The Legal 500

Within Tax, Clifford Chance is a third tier firm,

At Clifford Chance, the ‘very good to work with’ Jose Ignacio Jiménez Blanco spearheads a team that is able to provide tax advice on the full spectrum of corporate, financing, investment and real estate transactions. The practice acted for Banco Santander on the sell out of its real estate portfolio, and also for Caja Madrid and Société Générale on the structured financing of new wagons for Metronorte and Comunidad de Madrid. Tax litigation and transfer pricing also constitute a major source of work for the firm’s tax team.

Within Banking and finance, Clifford Chance is a first tier firm,

Clifford Chance’s highly admired Spanish office draws its roots from the banking and finance sector, having launched in Madrid in 1987 as a banking boutique. Jaime de San Román, one of its original partners, heads up the finance department; ‘he is one of the best respected banking experts in the market’. The firm is able to advise on the full spectrum of financial products, including syndicated lending and leveraged and acquisition finance, as well as asset finance and structured finance. Its star team of partners includes the ‘energetic and responsive’ Alberto Manzanares, as well as highly esteemed specialists José Manuel Cuenca, Pablo Bieger and Carlos Hernández-Canut. Recent highlights include advising Barclays on €1bn financing of Abertis to finance a number of acquisitions, as well as BBVA in the €800m refinancing of Dominium Dirección y Gestión’s debt. ‘I have no hesitation in recommending them, they are exceptional’, one client commented.

Within Capital markets, Clifford Chance is a second tier firm,

Mostly known in the Spanish market for its phenomenal capability in debt capital markets issues, Clifford Chance has advised on an overwhelaming number of emission programs under EMTN, namely for Banco Santander, BBVA, Telefónica and Endesa. The firm’s head of finance is senior partner Jaime de San Roman, ‘an outstanding lawyer, who not only has remarkable technical abilities but is also extremely solution-oriented’. Other highlights include advising the Sanahuja family on a share capital increase carried out by Metrovacesa, in which the firm advised Cresa Patrimonial and Undertake, subsidiaries of Sanahuja. The team also acted as Spanish and English counsel to La Caixa. Stuart Percival, the firm’s UK-qualified local partner, is ‘undoubtedly one of the most experienced UK solicitors in high-end Spanish work’. Other expert partners which are highly recommended include Jose Manuel Cuenca and Javier García de Enterría.

Within Corporate and M&A, Clifford Chance is a first tier firm,

Clifford Chance is widely referred to as ‘a clear market leader’ and ‘remains the number one corporate and finance law firm in Spain’. The team is well known in the market for having been Endesa’s key advisor throughout the three takeover bids it faced since 2005, from Gas Natural, to E.ON and finally on Enel’s €41bn joint bid with Acciona in 2007. ‘ Clifford Chance ’s work representing Endesa was outstanding, they brought in almost everyone from all practice areas and did a marvellous job. They are undoubtedly the corporate firm to go to for highly complex deals’. The firm’s best known corporate stars include Ignacio Ojanguren, José María Fernández-Daza, Javier Amantegui and Javier García de Enterría. In the wake of Enel and Acciona’s €41bn takeover bid, the firm also represented Endesa on a €14bn sale of assets to E.ON. Babcock and Brown has also instructed the firm in connection with several acquisitions of wind farms and photovoltaic plants.

Within Dispute resolution, Clifford Chance is a second tier firm,

Clifford Chance’s litigation capability in renowned for its ‘high quality and immense experience’. Lead partner José Antonio Caínzos, hugely admired by clients, receives praise for being ‘one of the clear frontrunners, combining meticulous reasoning with a down-to-earth approach’. The firm boasts broad expertise in litigation, as well as international and domestic arbitration, and other forms of alternative dispute resolution. Highlights include representing Endesa in a €150m claim for damages filed by Iberdrola as a consequence of a take-over bid for Endesa. Barcelona-based partner Miguel Montaña is one of the most admired contentious IP specialists in Spain. Montserrat López-Bellosta has recently been appointed as partner.

Within EU and competition, Clifford Chance is a first tier firm,

Clifford Chance’s EU and competition team attracts many of the country’s most high profile instructions. Head of department, Miguel Odriozola, ‘combines a rare in-depth knowledge of the law with prodigious commercial sense’, according to client feedback. Odriozola led the team’s representation of Iberia and British Airways before the European Commission, in relation to their proposed merger, and was joint counsel for both parties. Telemadrid and Cajamadrid also instructed the practice in infringement proceedings investigation by the Spanish Competition Authority, regarding the negotiation and management of football TV rights, among competing TV networks and the clubs themselves.

