Litigation & ADR annual report
related” litigation. “Unfair
competition matters will return,”
he adds. Allen & Overy partner
Antonio Vázquez-Guillén says
there has been a reduction in
banking-related litigation, but that
there are opportunities with new
investment funds in Spain. Málaga
says it is a “small club” of lawyers
and firms that compete for major
in our area.”According to López
de Argumedo, there is a big
opportunity for law firms in Latin
America, particularly in relation to
international arbitration. However,
he adds that the challenge for firms
is to become as efficient as possible.
Meanwhile, Hendel says the
challenge for Araoz & Rueda is
whether the firm can “leverage our
boutique firm as we
are competing with
a lot of other firms”.
Some clients assume
Hendel says the issue
for Araoz & Rueda,
unnecessary risk by
as a small boutique,
choosing arbitration counsel is whether the firm
based on offers that are
can continue to
compete successfully
aggressive on pricing.
with larger, more
Vicente Sierra
multidisciplinary
Freshfields Bruckhaus
firms with more
specialised
Deringer
practitioners. “We
have to make the
litigation work in Spain: “There´s
most of every opportunity and
always a big litigation cake,
treat every client, every dispute,
and all the firms have different
and every transaction as if it is
perspectives on it.” Rodríguez says
our last.” Izquierdo says there are
that litigation is “very segmented”
lots of opportunities presented by
and that great lawyers are the ones
new market players, and that the
that are very specialized.
challenge for law firms is to be as
González argues that banks
efficient as possible.
are reducing the fees they pay
Vázquez-Guillén says that
litigators, while auditors have
distressed debt transactions and
huge teams, which gives them
investment treaty arbitrations
an unfair advantage: “Auditors
are two growth areas, though
shouldn´t be allowed to compete
banking litigation is beginning
“
”
How are the demands of clients in Portugal changing in
relation to litigation & ADR?
“The most important concerns relate to the high judicial costs
that parties must pay in a judicial proceeding. Furthermore,
several courts remain slow and ill-prepared to respond to parties´
needs and demands.” Gonçalo Malheiro, partner, pbbr
“In terms of cost control, clients are demanding closed budgets
as they try to avoid allocating substantial financial resources
in to judicial or ADR proceedings.” Francisco Colaço, partner,
Albuquerque & Associados
“Clients increasingly wish to avoid judicial proceedings and
find other ways of solving their disputes – they demand viable
alternatives that are faster, less costly and equally, or more,
efficient.” Henrique Salinas, partner, CCA Ontier
“They want their issues solved, meaning settled or decided, faster
– if it is litigation in the public courts then they want to be fully
informed and to have better understanding of the proceedings,
if it is arbitration then speed is often an issue.” João Caiado
Guerreiro, partner, Caiado Guerreiro & Associados
40 • IBERIAN LAWYER • January / February 2015
to slow down. Meanwhile, the
commoditisation of some types
of litigation work, as well as
new players in the market are
contributing to pressure on fees, he
adds. International trade with the
Middle East and Asia – in addition
to international arbitration – will
offer opportunities for law firms,
according to González. However,
delays in court proceedings present
a significant challenge: “The court
office is very slow,” he adds.
Rodríguez says there will be more
restructuring-related matters,
though competition is increasing,
especially from boutique firms and
the big auditors, and this means
fees are a big challenge. “The link
between client and their legal
service provides is not always very
strong,” he adds.
Knowledge management and
the use of technology are two
key issues that law firms have to
address, according to Iglesia. He
adds that hiring and keeping the
best talent, improving lawyers´
legal and non-legal skills and
growing in the international arena
are other big challenges. Málaga
says getting clients from the other
departments within Linklaters is a
key priority, while differentiating
the practice from competitors is
another major challenge. Ester
says: “Law firms need to come up
with creative solutions and be part
“The rules have changed – I´ve seen a number of state contracts
proposing ADR clauses for conflict resolution and this is a major
departure from what we had in the past.” Paulo de Moura
Marques, founding partner, AAMM
“Clients´ requests have become increasingly more thorough and
their concerns about cases have grown considerably. This results
in more frequent requests for updates on developments and
for clarification on the different stages of cases.” Rui Tabarra e
Castro, associate, F. Castelo Branco & Associados
“We must try and raise awareness among clients of the benefits of
arbitration, in particular in relation to the expertise of arbitrators,
the confidential nature of arbitration versus public disclosure of
what is at stake, as well as trust and confidence in the arbitration
decisions.” João Nuno Azevedo Neves, partner, ABBC
“Clients have been demanding arbitration more often,
perhaps influenced by the new arbitration law which came
into force in 2012 – they are also more involved with the
technical issues of the dispute, demanding lawyers able to
keep up them.” Pedro de Almeida Cabral, senior associate,
Macedo Vitorino & Associados
www.iberianlawyer.com