Óscar Franco is a partner in Latham & Watkins’ Madrid office and a member of the Litigation & Trial Department. He has extensive experience advising clients on complex, high-profile disputes, including commercial litigation and international arbitration proceedings, as well as restructuring and insolvency matters.

Oscar represents companies, financial institutions, and private equity funds on complex judicial and arbitration proceedings in a variety of industries, including real estate, investment funds, energy, and life sciences. Highly regarded in his field, he has also developed a strong track record counselling clients on insolvency litigation.

He is an Arbitrator of the Court of Arbitration of the Chamber of Commerce of Madrid.

Oscar’s representative experience includes advising:

Commercial Litigation

  • Spanish Real Estate company on litigation proceedings related to five construction agreements terminated by our client before the counterparty was declared insolvent
  • Heavy machinery distributor on a dispute related to the termination of a construction contract
  • Leading investment bank in civil proceedings related to various foreign exchange derivative transactions
  • Spanish construction company from a claim filed by a US holding, based on the termination of negotiations concerning a potential acquisition of a group of companies located in Spain
  • Power company on judicial proceedings related to its joint venture with a leading engineering company for the construction of a biomass energy plant in the north of Spain
  • Spanish collecting society against a hotel chain claiming damages on the basis of an alleged anti-competitive behavior in the establishment of tariffs
  • Global developer of gaming and hospitality projects on a claim against an urban development consultancy firm regarding the cancellation of a major leisure project which was going to be built in Madrid 
  • Spanish listed IT company on judicial proceedings brought by a civil engineering group related to the client’s ownership of two Peruvian companies
  • Japanese company on a dispute arising from the acquisition of a Portuguese manufacturer

Private Equity / Fund Litigation

  • US private equity firm in a major dispute against a Spanish bank regarding a joint venture 
  • Leading US fund on numerous litigation proceedings against the main debtors of its non-performing loans (NPL) portfolio
  • Leading investment fund in all judicial proceedings related to their NPL portfolios, including foreclosure and mandatory insolvency proceedings

International Arbitration

  • A property management company in an ICC arbitration related to a payment obligation derived from an SPA
  • Major international pharmaceutical company in arbitration proceedings against a US corporation regarding the potential breach of a multi-million licensing agreement
  • Spanish life sciences company in an ICC arbitration regarding the breach of licensing agreements for the supply of medicinal products in Belgium

Bar Qualification

  • Spain (Abogado)

Education

  • LL.M. in Law, Instituto de Empresa, 2002
  • LLB Law in Law, Universidad La Laguna, Tenerife, 2001

Languages Spoken

  • English