Once again we launch a report of great interest to the startup ecosystem: The Ranking of the Best Law Firms specialized in Startups in Spain, as voted by startups, analysing up to three key aspects of these firms: the best firms, the best lawyers and the best firms and the best firms in the principal areas of work (corporate, tax, M&A, investment rounds and intellectual property).
Once again it’s the Catalan firm DWF-RCD that has come out on top, for the third consecutive year and by a considerable distance from the rest of the firms in the Ranking of the Best Law Firms specialized in Startups. After that, with the exception of Metricson (400 points) in second place, the differences in scoring were minimal. In third place is ECIJA (270), fourth ACODE Abogados (250 points), the firm that has grown more than any other; fifth is Delvy Law & Finance (240 points) and sixth Youandlaw, with 230 points. You can download the report here.
We also highlight the firms with the highest scores in each area of work. DWF-RCD is the top firm in the corporate area with 13 points, followed by Metricson with 9 points and Youandlaw with 7. Meanwhile, the best law firm for advising startups in investment rounds was Metricson with six points; the best firm specialized in Intellectual Property was ECIJA while Osborne Clark was the best for advising on M&A operations. In drafting these Rankings, the number of startups and VCs in each region was taken into account to give visibility to the firms from almost every region in Spain.
Finally, 18 lawyers scored a higher rating than their experience won Ricardo Torres (ACODE) scored highest (80 points), while there was a tie for second place between David Miranda (Osborne Clarke) and Luis Gosálbez (Metricson), with 50 points each. Here we profile the top 18 lawyers that make up the Ranking of the Best Lawyers specialized in Startups in Spain.
1. Ricardo Torres
ACODE Abogados
Corporate Partner | Venture Capital
[email protected]
Ricardo Torres is a lawyer, lecturer in company law on the Master’s in Economic and Financial Management at the Seville Chamber of Commerce and co-Director of the Executive Venture Capital programme at IEJE Cajasol. He is also Academic Secretary of the Ibero-American Institute for Law and Finance. He was also the recipient of the inaugural ‘Caveat Creditor’ Award. Linkedin and Twitter.
2. David Miranda
Osborne Clarke
Corporate Partner
[email protected]
David Miranda is a partner of the Corporate team in the Barcelona office with over 20 years’ experience and is responsible for the Tech, Media and Comms practices in Spain and venture capital. He is specialized in M&A transactions, capital risk and finance. He is a member of the Venture Capital Institute (INCARI). Linkedin and Twitter.
3. Luis Gosálbez
Metricson
Managing Partner
[email protected]
After founding several startups between 2003 and 2010, Luis launched Metricson in 2009, as the first Spanish law firm aimed exclusively at startups. He currently sits on the boards of a number of technology companies, is a mentor for the principal Spanish accelerators and delivers classes in several universities. Linkedin and Twitter.
4. Alex Pujol
Garrigues
Partner
[email protected]
For more than 15 years, Alex Pujol has been intensely active in the venture capital and private equity sector, in which he is a renowned expert, including the structuring and creation of funds, agreements between investors and managers, venture debt and numerous investment and divestment transactions in companies, especially in the finance and tech sectors. Alex has been repeatedly recognized in the main legal directories as one of the leading venture capital lawyers in Spain.
5. Antonio González Asturiano
Aktion Legal
Founding partner
[email protected]
Antonio had a 20 year career behind him before co-founding Aktion Legal Partners, specializing in corporate, insolvency and procedural law. With extensive experience in the startups sector, he has advised a number of venture capital transactions, both as an investor and as an entrepreneur, and as a specialist in insolvency practice, having been involved in over 30 insolvency procedures. Linkedin.
6. Federico Segura
Roca Junyent
Partner and Head of Venture Capital
[email protected]
Federico Segura has advised on all manner of M&A transactions and startup financing rounds from seed capital stage to A, B and C rounds. He is specialized in alternative financing systems (crowdfunding) and international relocation of startups (domestication) for international investment rounds. He is accustomed to working with startups, business angels and venture capital and private equity firms. Linkedin and Twitter.
7. Gonzalo de Ulloa
Youandlaw
Founding Partner
[email protected]
Gonzalo de Ulloa is a specialist in Corporate Law. He has extensive experience is corporate law, primarily in acquisitions and sale of companies, investment transactions, corporate contracts and venture capital. A member of the Illustrious College of Lawyers of Madrid (ICAM), Gonzalo is project manager with a startup and an associate professor at Universities and Business Schools. He is a founding partner of the firm Youandlaw. Linkedin and Twitter.
8. Josep Navajo
Delvy Law
Founding Partner
[email protected]
Josep Navajo is an entrepreneur-turned-lawyer who’s passionate about the world of business and the day to day of companies. The specialization lies in the advisory services for investment rounds and corporate transaction to tech-based companies. He is also Secretary of the Board of Directors of a number of leading domestic startups. He is known for his closeness with entrepreneurs and his knowledge of the specific needs of each sector. Linkedin and Twitter.
