Career

In 2015, having garnered extensive experience from more than 30 years of settling  complex transnational disputes, Antonio Hierro started his own practice to focus exclusively on his work as an arbitrator, in both commercial and investment disputes – Hierro Estudio Legal (or Hierro Arbitration)

Over the last 20 years, Antonio has focused on international, commercial and investment arbitration in Spanish, English and French, both in ad hoc arbitrations, including some before the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague (PCA), and in arbitrations administered by the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) and other arbitration courts, mainly in Europe, Latin America and the USA. 

Antonio began his career as a State Attorney, assigned to the Ministries of Finance and Justice, always in the litigation service. He later moved on to the international jurisdiction service for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in his capacity as Agent of the Kingdom of Spain before the Court of Justice of the European Union. During the same period, he was also the Legal Advisor to the Spanish Government during the negotiation of the Treaty on the European Union (Maastricht Treaty, 1992).

He later joined Cuatrecasas, where he founded and then directed, for more than 16 years, its Litigation and Arbitration department, made up of more than 260 professionals with 12 areas of specialization, including Commercial Arbitration and Investment Arbitration. He was also the General Director of the firm for four years (2004 – 2008).

Education

• Law Degree from the Complutense University of Madrid, 1981.
• He subsequently completed his training at the European Commission (Brussels), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the French Republic (Paris), the London School of Economics (London) and the IESE Business School (Barcelona, Lisbon and Madrid).
• Spanish State Attorney (1985).

Languages

Spanish (mother tongue), English (bilingual) and French (bilingual).

Professional Acknowledgement

Honours

Antonio has received various recognitions and distinctions from governments and other public and private institutions in Europe and Latin America, including: 

• Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the French Republic.
• Universities (Honorary Professor at the University of San Ignacio de Loyola, Lima, Peru / Visiting Scholar at Columbia University, NYC, New York, USA).
• Academies (Academician of the National Academy of Legal Sciences of Bolivia (ANCJ-Bolivia)).
• Associations (Honorary President of the Spanish Club of Arbitration / Vice President of the Spanish Section of the International Law Association (ILA)).

Recognitions in independent legal directories

He has been recognized by his clients, colleagues and the most prominent independent legal directories.

Chambers & Partners (Europe and Global) has recognized Antonio as a “Leading Lawyer in Litigation and Arbitration” between 2002 and 2012 and as a ” Leading Lawyer in the Most in Demand Arbitrators List” every year since 2012.

Best Lawyers identified him as “Lawyer of the Year (Spain)” in “Litigation & Arbitration” in 2013 and in “International Arbitration” in 2015, 2017, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2024.