“Francisco is capable of synthesising complex problems and conveying them to all audiences. He also knows how to address judges. He is reliable and has the ability to listen to the client.”
“Francisco has excellent analytical skills, and he offers peace of mind and customer focus.”
Biography
Francisco Málaga serves as Head of the Firm's EMEA Disputes Section for Commercial Litigation and White Collar and is a partner in the Firm's Global Commercial Litigation and Arbitration Practices in Madrid. Since April 1, 2024, Francisco has served as Head of the Firm's EMEA Disputes Section for Commercial Litigation and White Collar.
He has extensive experience advising corporate and financial institutions on a broad range of complex litigation matters. Francisco holds a PhD in Law and has been a tenured lecturer in dispute resolution at Universidad Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona for more than 20 years. He currently teaches at the Law Faculties of ICADE and IE in Madrid. Francisco has also published several books, articles and commentaries on dispute resolution and regularly speaks at seminars and conferences on dispute resolution and insolvency matters.
He has consistently been recognized as a leading individual in dispute resolution and arbitration by Chambers & Partners for more than a decade. Most recently, he was ranked Band 1 in Litigation in the Chambers Global Guide 2026, reflecting his market-leading reputation and the strong endorsement of clients and peers. Clients praise his availability, responsiveness and high-quality expertise, describing him as "a very professional lawyer and an excellent litigator".
Francisco has also acted as expert witness on behalf of Banco Sabadell in high-value civil proceedings before the High Court of Justice, Business and Property Courts of England and Wales (Commercial Court).
Experience
Some representative examples of Francisco's experience include advising/representing:
- Globalvia GVIT in a long-running judicial and arbitral battle concerning the control of Itinere, one of Spain's largest highway operators. The dispute involved Globalvia, hedge funds Gateway Infrastructure Investments L.P. and Investco B.V., as well as Sacyr, acting as seller in the transaction.
- Punto Fa (Mango) in a cutting-edge dispute relating to the creation of new work of arts in the Metaverse in NFT form. The claim was brought by Spanish entity Visual Entidad de Gestión de Artistas Plásticos ("Vegap"), which manages the intellectual property rights of more than 150,000 authors and artists globally.
- BNP Paribas in connection with a highly complex international dispute also involving a joint venture (UTE) formed by OHL, Rizzani de Eccher S.p.A., Trevi S.p.A., and Boodai Trading Company, the Ministry of Public Works of Kuwait, and Banco Santander.
- Abertis Infraestructuras, S.A. in civil proceedings with Oracle Ibérica, S.R.L., as Respondent. The dispute arises out of a Framework Agreement for the utilization by Abertis of certain software licenses owned by the Respondent and is connected with their transmission to third parties.
- The High Court of Justice, Business and Property Courts of England and Wales (Commercial Court), acting as expert witness appointed by Banco Sabadell in a high-value civil proceeding.
- Atinkou, the concessionaire of the State of Côte d'Ivoire, in connection with a dispute against contractor TSK arising from a BOOT (Build, Own, Operate, Transfer) contract for a combined-cycle thermal power plant.
- A tech multinational company in a dispute arising from the Sale and Purchase Agreement through which it acquired a Spanish subsidiary, including an arbitration proceeding, as well as the development and implementation of the overall dispute strategy and the coordination of all parties involved.
- An investment bank in relation to an internal investigation regarding potential internal policy and fraud law violations by a high-ranking executive of the Spanish corporation.
Italy
Spain
Spain
Recognised as Band 1 in Litigation by Chambers Global 2026
Francisco was awarded First National Prize for the completion of the BA in Law and the Extraordinary Doctorate (PhD) Prize by the University Pompeu Fabra (Barcelona).
Francisco has more than 20 publications (including books and legal articles) and was judge of the Court of Appeal of Barcelona (Audiencia Provincial) from 2000 to 2003.
