Ecija launches The Garage innovation hub
Ecija has opened The Garage, a new innovation hub in Madrid conceived to reshape how the firm delivers legal services. The space, located at Glorieta de Rubén Darío, spans more than 700 square metres and brings together over 70 professionals, including lawyers, engineers and consultants, working alongside artificial intelligence developers, technology companies and startups.
The initiative aims to move beyond simply layering technology onto existing legal practice. According to the firm, “artificial intelligence and technology are intended to become part of the organisation’s core architecture rather than an additional tool applied to traditional workflows. The project builds on the Full AI Firm model that Ecija introduced in 2023, which sought to integrate artificial intelligence across the organisation and its service delivery”.
The Garage’s design combines materials and structures typical of industrial workshops, exposed metal frameworks and open work areas, with technology intended to support collaboration and experimentation. The firm describes the space as a “place to test and build solutions rather, with the goal of turning experimentation into capabilities that can later be scaled across the firm’s 37 offices in 18 countries”.
To run The Garage, Ecija has brought in Juan Luis Moreno, a telecommunications engineer with more than 25 years of experience in digital strategy, innovation and business transformation. Moreno previously worked at Siemens, France Telecom, Lycos and Vocento, and served as partner & managing director at The Valley, where he led initiatives related to digital transformation and new business models. In his new role, Moreno will oversee the development of The Garage as a hub for testing and scaling new working methods for the firm and its clients.
Robotics and physical AI
Beyond generative AI and agentic systems, The Garage will also work with robotics and physical AI. As part of this effort, Ecija has reached an agreement with Bravo Robots, a company specialising in advanced robotics and physical artificial intelligence that distributes and integrates robots, including humanoids, cobots, quadrupeds and mobile units. Bravo Robots works with companies, universities and technology centres from the identification of use cases through to integration, programming, training and support.
The agreement is intended to allow Ecija to combine legal advice with robotics and automation expertise for clients in sectors such as industry, logistics, retail, energy and services.
As part of the project, Ecija has also launched what it calls “innovation safaris,” visits and demonstrations designed to connect clients with technology companies and startups so they can explore use cases with potential application to their businesses. The firm said companies, including some listed on the IBEX 35, have already taken part in these sessions.
Leadership perspective
Hugo Écija, founder and president of Ecija, said: “The Garage is a further step on our path to turning Ecija into a technology platform that provides legal services. An AI-native firm is not defined by accumulating tools, but by integrating artificial intelligence into its operating model: in how it organises knowledge, designs processes, creates products and works with its clients. At Rubén Darío 3, that ambition becomes a visible, shared and scalable capability.”
