Olleros Abogados and McDermott Will & Emery announce Cuba partnership

Spanish law firm Olleros Abogados and McDermott Will & Emery have announced a new partnership that will involve “coordinating efforts” to provide advice to American, European and Cuban clients on their interests in Cuba.

The announcement came as Olleros’ founding partner Jaime Olleros said that his firm is committed to opening in La Habana. He added that he expected it to happen “as soon as the Cuban system allows international law firms to establish offices in the country.”  In the meantime, Olleros will establish a Cuba desk in Madrid to handle its growing Cuba-related work.

Olleros Abogados has represented Spanish and international clients in Cuba for over 15 years in virtually all areas of commerce, including in the agriculture, automotive, renewable energy, telecommunications, and tourism industries. The firm´s Cuban practice has been led by Jaime Olleros and supported by lawyers Ignacio Aparicio and Javier Mata.

A McDermott statement said the firm had been particularly active in recent months advising clients on US-Cuba legal matters. This has included advising agribusiness clients on US-Cuba trade policy and changes to the Helms-Burton Act.   

Olleros said the “excellent historic relations between Spain and Cuba have placed Cuba in the center of international operations for multiple Spanish based companies, positioning Spain as Cuba’s third leading trading partner, only exceeded by Venezuela and China”. He added that the number of Spanish companies established on the island has doubled in the last year, increasing from 116 to 230. 

Jeffery E. Stone, co-chair of McDermott Will & Emery LLP said: “With the rapid improvement in relations between the U.S. and Cuba, McDermott and Olleros are poised to deliver a full-service approach to clients doing business both from and into Cuba.” He added: “Both firms will benefit as we exploit common synergies for our American, Spanish and European clients on Cuba-related matters. We expect to be particularly strong in the areas of international trade, competition, corporate, regulatory and tax as we serve clients in the hospitality, agriculture, and tourism sectors, among others.”  

Olleros Abogados has around 100 lawyers based in offices in Madrid and Valencia. McDermott Will & Emery has more than 1,000 lawyers with offices in Boston, Brussels, Chicago, Dallas, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Houston, London, Los Angeles, Miami, Milan, Munich, New York, Orange County, Paris, Rome, Seoul, Silicon Valley and Washington, DC.