Dr Manuel Penades is a Reader in International Commercial Law at The Dickson Poon School of Law, having joined King’s College in September 2016. He holds an LLM from the London School of Economics and Political Science (UK) and two degrees on Law and Business Studies [First Class Honours] from the University of Valencia (Spain). His PhD examined the relationship between International commercial arbitration and cross-border insolvency proceedings. Before joining King’s, Manuel worked at the London School of Economics and Political Science (UK), the University of Warwick (UK) and the University of Valencia (Spain).Manuel is a qualified solicitor (England & Wales) and abogado (Spain), non-practising, and before his academic career worked in a major arbitration firm in London and clerked at the Commercial Court of Valencia. He regularly participates in international commercial litigation and arbitration cases as consultant or expert witness.

Research interests

Manuel’s main research focuses on international arbitration, cross-border insolvency law and conflict of laws for commercial contracts. While also interested in theoretical and conceptual work, he is particularly attracted by the challenges that each of those disciplines generate when they interact with other legal fields. Examples of this are the impact of insolvency proceedings on arbitration; the use of arbitration in the context of merger control; the participation of the European Commission in investment arbitration; the indirect effect of the principle of effectiveness of EU law on international arbitration; the importance of national rules and economic interests in the application of EU conflict-of-law rules; etc.

Teaching 

Private International Law; Contract Law; International Commercial Arbitration; Insurance Law