Described by clients as ‘very powerful and cohesive, with a great capacity to understand the client’s problems’, Garrigues’ white-collar crime team is a key port of call for a variety of household names, including professional services firms, football clubs, and insurance companies. The group offers assistance with criminal proceedings, investigations, and compliance, as well as pre-procedural matters and extradition procedures, with particular expertise in corporate criminal liability. Co-leading the department are Gabriel Castro and Helena Prieto; Castro stands out for his experience representing clients before various judicial entities, including the National Court, Supreme Court, and Constitutional Court, while Prieto is noted for her prowess in corporate criminal liability, cross-border investigations, and extradition proceedings. They are supported by criminal compliance expert León Vidaller, corporate investigations specialist Álvaro Mato, and Marta Sánchez, who focuses on financial crime and political corruption.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Accolades
Client satisfaction: Lawyer & team quality
Client satisfaction: Billing & efficiency
Client satisfaction: Sector knowledge
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- The team has worked exceptionally well, with professionalism and perfect coordination. Communication has been excellent in every respect, and I have felt perfectly supported at all times, even though the final decision always rested with me.
- From my point of view, their best qualities, and those for which they stand out, are: hard work, perseverance, communication, determination, and excellence. Gabriel Castro and Marta Sánchez's work has been fantastic, as has Fernando and Alberto's throughout the entire process.
- ‘Helena Prieto is known for her approachability and professionalism. She is always available when needed and provides innovative solutions.’
- ‘The Garrigues team is very powerful and cohesive, with a great capacity to understand the client's problems, great dedication, and strong technical capabilities.’
- ‘Helena Prieto leads her team excellently, which is always available and coordinated, responding with great speed to any unforeseen situation.’
- ‘The team stands out for its subject matter knowledge, client service, ongoing follow-up, and strong defences.’
- ‘Garrigues stands out for its strong commitment to the client, its proactive approach to next steps, its clear strategies that consistently prove successful, and its excellent communication, clearly conveying both the positive and negative aspects, and understanding the case almost personally, as if they were the ones affected.’
- ‘Both Gabriel Castro and Ana Olivares are excellent. They handled the matter with great professionalism and achieved a perfect result.’
- ‘The qualities that make Gabriel Castro, Helena Prieto, and Alejandro Ayala's work exceptional are: their high level of professional competence and technical knowledge, their extensive experience in the field of criminal law, their complete availability, and total involvement in the case, which ensure the client feels well-supported and well-informed about the progress of the proceedings.’
- ‘They are a very attentive team; they keep the client informed of all new developments as they occur. They maintain a very close relationship with the client and are always available to answer any questions that may arise.’
Key clients
- Deloitte
- Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria
- Real Madrid
- Publicis Comunicación & Zenith Media
- Engie Spain
- Allianz
- Holcim Spain
- Prezero Spain
Lawyers
Leading partners
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.
Helena Prieto
Leading associates
Leading associates with regular involvement in their team's key work, and recognition from peers or clients as being ones to watch.
Álvaro Mato
León Vidaller
Practice head
Gabriel Castro; Helena Prieto
Other key lawyers
León Vidaller; Álvaro Mato; Marta Sánchez; Ana Olivares; Alejandro Ayala; David Caballero; Eva Martín