9. Pedro Fernández
Pérez Llorca
Corporate Partner
[email protected]
Pedro Fernández has more than 20 years’ experience in M&A and capital markets. He joined Pérez-Llorca in January 2017 and leads the firm’s venture capital and startup practice. He is among the leading lawyers in the venture capital and startup sector in Spain. He started out ten years ago advising private equity firms and startups in restructuring processes, investment rounds and all areas relating to the technology sector. He advises most players in the Spanish market and also has extensive experience in the US market, especially in Silicon Valley, Miami and New York. Linkedin.
10. Alejandro Touriño
ECIJA Abogados
Managing Partner
[email protected]
Alejandro Touriño is Managing Partner of ECIJA. He is an expert in tech law, intellectual property and innovation and entrepreneurship. He has been recognized by Chambers & Partners and Legal 500 as a “leading individual” and chosen by the Financial Times as among the ten most innovative lawyers in Europe and by Forbes as among the “100 most creative people in business. Alejandro is an arbitrator with the World Intellectual Property Organization and Chairman of the ICT Section of Illustrious College of Lawyers of Madrid. He is university professor and Director of the Master’s in Legal Tech at IE Law School, where he has been repeatedly recognized as an outstanding professor. Linkedin and Twitter.
11. Esther López Garasa
Akord Legal
Legal Partner
[email protected]
Esther López is a lawyer and economist. With extensive experience in advising tech startups with innovative projects, she is also the trusted lawyer of leading domestic business angels, venture capital firms, accelerators and venture builders. She participates actively in the ecosystem as a startup mentor, business angel and speaker. Linkedin.
12. José María Baños
LetsLaw
CEO and Founding Partner
[email protected]
José María Baños was a founding partner of the firm in 2012. A multidisciplinary lawyer, with more than 20 years of practice, specialized in corporate law, new technologies law, e-commerce, intellectual property and data protection. He holds a degree in Law from Complutense University of Madrid and a Specialist Master’s in Law for New Technologies at Comillas Pontifical University. Linkedin and Twitter.
13. Juan Manuel Pérez
Aktion Legal
Founding partner
[email protected]
Juan Manuel Pérez has almost two decades of professional experience advising on corporate and company law, in M&A and venture capital transactions and advising different stakeholders of the national and international entrepreneurial ecosystem. Over the course of his careers he has worked with some of the best law firms, both in Spain (KPMG Abogados and Broseta), and the United Kingdom (Ashurst) and has also worked with one of Spain’s largest multinationals (Grupo Campofrío). Linkedin and Twitter.
14. Natalia Martos
Interview with Legal Army
CEO and Founder
[email protected]
Natalia Martos is CEO and founder of Legal Army. Previously, she was a partner with Andersen Tax & Legal and Counsel with Pérez-Llorca. Up to the end of 2016, she was Chief Digital Legal Officer and Chief Privacy Officer at Grupo PRISA and before that held the same position at Tuenti. She has been included on the Best Lawyers list in 2018, 2019 and 2020 for her practice in the area of Technology Law and has been included by The Legal500 in its Top 70 Company Lawyers on the Iberian Peninsula. She has received the Civil Merit Cross from the Spanish Ministry of the Interior for her collaboration in the fight against cyber terrorism. She holds a Master’s in Telecommunications Law from ICADE and an expert in data protection and intellectual property diploma from IE and is a graduate in exponential technologies from Singular University. Linkedin and Twitter.
15. Pablo Casado
Youandlaw
Founding Partner
[email protected]
Pablo Casado is a specialist in Corporate Law with extensive experience in corporate affairs, principally corporate contracting, investment transactions and secretariats of Boards of Directors. He is member of the Illustrious College of Lawyers of Madrid (ICAM) and a Founding Partner of the firm Youandlaw. Linkedin and Twitter.
16. Sara Mirabete
Tangram Legal
Founding Partner
Sara Mirabete holds a Degree in Law and is a founding partner of the firm Tangram Legal. She has extensive experience in legal advisory services for tech and biotechnology companies, from incorporation to negotiation of financing rounds and internal expanison. She is a speaker at different forums on the creation and financing of startups, management and operation of intangible assets and attracting and retaining talent. She is secretary of the Board of Directors of several companies. Linkedin and Twitter.
17. Xabi Álvarez
Lawesome Legal
Founding Partner
[email protected]
After 7 years with PWC, Xabier co-founded Lawesome Legal Services en 2012, where he is responsible or the “Growth and Innovation Area”. As a lawyer fully specialized in venture capital, he was listed in 3rd place on the Transactional Track Record for number of transactions in Spain. Xabier is also a leader in the field of technological entrepreneurship at state level, as the trusted lawyer of many startups, investment funds and large companies for their corporate venturing strategy as well as a speaker in at the open days and congresses of the sector. Linkedin and Twitter.
18. Diana Rivera
Cuatrecasas
Partner
[email protected]
Diana Rivera has extensive experience as a corporate lawyer advising Spanish companies and multinationals in complex domestic and international M&A transactions, restructurings and joint ventures. She specializes in venture capital investment and private capital, having participated in numerous venture capital transactions in Spain and has overseen legal advice for important transactions in the banking, energy, email, biotechnology sectors as well as family companies. Linkedin