How would Italy vs Spain end in the legal market?

Tonight, the Italian and Spanish national teams will face off in the group stage of the European Championships currently underway in Germany. Italy is the reigning European champion, and in the 2021 edition, it was the “Azzurri” under then-coach Roberto Mancini who eliminated Spain from the competition. However, Spain is favoured this evening: both by bookmakers and by new coach Luciano Spalletti, who in yesterday’s press conference praised the organisation and planning capabilities of the Spanish football system, as well as the completeness of the “Red Fury” squad.

But what if the match were played between lawyers and business law firms? Who could claim the best chances of victory, Italy or Spain? We tried to understand this by comparing the data from the revenue rankings of firms active in both countries in 2023, as compiled by MAG and Iberian Lawyer.

by Giuseppe Salemme

The two markets

If we look at the absolute value of the business law sector in both countries, Italy comes out on top, albeit narrowly. The top 50 firms in Italy collectively generate €3.49 billion; the Spanish firms “only” €3.18 billion. The growth rate of the two markets in the past year is very similar: +8.7% in Italy, +8.3% in Spain.

However, it should be noted that the Spanish data does not include foreign revenue, which can represent a significant boost for top Spanish firms, up to 20%.

Spain has more top players, Italy dominates the midfield

Focusing on the upper end of the market, the Spanish firms boast the brightest “diamonds.” Garrigues is not only the richest firm in Spain: last year it also became the first European legal firm to surpass the €450 million revenue mark (specifically €454.27 million, with 13% from abroad). In second place is Cuatrecasas, with €388.7 million in revenue (20.3% international); in third place is Uría Menéndez with €290.7 million (20.7% from abroad).

Thanks to these numbers, Spanish firms still keep the “big three” consultancy firms at a safe distance, whereas in Italy, these consultancies have occupied the top positions in the rankings over the past 24 months: Ey Slt with €280 million in annual revenue; Deloitte Legal+Sts with €270 million; and Pwc Tls with €244 million.

What makes the difference in Italy is primarily the mid-to-high range of the market. The Italian firms exceeding €100 million in revenue number 11, compared to only 8 in Spain. Even more telling is the number of firms in the €100-50 million range: in Italy, there are 11; in Spain, only 6.

Who values their players more?

In Italy, Latham & Watkins boasts the highest revenue per partner: €6.1 million. This far exceeds the best Spanish figure for revenue per partner (rpp), recorded by Allen & Overy (€3.6 million). Statistically, however, Latham’s figure is an anomaly, as the rpp rankings of the two countries are otherwise quite comparable: performances by Ey Slt (€3.5 million), Chiomenti (€3.2 million), BonelliErede (€2.7 million), and Legance (€1.8 million) match those of Bdo Abogados (€3.5 million), Linklaters (€3.3 million), Clifford Chance (€3.1 million), and Ashurst (€2.1 million).

The real difference lies in the number of lawyers required to achieve these figures. Here, Spain necessarily prevails, partly due to the known overpopulation of the Italian legal market. There are about 240,000 Italian lawyers (approximately one for every 250 inhabitants), about 110,000 more than in Spain (which has 132,000, or one for every 360 inhabitants). Focusing on the top 50 business law firms, we see that in Italy they employ over 11,000 professionals, including about 2,000 partners.

A similar figure for Spain does not exist, making a direct comparison impossible. However, considering the general differences in the lawyer population, it can be concluded that to match (and in some cases surpass) the results of their Spanish counterparts, Italians need much more effort. This is also the most fitting parallel with the football rivalry: Italy has shown it can beat Spain; but only if they play the “match of their lives” every time.