Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner

Arbitration, Real Estate and Construction Disputes (ARC)

Partner - Litigation and Investigations

Co-Leader - International Arbitration

Pedro J. Martinez-Fraga is a leading practitioner in the field of investor-State international arbitration, international commercial arbitration, and transnational litigation. He is the Global Co-Leader of the firm’s International Arbitration Practice. Mr. Martinez-Fraga is a World Bank (International Bank for Reconstruction and Development) arbitrator. On December 16, 2015, President Barack Obama appointed Mr. Martinez-Fraga as one of four U.S. delegate members to the Panel of Conciliators of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (World Bank), effective February 23, 2016. In April 2021, the Curatorium of The Hague Academy of International Law bestowed on Mr. Martinez-Fraga the prestigious distinction of inviting him to teach the Special Course on Private International Law in the Summer of 2023.

He serves on the Advisory Council of the American Law Institute’s Restatement of the U.S. Law on International Commercial Arbitration and Investor-State Arbitration. Mr. Martinez-Fraga was appointed to serve on the Executive Council of the American Society of International Law as of April 11, 2022.

Mr. Martinez-Fraga has been appointed to serve on the Awards Review Committee of the Madrid International Arbitration Center (Centro Internacional de Arbitraje de Madrid) for a three-year renewable term.  In that capacity he also will serve as an arbitrator in disputes in the construction and energy sectors, as well as arbitrations involving States and State entities.

He has represented the Republic of Argentina, the Republic of Guatemala, the Republic of El Salvador, the Federated Republic of Brazil, the Republic of Chile, the Republic of Ecuador, instrumentalities of the Kingdom of Spain, the Dominican Republic, and most recently The Supreme Court of Venezuela. He has served as an arbitrator in International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the International Center for Dispute Resolution (ICDR), UNCITRAL Ad Hoc international commercial and investor-State arbitrations, and International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) (World Bank) proceedings.

His more notable representations include serving as lead U.S. counsel on behalf of the Republic of Chile in the case against former Chilean President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and Senator pour vie Augusto Pinochet.

Mr. Martinez-Fraga was the Exclusive Winner of the 2019 Lexology Client Choice International Arbitration & ADR Award for Florida. One client noted "his critical thinking and powerful mindset allows him to solve the most difficult cases; he is able to find a rapid solution to the problem." Another client observed "through his creative analysis and work ethic he can outmanoeuvre an adverse party; he has a hands-on approach." During his tenure at another law firm, Mr. Martinez-Fraga was recognized by the prestigious legal publication Chambers for being “widely regarded as the firm’s key player in the field” and it was noted that he “is considered to offer a considerable depth of experience in matters relating to Latin America, not to mention the Spanish-speaking world in general.” Recently Chambers noted that Mr. Martinez-Fraga "is well liked by clients, who value his understanding of what the client wants and ability to find a very unique way to achieve their goals. He has long-standing experience of Latin American dispute resolution matters." Legal 500 Latin America wrote of Mr. Martinez-Fraga and his team that "BCLP fields a number of ‘outstanding practitioners with great technical ability’ and the team has considerable experience handling both commercial arbitration and investor-state disputes." Mr. Martinez-Fraga has also received recommendations as a Global Leader from Who's Who Legal in areas such as Commercial Litigation (2021) and Arbitration (2022). In addition, BCLP is ranked by Latinvex as a top law firm for arbitration and as a top law firm overall.

Mr. Martinez-Fraga also maintains an active international human rights practice, serving as lead counsel in a landmark case before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. He served as a member of the Center for Human Rights Advisory Council of the American Bar Association.

A noted scholar, author and lecturer in the fields of public and private international law, Mr. Martinez-Fraga has been published in 15 countries and five languages. He has written more than 50 peer-reviewed or academically reviewed  articles, six books on private and public procedural international law and is the co-editor and a contributing author of a seventh book on international arbitration. Four of his books are published by Cambridge University Press and form part of every major academic law library and legal research center globally. Additionally, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences has published and translated two of his books into Mandarin. The Universidad del Pacífico honored Mr. Martinez-Fraga with a special book launch highlighting the Spanish language edition of “Public Purpose in International Law: Rethinking Regulatory Sovereignty in a Global Era” (Cambridge University Press), titled: "La Utilidad Pública en el Derecho Internacional: Una Revisión de la Soberanía Regulatoria en la Era Global."

Mr. Martinez-Fraga has lectured at more than 30 universities globally including:

Harvard University Columbia University Cornell University New York University (NYU) Georgetown University McGill University Bucerius Law School (Hamburg, Germany) University of Roma Tre (Rome, Italy) Leibniz Universität (Hannover, Germany) The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (Beijing) East China University (Shanghai) Central University of Law and Social Science (Beijing) Marmara University (Istanbul) Bilgi University (Istanbul) Istanbul Kültür University The University of Florence Universidad de Alcalá de Henares Pepperdine University Caruso School of Law King's College London Istanbul University The Universidad Complutense de Madrid (University of Madrid) Özyeğin University (Istanbul, Turkey)

He currently serves as an Adjunct Professor at the New York University (NYU) School of Law and is a Distinguished Visiting Practitioner for the NYU Center for Transnational Litigation, Arbitration, and Commercial Law. Mr. Martinez-Fraga was named Scholar-in-Residence Fellow at New York University School of Law in 2017. He is also a Visiting Professor of International Litigation and Arbitration for the Global Law Program of the University of Navarra School of Law in Pamplona, Spain, an Honorary Professor of Law at the Universidad de San Ignacio de Loyola in Lima, Perú, and an Honorary Professor at the Universidad del Pacífico in Lima, Perú. Mr. Martinez-Fraga served as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Miami School of Law from 2002 to 2010.

