Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer recruits Esteban de Santos as partner
Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer has recruited Esteban de Santos Smith, formerly of Linklaters, as a new partner in its Commercial Practice in Spain. He will join the firm in January 2026.
Eduardo Soler Tappa, managing partner of Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer’s Spanish office, commented: “Esteban has established a solid reputation in the market, known for his commercial acumen, commitment to clients and technical expertise. His arrival further strengthens and expands our offering from Madrid to both domestic and international clients.”
Esteban de Santos Smith
De Santos Smith joins from Linklaters in Madrid, where he was a managing associate and had been for eight years. He has also worked for firms such as White & Case, Ramón y Cajal Abogados and DLA Piper.
He specialises in advising Spanish and international private equity investors and strategic companies on domestic and cross-border commercial transactions, advising on highly complex mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, shareholder agreements, corporate restructuring and corporate governance issues, mainly in the financial services, technology, data centres, real estate, sports and leisure, and consumer goods sectors.
His arrival follows that of Sergio Cires, who joined as a banking and finance partner, and the promotion of Miguel Fraga to partner in recent years. In turn, this year, the firm has welcomed several new partners in EMEA, including Emanuela Da Rin and her team (Banking and Finance) in Milan, Mohammed Al Eshaikh (Commercial) in Riyadh and Laurence Bary (Competition, Regulation and Trade) in Paris.
Alberto Frasquet, managing partner for Commercial Law for EMEA at Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer, added: “Esteban’s addition strengthens and enhances our commercial practice in EMEA and our global network. We look forward to working together and leveraging his deep market knowledge to continue advancing our private equity strategy.”
De Santos Smith said: “Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer is a perfect fit for my practice, given the Madrid team’s strong position in the private equity market, the collaborative nature of the network and the firm’s increased presence in the United States following the combination with Kramer Levin earlier this year. I am excited to join and to be able to work with my partners across all practices and offices of the firm.”
