Madrid annual report
In good shape
Major law firms in Madrid grew
in the last year with transactional
activity driving healthy increases
in revenue – however fee pressure
persists, while the ‘war for talent’
escalates
Madrid’s leading law firms have
prospered in the last year. Some of
the major players achieved growth
of almost 10 per cent in the last
12 months as they benefited from
increased transactional activity,
as well as a healthy volume of
work related to capital markets,
real estate, insolvency, litigation,
restructuring, tax and renewables.
Meanwhile, the outlook for many
law firms in the coming year is
promising, with M&A workflow
expected to remain decent and
more consolidation expected in
the banking sector.
However, there are some
clouds on the horizon – some
lawyers say Spain’s prolonged
political wrangling is affecting
investor confidence, while others
lament the continued pressure
on fees and the affect on profit
margins. In addition, the ‘war
for talent’ is one of the biggest
challenges law firms face as
they seek to motivate a new
generation of lawyers whose
career expectations differ from
their predecessors.
There is considerable
optimism among some Madrid
lawyers about Spain’s economic
prospects. It is anticipated
that the Spanish economy
will expand by 2.7 per cent in
2016 and economists say that,
if such predicted growth is
realised, Spain will be one of
the Eurozone’s fastest growing
nations, outdoing the likes of
Germany and France, as it did
in 2015. Meanwhile, household
consumption is at a reasonable
level due to low oil prices, low
interest rates and reductions in
income tax.
Brexit uncertainty
However, on the other hand,
Spain’s public deficit was around
5 per cent in 2015, while the fact
that the country
will have its
In the past, strategy
second general
election within
was often based on size and
growth in headcount, but now a year in June
has been viewed
it’s important to control size
as having a
negative impact
and improve productivity and
on the economy.
not necessarily by working
Uría Menéndez
more hours.
managing
Luis de Carlos, Uría Menéndez partner Luis
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26 • IBERIAN LAWYER • May / June 2016
”
De Carlos says that, while Spain
has one of the fastest growing
economies in Europe and is on
course to create 400,000 jobs in
2016, there is wider uncertainty
due to “global economic
instability and the possibility of
Brexit”. He adds that, while the
country’s economy is recovering,
the recovery is “losing some
speed”. De Carlos says Uría
Menéndez enjoyed a “very good
year” in 2015 with revenue
growth of more than 9 per cent.
Among the major issues
facing Spain is corruption,
according to Baker & McKenzie’s
Spain managing partner José
María Alonso. He adds that,
consequently, there is demand
for legal advice relating to
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