Latham & Watkins confirms arrival of Linklaters real estate partner

Latham & Watkins has announced the hire of Linklaters real estate partner Rafael Molina.

The move, which was reported earlier in the summer, was confirmed by Latham & Watkins Madrid managing partner Juan Picon.

Molina specialises in high-end real estate transactions, restructurings, as well as distressed transactions involving private equity and international investment funds.

Also joining Latham & Watkins from Linklaters is corporate counsel Luis Manuel Lozano. Lozano’s practice focuses on advising companies, financial institutions, and private equity firms on matters related to M&A, joint ventures, equity and debt capital markets, finance, restructuring, and distressed transactions. He has particular expertise in the infrastructure, energy, and financial services sectors.

Picon said Molina’s arrival represented a “significant step forward in the build-out of our transactional capability in Spain”. He added that Molina is “widely seen as one of the country’s most prominent lawyers for high-end real estate transactions and he is highly respected in the tight-knit banking, finance, and investment fund community”.

Meanwhile, Latham & Watkins corporate partner Jose Antonio Sánchez Dafos said Lozano’s work across the “full spectrum of corporate and private equity transactions is impressive”.