Antonio Vazquez-Guillén

Practice Areas

Dispute Resolution and Energy & Natural Resources

Personal

Antonio leads the Litigation and Arbitration team in Spain, and is also co-managing partner of our Spanish offices.

Antonio has received the award as “Best Lawyer in Spain in 2021” by Expansión, the most renowned newspaper in the country (UK Financial Times).

Antonio has conducted many proceedings in the commercial, banking and finance fields, relating to criminal investigations, anti money laundering cases, breaches of contract, and enforcement of guarantees. Furthermore, Antonio has experience in administrative law and regulatory matters, including energy, infrastructure and public contracts and administrative proceedings.

Antonio has also been involved in high profile arbitration proceedings before both the ICC and the Madrid Chamber of Commerce. He currently represents numerous investors in investment ECT claims against the Spanish government.

In addition, Antonio has advised major financial institutions in insolvency proceedings essential to the Spanish national economy and has a wide experience advising such institutions in the context of white-collar crime cases.

Some relevant cases include: representing a major Asian company regarding criminal actions brought against a former director for fraud, embezzlement and mismanagement of the company; advising a global financial institution in three separate internal FCPA investigations involving transactions in Europe, Asia and Latin America; and assisting a major financial institution with respect to criminal proceedings against it in Spain by managing and overseeing the efforts of local criminal counsel.

Prior to joining Allen & Overy in 2005, he was State lawyer before the Regional Court of Justice of Galicia.

Antonio is recommended for his excellent work in one of the main legal directories, Chambers & Partners, from 2007 up to the present. He has also been chosen by Best Lawyers as one of the best lawyers in Spain from 2010 up to the present.

In the field of international arbitrations in Energy, Antonio is the leader of the first team with a positive favourable award in an ECT arbitration against the Kingdom of Spain, the FIRST victorious case since this process started in connection with his advice. Antonio is currently acting, or has acted, for over 30 international investors in twelve different claims under the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) against the Kingdom of Spain, relating to investments which they made in renewable energy plants in Spain (specifically major solar power installations). The claims arise out of retrospective changes made by Spain to the regulatory investment framework governing the renewables sector. Since 2013, Spain has entirely abolished feed-in tariffs – a policy mechanism designed to accelerate investment in renewable energy technologies. This has led to investors making huge losses, and has triggered a wave of litigation and arbitration.