Carole Sportes

Partner

Languages spoken
French | English | Spanish

About Carole

Carole Sportes is a leading French lawyer and a recognised authority in International Dispute Resolution (IDR), with more than 25 years of experience handling complex, high-stakes litigation and arbitration matters. Since 2019, she has served as managing partner of the Paris office of Squire Patton Boggs and leads the firm’s International Dispute Resolution Practice in France.

Her profile places her among leading French practitioners in high-stakes cross-border disputes. She represents sovereign states and multinational corporations in investment treaty arbitration or international commercial arbitration, as well as complex litigation before French courts. She is particularly renowned for her work in technically demanding and highly regulated sectors, including aviation, insurance and reinsurance, product liability (notably pharmaceuticals) and corporate disputes.

Carole is regularly entrusted with matters of strategic and financial significance, often involving multiple jurisdictions and sensitive legal or geopolitical dimensions. She has developed a strong reputation for designing and executing global dispute strategies, including the coordination of parallel proceedings and enforcement actions across jurisdictions.

Widely recognised by leading legal directories, including Chambers France, Legal 500, Best Lawyers, Lexology and Décideurs Juridiques, Carole is regarded as a leading practitioner in her field. Most recently, she was featured in the Lawdragon 500 Leading Global Litigators guide for 2026, and named among Le Monde du Droit's “100 People Shaping the Law” for 2026, distinctions that reflect her outstanding career, professional commitment and contribution to the Paris legal market. Le Monde du Droit further praises Carole for “having a distinctly modern take on litigation, where the law is not something to be endured but harnessed as a strategic tool to resolve or prevent conflicts.”

Before joining Squire Patton Boggs as a partner in 2015, she co-founded a Paris-based boutique law firm specialising in international litigation, which she successfully developed over more than a decade. Her career reflects consistent progression from specialist litigator to trusted advisor and leader within a global law firm. Her work often sits at the intersection of public international law and global business litigation.

Carole holds expertise at the intersection of civil law, international arbitration and regulatory frameworks. She is widely regarded as a strategic advisor capable of navigating complex disputes with precision, discretion and a global perspective.

Experience

International Arbitration

  • Representing a foreign state in a pending US$1.4 billion investment arbitration regarding compensation for the expropriation of the claimant's predecessors' company in the 1970s.
  • Representing a foreign state in a pending €193 million investment arbitration conducted pursuant to ICC Rules relating to several construction projects interrupted by a civil war.
  • Representing a foreign state in an ongoing US$69 million investment arbitration conducted pursuant to ICC Rules relating to a settlement agreement and several construction projects interrupted by a civil war.
  • Representing a foreign state in a pending US$52 million investment arbitration conducted pursuant to ICC Rules relating to several construction projects interrupted by a civil war.
  • Defending a foreign State National Oil Corporation in a highly sensitive dispute against Marine Services Company relating to the impact of acts of war/insurrection on the performance of a charter party.
  • Representing a worldwide food and beverage company in an international commercial arbitration relating to the valuation of the minority shareholders' capital share.

Litigation Before French Courts

  • Representing a foreign central bank in a recourse against a French exequatur order of an arbitral award of US$1 billion.
  • Representing a foreign central bank in relation to various seizure proceedings on its assets.
  • Representing a foreign state in a setting aside proceedings before the Court of appeal of Paris relating to an arbitration award where US$70 million is at issue.
  • Representing a foreign state in a setting aside proceedings before the Court of appeal of Paris relating to an arbitration award where US$51 million is at issue.
  • Representing a foreign state in relation to an Exequatur judgment of a Serbian judgment ordering the foreign state to pay to the claimant €10 million.
  • Representing a major International pharmaceutical company in a massive litigation representing a global risk of €200 million concerning a drug marketed in most of the occidental countries during the 70s.
  • Representing one of the most preeminent industrial companies in a large litigation concerning the Lyme syndrome.
  • Advising and representing a US manufacturer of diesel engines on an exclusive basis for its French product liability cases.
  • Representing a foreign state to protect its ownership right on a governmental A340 aircraft.

Aviation

  • Sharm El Sheikh accident of January 2004 – Representing Flash Airlines, its insurers and reinsurers (148 fatalities, 650 claims) before the French courts.
  • The Airbus A 320 crash in Perpignan of November 2008 – Representing Air New Zealand in the criminal proceedings.
  • Representing worldwide and European airlines in their cargo and passengers’ claims.

Product Liability

  • Representing a major international pharmaceutical company in the massive French litigation concerning the drug DES.
  • Representing one of the most preeminent industrial companies in a large litigation concerning the Lyme syndrome.
  • Advising and representing a US manufacturer of medical devices in multidistrict product liability litigation.

Insurance

  • Advising and representing a major international insurer in a large litigation against a European insurer relating to a coverage issue applicable to an entire portfolio.
  • Advising and representing a European middle-size insurer in handling the run-off of a property and casualty insurance French portfolio.

Credentials

Education
  • CAPA, 1995
  • Université de Montpellier, Business Law School/DEA, Droit privé, 1994
  • Université de Montpellier, Maîtrise en Droit privé, 1993
Admissions
  • Paris, 1995
Memberships & Affiliations
  • IAWA – International Aviation Women’s Association
  • SFDAS – Société Française de Droit Aérien et Spatial
  • AIDA – Association Internationale de Droit des Assurances

Recognitions

  • Recognised in the 2026 Lawdragon 500 Leading Global Litigators guide

  • Named in the “100 People who Shape the Law” by Le Monde du Droit 2026

  • Recognised by Chambers France 2026 in the Product Liability & Industrial Product category

  • Among the few recommended lawyers in France by Legal 500 EMEA 2018-2026 for insurance and by Legal 500 in aviation in 2018

  • Recognised by Best Lawyers 2023,2024,2025 and 2026 in Aviation Law, Product Liability Litigation, Transportation Law and nominated Lawyer of the Year 2019 in transportation by Best Lawyers.

  • Recommended in Who's Who Legal Thought Leaders Global Elite and Thought Leaders – France – Insurance & Reinsurance 2014-2025, Transport Aviation 2022, Liability Defence 2019 – 2022 and Product Liability Defense 2022-2025

  • Listed in the Guide to the World’s Leading Litigation and Product Liability Lawyers 2016 – 2021

  • Listed in the Guide to the World’s Leading Women in Business Law 2016 – 2021

  • Ranked by Chambers Europe 2018 in France Transportation – Aviation Band 3

Expertise

Services
Litigation International Dispute Resolution
Industries
Life Sciences Aviation