Ferrovial gains Simmons talent

José Blanco joins Ferrovial as Director Assistant to the General Counsel. Blanco is second in line to the General Secretariat, Santiago Ortiz, dealing with corporate governance, general corporate matters, capital markets, banking and finance and M&A.

Blanco joins from Simmons & Simmons, Spain, where he was a Partner in the Corporate Department, prior to which he had been a Partner at Ramón y Cajal Abogados. Blanco has extensive experience in domestic and cross-border equity capital markets, which includes IPOs, rights offerings, convertible bond offerings and hybrid security issues.
This move goes against the recent trend of in-house to private practice moves, such as José María de Paz who went from Head of Legal at Agbar to Rousaud Costas Duran. However, as the majority of companies are cutting down on lawyers to reduce costs, some say this demonstrates how others are thinking much more strategically and recruiting top lawyers to keep the best talent in-house.