Top 30 of Spanish legal 2025
Iberian Lawyer highlights the 30 lawyers who have shaped the Spanish legal landscape in 2025. Number 1: Pedro Pérez-Llorca
by ilaria iaquinta
After a euphoric 2024 — marked by mergers, record revenues, and promises of international expansion — in 2025, the Spanish legal sector has moved from words to action: sustained growth quarter after quarter, and expansion through offices and alliances that bring real practice value, not just headlines. On top of that, three major forces have redefined the playing field: Latin America as a second “domestic” front, artificial intelligence moving beyond pilot stages into the legal production line, and governance emerging as the discipline that separates firms that follow through from those that do not. And behind it all, as always, are people: leaders who have reorganised teams, integrated boutiques, hired strategically, opened markets, and closed mandates that drive the cycle.
This is not a revenue-based ranking or a league table. It is Iberian Lawyer’s editorial barometer of who has moved the market in 2025. The selection is based on four key dimensions that, together, define real power in this industry. First, the track record: what has been achieved over the past twelve months, measured in impactful deals and mandates — M&A, IPOs, bond issues, securitisations, restructurings, joint ventures, regulated projects and complex disputes — both within Spain and in the cross-border activity that now sets the agenda. Second, leadership: the governance and methods used to steer teams towards results, including service efficiency, meaningful tech adoption, talent policies, firm culture, and ESG initiatives that truly transform the profession. Third, popularity, understood not as fame, but as authority recognised by the ecosystem — in-house counsel, peers, headhunters, industry forums and public opinion — which amplifies the reach of their decisions. Fourth, career progression: appointments, new responsibilities and qualitative leaps that explain why certain names carry more weight this year.
To help guide readers, we have grouped the featured professionals into categories that better reflect their achievements and spheres of influence.At the top, we have those who have led with method and measured outcomes. They have not just set direction: they have turned internationalisation into revenue, professionalised governance, aligned culture with technology, and maintained productivity per lawyer. Their impact is visible in well-executed mergers, profitable offices, and partnerships that add genuine value, not just visibility. They are the operational benchmark for the market. They are followed by the drivers of change, those who have paved the way with policies that are reshaping the profession: diversity and the promotion of female talent, ESG embedded into processes and metrics, compliance and good governance, mediation and a culture of consensus. Their impact has gone beyond surface-level change: it is reordered internal management, raised standards, and influenced the broader sector. They are the cultural catalysts. Next come the deal makers, the business generators who have closed the transactions that have moved the economic cycle: high-value M&A, IPOs and issuances, complex financings, divestments and carve-outs — often involving regulatory processes and antitrust clearances. Their network, judgement and timing turn opportunities into mandates, and mandates into results. The deal tables of the year have passed through their hands.
Following that are the new leaders at the helm: the next generation taking the reins. Newly appointed or transitioning managing partners who are inheriting established firms and accelerating growth with a focus on data, efficiency and talent. We continue with the sector leaders: specialists who dominate critical verticals — energy and transition, digital/tech, financial markets, real estate, competition. They are the go-to experts for high-stakes matters, thanks to their technical depth, regulatory insight and ability to close deals across multiple jurisdictions. They are setting the standard within their industries. Also featured are the consolidators: through order, method and sustained performance, they have executed surgical hires — strategic lateral moves and internal promotions — fine-tuned processes, implemented technology where it adds efficiency, and protected the bottom line. They are growing with discipline and governance, securing the foundations for their next leaps. And finally, the Big Four representatives: key figures leading the legal arms of their organisations. With national reach and sectoral clout, they compete head-to-head with top law firms in complex transactions and disputes. They have established themselves as a distinct and powerful force at the top of the market in both revenue and influence.
What follows are the profiles of the 30 lawyers, detailing the reasons behind their inclusion in this year’s list and the position they hold, according to the key provided. Alongside each profile and role, there is a graphic representation of the criteria used (see legend below). The arrows (+/–) indicate movement compared to 2024; “NEW ENTRY” marks those who have made the list this year due to standout momentum.
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