C. MARK BAKER
Fulbright & Jaworski

C. Mark Baker has taken on some of the world’s most controversial political leaders. In 2009, he went up against Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez. Baker, 50, argued at the international Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague, Netherlands, on behalf of the Canadian company Nova Scotia Power regarding a coal contract that the Venezuelan government canceled when it nationalized the country’s energy industry. A ruling is expected soon.

“He’s replacing Vladimir Putin as my favorite opponent,” said Baker, an international arbitration lawyer based in Fulbright & Jaworski’s Houston office. “He loves to take over companies, but he doesn’t like to pay them.”