Íñigo Erláiz, beyond the €100m mark
As he enters the final stretch of his term, Gómez-Acebo & Pombo’s managing partner faces the challenge of consolidating the firm’s position at the high end of the market and adapting its model to a sector that artificial intelligence is beginning to transform
by ilaria iaquinta
The year 2027 will be Íñigo Erláiz’s last at the helm of Gómez-Acebo & Pombo (GA_P). The firm’s governance model allows for a single re-election, and his current term, following his appointment as managing partner in 2022, runs from 2025 to 2027. The approaching handover provides a natural opportunity to take stock, and Erláiz identifies two distinct phases: an initial period focused on strengthening the firm’s market position, followed by a second aimed at building a more robust and scalable operating and management structure, capable of supporting further profitable and sustainable growth. The figures provide a tangible measure of that progress. GA_P closed 2025 with global revenue of €105.9m, including €94m in Spain, in its first full year after breaking through the €100m barrier. Growth extended across every practice and office, litigation and employment recorded double-digit increases, while the transactional practices grew by more than 5% despite geopolitical uncertainty. Erláiz is reluctant, however, to view those years through a personal lens. “This is not my project. It is the collective project of all the partners, who see it as their own and support it every day through their commitment and involvement”, he tells Iberian Lawyer. “I believe that, irrespective of individual leadership, this explains the firm’s positive development over these years and allows us to approach the transition with confidence. Someone else will come after me, but the energy of the partnership, which is what drives us, will remain, whoever is at the helm”, he adds.
You have said that growth is not an objective in itself, but the result of positioning, profitability and efficiency. What does this performance tell us about the firm’s current position?
It shows that, even in periods of volatility and uncertainty, we are capable of maintaining a very positive trajectory and that the project is therefore extremely robust. It is also a healthy business, because we do not depend on any one practice or, as a result, on any particular economic cycle. Every practice and office contributes. Growth has also been accompanied by a sustained improvement in our market positioning, which in turn reinforces that growth and improves all our internal productivity and profitability indicators. Put another way, we are not simply growing. We are doing so in exactly the way we want.
What are the real indicators of a law firm’s health today? Revenue, profitability, or something that goes beyond the numbers, such as client satisfaction or the ability to attract talent?
They are all relevant and interconnected. Ultimately, however, it comes down to positioning: being in the right segment of the market, for us, the high end, and ensuring the satisfaction of the clients operating within it. That positioning then drives everything else. It provides the fuel to grow in the right way, improve profitability, maintain an extremely strong financial position and remain attractive to the best talent.
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