The Legal 500

Baker & McKenzie, which is ‘top of the line technically’, advised Sony Spain on employment issues relating to the sale of its largest manufacturing plant to Ficosa and Comsa Emte; and advised Kesa Electricals on a salary freeze affecting its 700-strong Spanish workforce. The highly rated Alejandro Valls heads the practice from Barcelona. Madrid-based Fermin Guardiola is ‘a fantastic litigator and negotiator with an excellent track record’. David Díaz is ‘very professional, thoughtful and helpful’.

Jordi Puigbó heads the 20-partner team at Cuatrecasas, Gonçalves Pereira, which advised La Caixa regarding the spin-off of its banking business; and Caixa de Pensions in judicial proceedings brought by 150 employees. It is advising Spanair on restructuring, including negotiating two redundancy schemes involving over 1,000 jobs. Unidad Editorial and Ferrovial are also clients.

At Garrigues, ‘the overall level of service is nothing short of outstanding’ due to the levels of ‘partner involvement, technical knowledge of the team’ and ‘quality of advice based on experience and good business judgement’. It advised Gestamp Automoción on the absorption of Edscha and Esa. Other clients include Telefónica and Kraft. Lead partner Vicente Calle is ‘in another league’, displaying ‘emotional intelligence, negotiating capability and commitment to the process’.

Sagardoy Abogados, member of Ius Laboris is, ‘without doubt, one of the best law firms in Spain’ for employment law. The practice, which includes over 60 specialists based in multiple offices across Spain, is led by chairman Iñigo Sagardoy and also includes managing partners Martín Godino Reyes and José Manuel Martín. In 2011, the firm advised Bankia on labour and employment integration relating to the merger of six savings banks; and acted for Gullon’s general manager in litigation over severance pay.

Uría Menéndez attracts ‘the maximum possible score’ for its ‘exceptional service’. Clients include Danone, Bancaja and Scandinavian Airline System (SAS). It also acted recently for Agbar, drafting complex reports regarding collective bargaining agreements applicable to its companies in the event of transfer of undertakings. Recommended partners include practice head Ignacio García-Perrote, Mario Barros and Lourdes Martin, and the ‘indispensable’ Juan Reyes in Barcelona.

Gómez-Acebo & Pombo Abogados’ ‘excellent’ employment practice was instructed by Eurohypo to negotiate with unions on a change in working hours, and represented Capgemini España in a collective conflict process regarding the interpretation and application of the state collective bargaining agreement applicable to consulting companies. New clients in 2011 included Altadis, the Spanish subsidiary of Imperial Tobacco, as well as Valentino and GDF Suez. Practice head Antonio Sempere and Ignacio Campos are recommended.

Clifford Chance regularly advises financial institutions on employment law. Examples include advising Banco Santander on collective conflicts, and Morgan Crucible on objective dismissals implemented during the restructuring of its Spanish affiliate. It also advised Gas Natural on TUPE issues. Counsel Juan Calvente is ‘always available, well prepared, and flexible’, and is ‘calm and steady in tense situations’.

DLA Piper displays ‘good quality and efficiency’, and represents Western Union, Hard Rock Café, Kiss FM, Pfizer and Activision. Practice head Pilar Menor is widely recommended for her ‘knowledge and availability’. Counsel Paz de la Iglesia is ‘very well prepared and gets close to problems, providing practical solutions’.

Araoz & Rueda’s small but robust practice is led by Alfonso Suárez, ‘a true star’ and ‘one of the best lawyers in his field in Spain’. Recent higlights include advising USP Hospitales in proceedings following the dismissal of top-level executives, and advising Doughty Hanson on the auction sale of a transport company.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer was recently appointed to the panel of Bristol-Myers Squibb, and is advising Sara Lee on the €1.275bn sale of its global body care and European detergents businesses. Raquel Flórez heads the practice.

Lupicino Abogados International Attorneys’ clients include Ryanair, Daf trucks, Forever 21 and GlaxoSmithKline. Associate Ricardo García is a key figure.

Perez-Llorca acts for clients such as Hewlett-Packard, which it advised on applying a unique collective bargaining agreement to affected workforces following a transfer of undertaking between it and TwinSoft. Luis Fernández Pallarés leads the team.