Hitchings & González is born

A new law firm has entered the Spanish legal market: Hitchings & González (H&G). Based at 22 Diego de León Street in Madrid, the boutique will concentrate its practice on competition defence and collective actions, two areas currently expanding in Spain and across Europe.

Formation of the firm

H&G is the result of a collaboration between Hitchings & Co. and Blas A. González Abogados (BGA). From now on, BGA’s competition defence and collective actions practice will operate within H&G, while BGA will continue its work in insolvency, corporate litigation, industrial property, trademarks and patents. At the same time, all of Hitchings & Co.’s activity is transferred to the new boutique.

Founding partners

The firm brings together Paul Hitchings and Blas A. González. Hitchings has more than 30 years of experience at firms including Norton Rose, Squire Sanders and Cuatrecasas, where he created Spain’s first private enforcement practice in 2005. He is listed in Who’s Who Legal (now Lexology) as a recommended expert at European level in private competition enforcement. He holds a PhD from the Complutense University of Madrid and is director of the Madrid Competition Litigation Seminar.

González served as a commercial judge for 17 years and was part of the first cohort of specialists appointed by the Spanish Judicial Council (CGPJ) in commercial matters. Since 2012, he has worked as a lawyer in private practice and has been involved in the first antitrust collective actions brought in Spain. He also holds a diploma in senior business management.

Areas of focus

H&G will specialise in litigation in competition and collective redress, with ongoing cases including civil claims related to the Car Cartel, the Milk Cartel, Vertical Fuel Distribution Agreements, and Pay-for-Delay agreements (citalopram).

Market context

The launch of H&G takes place in a context marked by the growth of private enforcement, the upcoming implementation of Spain’s new collective actions law, and the increasing role of litigation funds in complex proceedings.