Arya Legal opens Barcelona office with Mercedes Santos ahead
Arya Legal, a Madrid-based firm specialising in employment law advisory, is opening a new office in Barcelona, located at Gran Vía de las Corts Catalanes, 639. The expansion marks a new step in the firm’s growth plan, aimed at strengthening its direct presence in Catalonia and responding to growing demand for specialised employment law services in one of Spain’s main business hubs.
The new office will be headed by Mercedes Santos, who joins from BDO Abogados y Asesores Tributarios, where she served as senior manager of the employment advisory department in Barcelona. With over 30 years of experience in employment law, she has advised national and international companies on collective bargaining, labour restructurings, collective dismissals, judicial defence before social courts, and the design and implementation of equality plans and labour compliance protocols. Her expertise also covers complex labour conflict management, harassment proceedings, fundamental rights violations, and internal compliance policies.
Alongside her, Júlia Rabell joins the team from KPMG Abogados, where she worked as an associate. She brings seven years of experience in employment law, covering conciliation proceedings, Labour Inspectorate actions, equality plans, pay audits, and workplace harassment procedures.
Strategic rationale
Although Arya Legal was already advising companies operating in Catalonia, the firm had not previously maintained a dedicated legal team in the region. David Aceves, managing partner of Arya Legal, noted that “companies are facing increasingly complex employment law processes and require anticipation, strategic judgement, and execution capacity, and that having a dedicated team in Catalonia enables the firm to support clients in their day-to-day operations”.
Mercedes Santos highlighted that “beyond conflict defence, the real value lies in building solid internal labour structures within companies — designing internal policies well, anticipating risks, and organising labour management to significantly reduce litigation exposure, with on-the-ground presence enabling better understanding of each sector and organisation”.
