Spain’s Top 30 Lawyers of 2022
by ilaria iaquinta
These are the 30 lawyers who have stood out in the Spanish market over the last year according to Iberian Lawyer. Their names are listed in alphabetical order, along with the reasons that allowed them to shine above the others in 2022. A difficult year that, with the outbreak of the war in Ukraine and the raging energy crisis, put a strain on the recovery the wake of the stabilisation of the situation after the pandemic. Corporate lawyers who have to lead law firms and companies towards a restart – is an arduous task, which requires speed in handling change and embracing new challenges, lucidity to govern unprecedented scenarios and creativity to turn critical issues into opportunities. These are characteristics that the 30 leaders listed in the following pages have shown.
The following is not a league table, but an observation of the Spanish Legal market by Iberian Lawyer, the result of a year of work of daily and all-round attention reserved to business lawyers. In particular, these lawyers are considered as the protagonists of 2022 for different reasons, which are encapsulated in the criteria: track record, leadership, popularity and career. You will find them graphically represented in each profile and highlighted according to the weight they have assumed for inclusion in this year’s list.
More specifically, by track record we mean the main activities of which these professionals have successfully handled the legal direction in the last 12 months, in other words, their ability as rainmakers to generate substantial amounts of business within the law firm. From large operations (mergers and acquisitions, quotations, bond issues, securitisations and restructurings) that have marked the market and which have changed the Spanish footprint abroad to partnerships, projects and disputes.
Leadership is considered as the ability of these lawyers at the head of a law firms or a team to lead, with their work and their qualities, the success of the organisation – working on the efficiency of services, the implementation of technologies, or beneficial transformations for the law firms – or of the profession, actively committing to increase innovation or inclusion in the legal market.
Then there is the popularity and therefore the prestige that the selected lawyers have earned among the operators in the sector (in-house counsels, business lawyers, headhunters, etc.). Visibility has transformed these already remarkable professionals into authoritative and recognised “influencers” and trend setters, able to influence the choices of the legal sector, without simply relegating them to work, albeit absolutely central and decision-making, “alone” in the office. For the youngest, they are role models to follow and for clients they are the most valuable advisors.
And finally, the career. A successful career path is the fil rouge that binds the lawyers listed to follow but, among them, there are also some who have taken on important roles within or outside the firm this year.
The following list is therefore the result of careful reflection on all these criteria and ranks business lawyers based on their positioning on individual aspects in the last year, according to the observation of Iberian Lawyer.
