a major wind power supplier in an ICC arbitration arising from the termination of a cross-licensing agreement relating to wind turbine technology
Representing a Spanish bank in an ICC dispute against an American bank relating to post-acquisition claims under a business transfer agreement
“She has worked on some of the biggest cases of all time”
Chambers UK
“Carmen Martinez Lopez delivers in a friendly and folksy tone, a very persuasive oral argument and a devastating cross-examination”
Legal 500
- Columbia Law School, LL.M.
- College of Europe, Master’s in European Law
- University of Murcia, Lic, Jur.