Twelve Iberian law firms in FT innovation ranking
Twelve Iberian law firms feature in the FT Law Firm Index Europe 2026, the Financial Times’ ranking of the continent’s most innovative law firms. The list, published as part of the FT Innovative Lawyers Europe 2026 report, includes eight firms from Spain and four from Portugal.
KPMG Abogados is the highest-ranked Iberian firm, in fourth place overall, followed by Garrigues in sixth. Portugal’s Morais Leitão ranks 12th, while Spain’s Ecija is 16th and Cuatrecasas, 17th. Uría Menéndez ranks 18th and Gómez-Acebo & Pombo, 21st.
The remaining Iberian firms in the ranking are Vieira de Almeida, in 24th place and Abreu Advogados, 28th, both from Portugal. Spanish Pérez-Llorca ranks 31st; PwC Tax & Legal Spain, 37th; and Portuguese PLMJ, 42nd.
The FT Law Firm Index assesses firms across areas including digital innovation, people and social responsibility, based on research conducted for the 2026 edition of FT Innovative Lawyers Europe.
The report highlights the growing role of AI in the legal sector. According to the Financial Times, an increasing number of commercial law firms are not only developing AI-related legal products and services and dedicating professionals to the technology, but are also beginning to measure its adoption by clients, its use in day-to-day work and the revenue generated by AI-related services.
One example cited by the FT is PwC Tax & Legal Spain, which reported saving more than 19,000 hours over a six-month period, with around 900 Spanish professionals using AI tools.
The first Iberian firm in the ranking, KPMG Abogados, placed behind international firms including Freshfields, Addleshaw Goddard, Linklaters and Ashurst Perkins Coie. The FT Innovative Lawyers Europe ranking programme is produced by the Financial Times in partnership with legal research firm RSGI. This year, more than 650 submissions were received from 141 law firms and 81 legal teams, according to the pubblication.
Intrapreneurs
The Financial Times also published a list recognising seven “intrapreneurs” — professionals whose role is to drive innovation across different areas of their firms, from client relationships and organisational culture to the development of new products and services.
Among them is Carlos Coelho, partner at Morais Leitão. Coelho was the firm’s first non-lawyer partner and its first director of innovation and knowledge. He is the only Iberian professional included in the seven-name list, which also features professionals from international firms outside the Iberian market.
