Hermenegildo Altozano

I am a partner and head of Bird & Bird's Energy and Utilities department in the Madrid office.

I specialise in energy matters and regularly advise on projects and operations in both Spain and Latin America, and have extensive experience in investment protection and arbitration in Latin America.

I joined Bird & Bird from another global law firm, where I was head of the energy and natural resources group in Spain.

Previously I was a partner in the energy area of another firm. Between 1994 and 1996, I was a visiting attorney in the Houston office of a global firm, where I specialised in energy and natural resources and investments in Latin America.

I've been recognised by the main international directories (Chambers & Partners) as one of the main lawyers in the energy sector in Spain (Band 1) and as the main expert in foreign investments in Cuba, where I provide regulatory advice to some of the leading operators in that market in the following sectors: energy (electricity, oil and gas), natural resources, aviation, agriculture, tourism, food industry and infrastructure.

I was part of the legal team which designed the rules governing the electricity market in Spain in 1997 and also advised private investors in conflicts relating to the energy industry in the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and Cuba.

I'm co-director of the Energy and Regulation Forum at the Fundación para la Investigación sobre el Derecho y la Empresa (FIDE) and I have been director of the Higher Programme in Energy Law at the Instituto de Empresa (Madrid) and an associate professor of Private International Law at the Universidad Francisco de Vitoria (Madrid). I participate regularly in the program 'La Tertulia Capital' on Capital Radio (105.7 FM).

I received recognition as the best energy lawyer in Spain (Client Choice Award) from the International Law Office in the years from 2010-2015 and 2017. I have also been chosen as Lawyer of the Year 2012 and 2016 by Best Lawyers in the Natural Resources sector. In 2017 and 2018 my team and I received the Chambers & Partners award as the best international law firm in Cuba.