Top 10 Spanish Cybersecurity Lawyers

For the first time, we have ranked those that we, at Iberian Lawyer, consider the ten best lawyers in the private Cybersecurity sector in Spain. It must be taken into account that this is a small sector, where lawyers usually also manage other tasks like Data Protection and Privacy and not exclusively Cybersecurity, something that is usually performed by technical specialists, not lawyers, as is the case of IT director Manuel Asenjo, whose expertise we have relied on for some articles in this issue. For this reason, referrals between colleagues within the sector have also played an important role in the ranking elaboration

In addition to this, we have composed the list based on many other criteria including years of specific experience in this field lawyers officially recognized both internationally and nationally, as well as their ability to generate significant amount of revenue in their respective firms. We have also taken into account their leadership skills, whether through building effective teams, motivating their lawyers or driving the growth of their firm. Membership of Cybersecurity organizations/associations and their academic activities (conferences, academic articles, university teaching etc.) in the field of Cybersecurity has also been taken into account, as well as their presence and valuable activity in media and social networks along with the quality of their reputation and image in the market.

01. FRANCISCO PÉREZ BES.- Ecix Group. Pérez Bes is the new Digital Law partner of Ecix Group. He was, until last month, the head of Digital Law at Gómez-Acebo & Pombo Abogados. Between 2014 and 2019 he was General Secretary of the Spanish National Institute for Cybersecurity (INCIBE), and he is a member of the Legal Committee and the Cybersecurity Section of the General Council of Spanish Lawyers. He also stands out for his role as an arbitrator of the ICT panel in the European Association of Arbitration, and he serves as first vice-president for the Association of National Experts in ICT Law (ENATIC). In 2018, the Castilla y León regional council of lawyers awarded him the medal of merit for his contribution to the Cybersecurity of the legal profession.

02. JAVIER FERNÁNDEZ-SAMANIEGO.- Samaniego Law. Managing director of Samaniego Law. Seasoned expert in this area, Samaniego started his career as an in-house at the CDTI/ESA (European Space Agency) and has been involved in Cybersecurity issues for more than two decades. After facing several cyber-attacks in the mid 90’s, he successfully designed one of the first Compliance packages with the (now abolished) Computer Security Regulation in 1999. In USA he has been given the visa as an “alien of extraordinary ability” for his specialization in Cybersecurity and Privacy Law.

03. ÁLVARO ÉCIJA.- Ecix Group. Álvaro Écija, was one of the founding partners of ÉCIJA. He would later leave the firm to create Ecix Group, a boutique firm specialized in providing Compliance and Cybersecurity services, designer of projects such as “Ciberderecho” (Cyberlaw) and “equaciones legales”(legal equations). Écija has over 20 years of experience, developing risk management tools such as ePrivacy, eRisk, ePia, eBusiness Continuity, eSecurity. He is also a member of the Committee of Independent Experts of the National Cybersecurity Strategy and a speaker at TEDex.

04. JESÚS YÁÑEZ.- ECIJA. A leading partner in the areas of Risk & Compliance, Cybersecurity and Privacy and Data Protection, Yáñez has nearly 20 years of experience providing technical and legal advice in these matters. He began his professional career at IBM’s subsidiary in Spain and later was in charge of the technical-legal area of the consulting firm Alaro Avant. In recent years he has successfully led major consulting and legal advice projects with an international vocation for major accounts in the areas of IT Security, Compliance and New Technologies.

05. NATALIA MARTOS.- Legal Army NewLaw. Natalia Martos is the CEO and founder of Legal Army, the first Spanish ALSP. Before embarking on that project, she was a partner at Andersen Tax & Legal and counsel at Perez-Llorca, where she led the Privacy, Technology and Digital Business area. Until the end of 2016, she worked as the global privacy director of Grupo PRISA, and was also the legal and privacy director for the Spanish social network, Tuenti. She has been awarded the Civil Merit Cross from the Spanish Ministry of Interior for her collaboration in the fight against cyber terrorism.

06. JOAQUÍN MUÑOZ.- Ontier. Muñoz heads the Intellectual Property and New Technologies practice at Ontier. He joined the firm in April 2016 from his legal boutique, Abanlex. For eight years he co-managed the firm and gained great international recognition in the sector, thanks to cases such as the defence of Mario Costeja in the famous “derecho al olvido” (right to be forgotten) proceeding with the European Union Court of Justice ruling in his favour in a landmark ruling. His practice is mainly focused on advising high potential technology companies.

07. PALOMA BRU.- Pinsent Masons. Paloma Bru is a partner and co-head of the TMT and Cybersecurity department of Pinsent Masons’ Madrid office. Praised by clients for her knowledge of the market, her practice focuses on advising Spanish and foreign companies on local and international Commercial Contracts, Privacy and Data Protection, Cybersecurity, Outsourcing, e-commerce and Information society services. She has more than 20 years of experience in the area of TMT and more specifically 12 in Cybersecurity.

08. NOEMÍ BRITO.- Ceca Magán Abogados. Brito is the partner in charge of the Technology, Innovation and Digital Economy area at Ceca MAGÁN Abogados. She is a specialist in Digital Law and Emerging Technologies. DPO/DPD certified according to the ENAC-AEPD Scheme. Certified Data Privacy Professional (CDPP). Data Protection Officer (DPO) of the Multiasistencia Group (Allianz Partners Group. EUR3). Member of the Board of Directors of the Association of National Experts in Digital Law (ENATIC). Head of the Corporate ENATIC Committee. Co-responsible for the Digital Law Group of the Spanish Chapter of the “European Law Institute” (Spanish ELI Hub).

09. CEYHUN N. PEHLIVAN.- Linklaters. The current managing associate and head of the Data Protection and Cybersecurity area of Linklaters in Spain, has an extensive experience advising multinational companies on Data Protection, Privacy and Cybersecurity. He is also the vice president of the “Knowledge International Association of Privacy Professionals” in Spain. He has been involved in very complex issues at an international level, such as the largest cyber-attack in the history of Mexico. Throughout his career, he has served as senior legal counsel in charge of the Privacy and Cybersecurity practice at Philips ́ headquarters in Amsterdam. During that time, among other things, he was responsible for the “Major Cybersecurity Incidents” area of the entire Philips Group at a global level and managed all Cybersecurity incidents from a legal perspective.

10. SILVIA ZAMORANO.- Deloitte Legal. Silvia Zamorano, senior associate in the Regulatory & Compliance area of Deloitte Legal, is an expert in Compliance and Economic Criminal Law. She has extensive experience in pre-procedure management and conducting legal proceedings related to Cyber-crime. She regularly advises on Regulatory Compliance, Criminal Compliance, CBP&F, Financial Sanctions, Cybersecurity, Anti-corruption and Crisis Management. She currently manages the firm’s “Cyber React” service, which aims to provide a comprehensive response to incidents and security breaches, while also offering a legal response to Crisis Management derived from a cyber-attack.

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