On August 27, 2007, Mr. Martinez-Fraga was listed as counsel who may be appointed to represent victims or the accused in cases before the International Criminal Court at The Hague.

CIVIC INVOLVEMENT & HONORS Listed, The Best Lawyers in America, Commercial Litigation, 2005-2024 Listed, The Best Lawyers in America, International Arbitration - Commercial, 2009-2024 Listed, The Best Lawyers in America, International Arbitration - Governmental, 2009-2024 Listed, "Latin America's Top 100 Lawyers," Latinvex 2015-2024 Distinguished Visiting Practitioner of International Law of the New York University School of Law Active Member of the New York University (NYU) Law School, 2012 - present Fellow, NYU School of Law Scholar-in Residence, September 2017 Recipient, Award of Merit, St. John's College Alumni Association, 2022 Recipient, Columbia University Distinguished Alumnus Award, 2013 Listed, Who's Who Legal: Arbitration, 2022 Listed, Who's Who Legal: Commercial Litigation, 2021 Recipient, The Lawyer Network Annual Awards, International Commercial Arbitration Expert of the Year in Florida, 2021 Board Certified in International Litigation & Arbitration (Florida) Listed, 2021 South Florida Legal Guide, Top Lawyer Listed, Latinvex Top 100 Lawyers 2020, Litigation & Arbitration Listed, Who's Who Legal: Florida 2020, Litigation & Arbitration Exclusive Winner of the 2019 Lexology Client Choice International Arbitration & ADR Award for Florida Member, Top 100 Registry Named,  AV Preeminent Top Rated Lawyer - Legal Leaders: ADR Listed, Best Lawyers In South Florida - The Wall Street Journal, 2017-2019 The Best Lawyers in America, "Lawyer of the Year" (International Arbitration - Governmental in Miami), 2022 Listed, Chambers & Partners USA Guide, an annual listing of the leading business lawyers and law firms in the world, 2004-Present Listed, The Legal 500 Latin America, International Arbitration, noted as a "prominent Latin American arbitration expert," 2016 Recipient, "Lawyer of the Americas" Award, The University of Miami School of Law, 2001 Listed, Expert Guide for Commercial Arbitration, October 2014 Recognized, Top Lawyer, South Florida Legal Guide, 2000-2020 Selected from a pool of 1.1 million to The Lawdragon 500 New Stars, New Worlds listing of 500 lawyers "who are carrying the profession to new frontiers," Lawdragon Magazine, Summer 2006 Listed as one of the "Lawdragon 3000 Leading Lawyers in America," Lawdragon.com, 2006 United Way Dorothy Shula Award for Outstanding Volunteerism, Finalist, 2006 "Most Effective Lawyer" Award (Arbitration) Finalist (2014) "Most Effective Lawyer" Award (Pro Bono) Finalist (2010) "Most Effective Lawyer" Award (International Law) Finalist (2006) "Most Effective Lawyer" Award (International Law) (2005) Elected to the American Law Institute (ALI), 1999-Present Recognized as a Top 100 Lawyer in Florida and featured as the cover story in the inaugural issue of Florida Super Lawyers magazine, 2006 Listed, The International Who's Who of Business Lawyers, Commercial Litigation, 2008-2015 Listed, The International Who's Who of Commercial Arbitration, 2010-2016 Recognized, Top 100 Lawyers, Florida Super Lawyers, 2006 (cover)-2021 Recognized, Top 500 Lawyers, InterContinental Finance Magazine, 2013 Listed as Leading Lawyer in PLC's Cross-border Dispute Resolution Handbook, 2011 Highly Recommended for dispute resolution and corporate/M&A by PLC Which Lawyer? Yearbook 2008, 13th Edition Recognized, "Florida Legal Elite," Florida Trend Magazine (top 2 percent of lawyers in Florida), 2004-2014 PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS Honorary Professor of Law, Universidad del Pacífico, Lima, Perú Honorary Professor of Law, Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola, Lima, Perú, Full Visiting Professor, Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain Advisor, American Law Institute, Restatement on the U.S. Law on International Commercial and Investor-State Arbitration Executive Council of the American Society of International Law Co-Chair, 2022 American Society of International Law Mid-Year Meeting, University of Miami and BCLP, November 10-12, 2022 Co-Chair Practitioner’s Forum, American Society of International Law (“ASIL”), Mid-Year Meeting November 10-13, 2021, University of Miami Member, American Society of International Law (“ASIL”) Executive Council; Development Committee; Steering Committee, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (“OECD”) Member, Roster of International Arbitrators of the National and Inernational Arbitration Center of the Lima Chamber of Commerce (2020) Advisor, Advisory Group for the Restatement (Third) of the U.S. Law of International Commercial Arbitration, American Law Institute (ALI) Chair, The Florida Bar Code and Rules of Evidence Committee, 1996 (also served as Vice-Chair of the Committee in 1995) Member, The Florida Bar Civil Procedure Rules Committee, 1990-1997 Member, The Florida Bar Rules of Judicial Administration Committee, 1996-1997 Past Member, Advisory Committee on Rules and Procedures, US District Court, Southern District of Florida (Appointed by the Honorable Judge Nesbitt, United States Federal District Court Judge) Chair (1996), Vice-Chair (1995), The Dade County Bar Association Federal Courts Committee