Within Employment, Clifford Chance is a second tier firm,

Clifford Chance’s employment team has been acting for Lábaro Grupo Inmobiliario on restructuring and other labour related measures, as well as on a collective dismissal in the context of an insolvency scenario. Of counsel Juan Calvente heads up the firm’s 10 lawyer-strong team. Other clients include Red Eléctrica de España and Meggit.

Within Environment, Clifford Chance is a second tier firm,

Clifford Chance draws on its phenomenal capability in public law to advise on environment issues. Spanning environmental liability for contaminated land, air and water pollution and environmental risk assessment, as well as environmental aspects of commercial and property transactions and environmental claims, the firm relies on top-drawer public law expert Juan José Lavilla as head of department. According to client feedback, ‘it is not an overstatement to say that Lavilla is the best lawyer in Spain’. Highlights include advising Endesa Generación on a sanctioning proceeding with respect to a recent incident in the Nuclear plant of Ascó I. Other clients include Cemex and Babcock & Brown.

Within Insurance, Clifford Chance is a third tier firm,

Clifford Chance’s recent expertise in the insurance sector includes advising Mapfre, alongside a team of lawyers from its New York office, on the €1.5bn acquisition of the US insurance company Commerce. The firm also acted for Musini, S.A. Seguros y Reaseguros, on several appeals before the Spanish Supreme Court.

Within Intellectual property, Clifford Chance is a first tier firm,

Clifford Chance fields one of the finest patent litigation teams, with Barcelona-based Miquel Montaña at the helm. Clients praise the practice’s ‘efficiency, responsiveness and partner-driven service’. The team successfully represented Philip Morris before the Spanish Supreme Court on a landmark “parallel imports” case, connected with the importation of Marlboro cigarettes, from countries which are not members of the European Union. Trade mark-related highlights include advising Panrico on trade mark aspects raised by the termination of a joint venture with Dunkin-Donuts. Montserrat López-Bellosta is also recommended.

Within Legal market ,

Over the past 10 years, the Spanish legal market has witnessed one of its largest growth periods ever, with several large transactions allowing most firms to consistently record double-digit growth rates on their annual billings and number of lawyers. During that period, the high-end transactional market in Spain (mostly revolving around big ticket acquisition finance, large IPOs and high-value private and public M&A) gradually became dominated by six major law firms, which managed to scoop a majority of those highly coveted instructions. While Iberian giants Uría Menéndez, Garrigues and Cuatrecasas, Gonçalves Pereira succeeded in consolidating their stronghold as the market’s largest full-service firms (dominating at all levels of the market, not only in Spain, but across the whole of the Iberian Peninsula), Magic Circle firms Clifford Chance, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Linklaters SL also proved to be highly effective in securing their position as high-end market leaders.

Within Project finance, Clifford Chance is a first tier firm,

Exceptionally experienced in this sector, Clifford Chance has not only advised on traditional project finance structures, but is also widely admired for having developed a number of innovative financing solutions in a number of projects. ‘Their phenomenal expertise as a finance firm makes them a first choice for major projects’. Dexia recently instructed the practice, as lender, on a €60m project finance of a waste incineration plant in France for Urbaser, a multi-jurisdictional deal in which a coordinated team of Spanish and French lawyers advised on the financing aspects. Alberto Manzanares and Carlos Hernández-Canut, ‘two unrivalled professionals’, earn glowing praise from clients. Babcock and Brown also used the team’s expert advice on several acquisitions of wind farms and photovoltaic plants from several sellers, as well as on the incorporation of a joint venture for the management of the wind farms.

Within Real estate, Clifford Chance is a first tier firm,

Clifford Chance handles the entire property life cycle from the initial acquisition, to the development, leasing, joint venturing, financing and final sale. The

Within TMT, Clifford Chance is a second tier firm,

At Clifford Chance, it is public law experts Pablo Mayor and Juan José Lavilla that are in charge of the firm’s TMT practice. Some of the practice’s recent highlights include acting for British Telecom on a broad range of regulatory and administrative issues, as well as representing Vodafone and Telefónica in relation to the introduction of Mobile Television in Spain.