60 years of Baker McKenzie in Spain
Rodrigo Ogea and Mireia Sabaté, co-managing partners of the firm in Spain, review in this exclusive interview the firm’s recent milestones and the keys to its strategy in a constantly evolving legal environment
by julia gil
In 1965, Russel Baker and John McKenzie made a firm commitment to Spain, convinced that the country offered endless opportunities. That pioneering move made Baker McKenzie the first international law firm to open an office in Spain. Today, six decades later, its name continues to resonate among the major players in the legal market. And it does so, moreover, with record figures. According to Iberian Lawyer’s ranking of the top 50 firms by revenue in Spain, Baker McKenzie closed its last financial year with a turnover of 115 million euros, which represents a growth of 15.5% compared to the previous year (see the article).
At the helm of this stage are Rodrigo Ogea, managing partner since 2017 and re-elected in 2023 (see the news), and Mireia Sabaté, linked to the firm since its beginnings as an intern, who assumed the co-management in July 2024 (see the news). With a consolidated management structure, the firm has strengthened its presence in strategic areas. Between 2024 and so far in 2025, Baker McKenzie has added two new partners and promoted six others, reflecting its commitment to both internal talent and high-level hires. In this exclusive interview, the two co-managing partners analyze how to build an international firm from a local perspective, the challenges of a changing legal environment and the keys to maintaining leadership in the Spanish market after more than 60 years of history.
How would you define Baker McKenzie’s positioning in the Spanish legal market today?
Rodrigo Ogea (R.O): All law firms are the result of our history, and ours has a distinguishing feature: we were pioneers. Baker was founded in Chicago in 1949, and we opened our second office in Caracas more than 70 years ago to support a client (Abbott Laboratories), which today is still one of our five main clients. We have been in Spain since 1965. We completed our global expansion 20 years before others began theirs. And all this in one of the most competitive markets in the world: in Spain there are excellent companies, but they are very different from each other. We stand out for our mature international network and a real capacity to operate globally.
In 2024 you recorded a growth of 15.5%, up to 115 million euros. What have been the keys to this momentum?
Mireia Sabaté (M.S): It is a milestone that makes us very excited. It has been the result of a clear strategy: structured growth and a commitment to talent. We have incorporated key profiles, but we have also promoted six local partners this year, both in Madrid and Barcelona. All this is accompanied by a firm commitment to digitalization. Growth reflects a constant strategy, not a coincidence. Surpassing 100 million euros in turnover represents a strategic milestone that reflects the strength of our long-term vision.
What are the next targets?
R.O: We do not work with strict budgetary targets, but with strategic objectives. We want to continue to be the most relevant international law firm in Spain. For that, we are very focused on sectors that have not only grown, but will continue to do so: technology, telecommunications, energy… In addition, the macro and geopolitical context affects us directly: the whole process of de-globalization after COVID or the war in Ukraine has broken global supply chains, and that generates legal opportunities. Factory relocation, for example, involves redundancies, litigation, tax restructuring and transnational operations. For many decades, our focus was on accompanying international companies investing in Spain. In the last ten years, the big change that has taken place is that we now play a leading role in accompanying Spanish companies in their international expansion.
Is this much-talked-about ‘tariff war’ also impacting you directly?
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