Baker & McKenzie favourite foreign choice among Spanish clients

New research shows the US-headquartered firm is the first choice of Spanish clients doing business in other jurisdictions, ahead of Linklaters and Bird & Bird

Baker & McKenzie is the law firm most frequently instructed by Spanish clients when doing business abroad, according to new Iberian Lawyer research.
More than 190 in-house lawyers at companies in Spain were asked to name the law firm they used most commonly in other jurisdictions – Baker & McKenzie received the most mentions, from respondents who answered this question, with a total of nine per cent of respondents saying they instructed the firm in such instances.
Among the most commonly cited countries in which respondents said they instructed Baker & McKenzie were France, Italy, Switzerland, the US, the UK, Poland, Russia and Mexico.
The second most frequently instructed firm by Spanish clients was Linklaters. A total of four per cent of participants in the survey said they used the firm, with Asia and Europe being the most commonly mentioned regions.
The third most commonly cited firm was Bird & Bird, which was mentioned by three per cent of participants. The UK was the most commonly referenced country in this regard.
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Herbert Smith Freehills and Cremades & Calvo Sotelo were the next most frequently referenced firms – all were cited by two per cent of respondents. Participants said they instructed Freshfields in the UK, UAE, and Asia, while Herbert Smith was referenced in relation to France, the UK, Asia, and South America. Colombia was the country most commonly mentioned in relation to Cremades & Calvo Sotelo.
In the case of the three leading firms in the survey – Baker & McKenzie, Linklaters, and Bird & Bird – the companies that instruct them in foreign jurisdictions predominately operate in the technology, pharmaceuticals and services sectors.
The research also revealed that, when asked what the key factor influencing their choice of law firm was, participants cited ´quality´ as the most important factor. The second most crucial driver was ´trust´, with ´service´ being the third.
Half of the respondents said they outsource 11 to 25 per cent of their legal work, while one in four respondents said they outsourced 26 per cent to 40 per cent of their work. All of the respondents that outsourced legal work said that 26 to 40 per cent of their dispute resolution work was outsourced, and 11 to 25 per cent of their corporate and M&A (between 11 and 25 per cent).
A total of 190 lawyers from Spain´s largest companies took part in the online survey, which was conducted from August-October 2014.

The research was conducted in the course of compiling the Iberian Lawyer report “Contaminado por el negocio: la función estratégica de legal y compliance en España”. To obtain your copy, contact info@iberianlegalgroup.com