Special focus: Employment
Making waves
Employment lawyers are
benefitting from a rise
in M&A transactions in
Iberia as well as a rise in
litigation – meanwhile,
the start-up sector and
the ‘gig economy’ are also
generating opportunities
The improving economic
climate in Iberia has led to
an increase in instructions
for employment lawyers –
a significant rise in M&A
activity in particular, has
led to a wealth of work
related to incentive schemes
and management contracts,
for example. Meanwhile,
employment-related litigation
is also widespread with
an abundance of disputes
related to the collective dismissals
and changes to employment
conditions associated with
corporate restructuring. In
addition, employment lawyers also
highlight the significant number
of instructions generated by the
start-up sector as well as the ‘gig
economy’. At the same time,
clients will require legal advice
associated with issues such as
human trafficking and workplace
harassment.
In Spain, economy minister
Luis de Guindos’ prediction that
“the unemployment rate this
year will clearly fall below 17 per
cent” proved correct. In a country
per cent in the second quarter.
Meanwhile, in Portugal, the third
quarter saw the unemployment
rate fall to 8.5 per cent, which is
lower than the Eurozone average.
Pilar Menor, country managing
partner at DLA Piper in Spain,
says the increase in work for the
country’s employment lawyers
has correlated with the improving
economic conditions – for
example, companies that had
previously been reluctant to make
decisions about recruitment during
the severe economic crisis are
now displaying more confidence.
According to Jordi Puigbó, partner
at Cuatrecasas in Spain, a more
buoyant job market is good
news for lawyers.
“Employment
lawyers thrive when
The line between
employment itself
does,” he explains.
professional and private
Lawyers highlight
life is being blurred by
the uptick in M&A
flexibility at work and
transactions as a
significant driver of
telecommuting.
employment-related
Mario Barros
instructions in the last
Uría Menéndez
12 months. Indeed,
there was somewhat
of a resurgence in
M&A in Iberia in the
first half of 2017 – for example,
still notorious for its high rates of
Mergermarket data shows that by
unemployment, the percentage of
the middle of June this year, the
people out of work in Spain clocked
total value of Spanish M&A deals
in at 16.38 per cent in the third
had almost equaled the total for
quarter of 2017, down from 17.22
“
52 • IBERIAN LAWYER • November / December 2017
”
the whole of 2016 (there had been
135 deals worth a total of €46.7
billion, slightly less than the €48
billion of deals announced by the
end of 2016). Mario Barros, partner
at Uría Menéndez in Spain, says:
“Employment work related to
M&A transactions – including
due diligence, management
contracts and incentive schemes,
for example – has also increased.”
Araoz & Rueda associate
Clara Mañoso says M&A
transactions are generating “many
opportunities” for employment
lawyers. She adds: “Clients needs
have changed since the financial
crisis – they are investing in
imaginative ways to create, attract
and retain talent (such as benefit/
incentive plans, for example), as
well as focusing on maintaining
stable workforces to build a team
of workers who are committed
and prepared to continue working
hard.”
Collective dismissals
Aside from M&A-related matters,
employment litigation is another
major source of work for law
firms. Barros claims that, while
restructuring work (including
collective dismissals and changes
to employment conditions) is in
decline, such matters are giving
rise to significant amounts of
litigation.
While there is fierce competition
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