Addleshaw Goddard’s strategic expansion into Spain
by julia gil
“There is still an appetite for Spain”. These are the words of Roberto Pomares, the new managing partner of the firm Addleshaw Goddard. The law firm that landed in the Spanish market with the opening of an office in Madrid in April 2024 joins the trend of British law firms that have bet on this country, including Kennedys or Three Crowns. After separating from the Chinese firm King Wood Mallesons, due to its association with Eversheds Sutherland, they evaluated various options in the Spanish market. With a team of 13 partners and more than 60 lawyers, they decided to join Addleshaw Goddard, an international firm with more than 1,750 lawyers and 400 partners in eighteen offices around the world.
Why Addleshaw Goddard?
From the moment we started talking to Addleshaw Goddard, we saw that it was a good fit with what we were looking for. There are many reasons for such an important decision. The first was our customers. We have been part of the King Wood Mallesons network for many years now, which is very strong in Asia-Pacific, especially in Australia and China. But in Europe, the network has not yet been rebuilt, so it was quite important to look for a firm with a significant presence in Europe and with full-service offices, covering all practice areas. Secondly, for our teams. At King Wood, by not having a relevant European presence, we were becoming a bit of a local firm with an international name. Our associates were not benefiting from what is usual in an international network, such as working with other offices, the possibilities of secondments, the possibilities of participating in training sessions and even the growth that comes from being part of a network. The logical thing is that this referral work is more around 20%, which also supports the growth and, therefore, the professional development of your lawyers. And third, something that was also very decisive, is that they have a culture very similar to ours. For us, who are a group of partners who have been working together for more than 20 years in an extremely collaborative way, without internal competitions and with a very good working environment, it was important that the culture was very similar. And undoubtedly, it is a firm with first-class clients, to whom they provide a quality service.
Is its implementation in Spain being complicated?
Not for us, the point is that we are not starting from scratch, we are a firm that has been in the market for 25 years. It has been a change of name, we are still the same 70 lawyers, working in the same offices, with a very consolidated client base. We generate 98% of our turnover, so they trust the local team. We introduced the SJ Berwin brand in Spain, then we moved on to King Wood Mallesons and now Addleshaw. There was no potential complication, our customers have perceived it as a very positive move and with regard to the teams, I think they are facing it with great enthusiasm. They are feeling from day one what it means to be part of an international network as there is a lot of workflow. We participated in a tracking program in London, and we were able to send four of our most junior associates, two weeks after the integration took place. To tell you the truth, I would say that it is being extremely easy, although there is a lot of work behind getting to know people, IT integrations or adapting to new systems.
