Harvey hires Omar Puertas from Cuatrecasas
As anticipated by the lawyer in a post on his LinkedIn profile a week ago, Omar Puertas has moved to Harvey from Cuatrecasas, where built a career spanning international arbitration and, more recently, artificial intelligence in the legal sector.
Reflecting on his departure, Puertas said exclusively to Iberian Lawyer: “After 25 years at Cuatrecasas – including as international arbitration partner and managing partner of the Shanghai office, and earlier at Skadden in New York – joining Harvey was the most exciting step I could take.”
He continued: “What drew me here was the depth of the question, not just the technology. AI is forcing law firms and legal teams to rethink what they took for granted: how work is done, where real value lies, what juniors learn, the role of seniors, how partners think about their practice, and what happens to billable hours when the question is no longer who does the work, but where machine intelligence ends and human judgment begins.”
On his new role, he said: “My role is global. I work with law firms and in-house teams to help them understand Harvey – not just adopt it – and to build a clear view of where AI is heading in the legal world and what it means for their business, their people and the practice of law.”
He concluded: “Ultimately, it’s about being both strategic and tactical: how this technology is deployed, how it integrates into real workflows, and how to ensure it delivers tangible results – in quality, efficiency and return on investment.”
The profile
Puertas joined Cuatrecasas in 2000 in Barcelona and later played a key role in the firm’s international expansion, relocating to Shanghai in 2007 to launch its first Asia office. He served as managing partner of the Shanghai office until 2019, advising on cross-border disputes and investments across Asia, Europe and Latin America.
