Profile: Uría Menéndez

Uría Menéndez - Who's Who Legal '70'

What is the Who's Who Legal '70'?

BANKING AND FINANCE
Uría Menéndez’s largest collection of talent is found in the banking chapter where five partners make the cut. Clients are drawn from banks such as BBVA, Calyon and Caja Madrid as well as sponsors such as Endesa and Elcogas. Luis de Carlos leads in terms of nominations and is joined in the section by the “very strong” Carlos de Cárdenas Smith. Emilio Díaz Ruiz comes recommended as “absolutely top-notch” and he worked on the refinancing of the Hagemeyer group. His work for the European Investment Bank was also noted. Rafael Sebastian is a “fantastic lawyer” according to rivals and the inclusion of Francisco Sá Carneiro in Lisbon underlines the presence enjoyed by the firm on the Iberian peninsular. Lawyers from Uría Menéndez also perform well in the capital markets chapter with Sebastian, Carlos and Díaz Ruiz all featuring. Recent highlights in this area include advising Iberdrola Renovables in its IPO and listing on the Spanish stock exchange.

The firm also boasts strong asset finance credentials with Juan Francisco Falcón appearing prominently in the aviation chapter. Falcón was a resident partner in the London office until July 2005 and has an extensive practice advising operators in Spanish aviation matters. Luis Figaredo is one of the leading shipping and maritime lawyers in Spain, specialising in finance structures for the acquisition of vessels, marine insurance, contracts, ship arrests, tax, ship sale and registration. Among other high-profile matters he led the team representing the Spain in connection to claims brought as a result of the Prestige oil tanker disaster. Project finance is evidently another strong point: Carlos de Cárdenas Smith makes another appearance in this chapter. Sebastián Sáenz de Santa María joins him and was consistently recommended. The firm’s finance practice in the energy sector is highlighted by two entries in our oil and gas chapter. Among other matters Juan Ignacio González Ruiz advised a number of international energy companies on the establishment of wholesale supply operations in Spain and international sponsors in the development of new combined cycle gas turbine plants. Luis Pastor was also consistently recommended for his work in the sector.

CORPORATE
Uría Menéndez is one of the most respected corporate firms on the Iberian peninsular and enjoys close ties with leading firms in other key jurisdictions. Two partners make the merger & acquisition chapter, both of whom reside in the Madrid office. Recent highlights for the group include advising Iberdrola on the Spanish law aspects of its acquisition of Scottish Power for €17.1 million. Lawyers from the firm also advised Banco Santander (as part of a consortium with Fortis and the Royal Bank of Scotland) on its tender offer for ABN AMRO. Both Juan Miguel Goenechea Domínguez and Salvador Sánchez-Terán performed well in our research, topping the Spain section in terms of nominations. Sánchez-Terán also appears in the private funds chapter and is said to be “brilliant” on the establishment and transactional activities of funds.

José María Segovia in the insurance and reinsurance chapter has a strong M&A emphasis in his practice, focusing on the establishment and acquisition of insurance companies. He has also acted as secretary to the board of a number of insurance companies. Indeed, corporate governance is evidently another strong point at the firm and Charles Coward, head of the Barcelona office, performed well in our governance research.

Rafael García Llaneza is one of Spain’s leading corporate tax lawyers. García Llaneza concentrates on corporate tax, non-resident tax and accounting law and Guillermo Canalejo and Jesús López Tello join him, making the firm the best represented in the chapter. Uría Menéndez also provides three lawyers for the real estate chapter. Fernando Azofra tops the Spanish research in terms of nominations. He has assisted in corporate and real estate deals totalling in excess of €20 billion. Ignacio Albiñana’s corporate real estate practice was also brought to our attention and Duarte Garin in Lisbon completes the trio. The firm’s lawyers are also well qualified to offer environmental advice on real estate transactions and mergers and acquisitions. Carlos de Miguel is one of Spain’s leading environment lawyers working at what sources classed as a “top law firm” in this area. His work relating to due diligence on transactions, litigation and general corporate advisory was noted. The firm’s environmental practice was further bolstered by the recent hire of Juan Antonio Loste from Schiller Abogados.

DISPUTE RESOLUTION
Jesús Remón is a former attorney general before the Spanish Constitutional Court and brings a great deal of arbitration experience to the firm, both as counsel and arbitrator. He also features prominently in the commercial litigation chapter. The firm also offers the services of Carlos Bueren, who appears in the business crime chapter. Bueren’s practice entails defending the full gambit of white-collar criminal offences such as forgery, tax fraud and misappropriation, and concealment of assets. He is also a former lecturer in Civil Litigation and Criminal Law at the Universidad Pontificia de Comillas in Madrid. The firm features twice in the product liability chapter. Alejandro Ferreres is a “great lawyer”, well known for his tobacco and automotive work, and his colleague in the Barcelona office, Carlos Viladás, also stands out.

COMPETITION AND REGULATED INDUSTRIES
The firm counts Spanish construction company Acciona as one of its major clients. Lawyers from the firm have advised the company on the competition aspects of two deals in the past 12 months including its joint bid with Italian electricity group Enel for Spanish utility Endesa. The group also represented Telefónica on its €2.3 billion bid for a controlling stake in Telecom Italia, defending it against a competition complaint filed by a rival telecoms operator. Jaime Folguera is rated by one source as “the best in Spain” while another went on to add “his capacity to develop relationships and to listen to others, plus his underlying technical skills make him formidable”.

Alfonso Gutiérrez is rated as “technically good” and “a very serious and fine lawyer”. Edurne Navarro Varona gives the firm a presence in the all-important Brussels market and completes what is an excellent trio in the chapter. Uría Menéndez’s telecoms credentials are on show in the regulatory communications chapter in which José Pérez Santos features prominently. Pérez Santos also appears in the internet and e-commerce section.

All this is wrapped up by strong performances in the patent, and labour and employment chapters. Lourdes Martín appears in the latter and advises on a wide variety of issues such as employment contracts, the negotiation, drafting and interpretation of collective bargaining agreements, collective dismissals and industrial disputes. José Massaguer features in the patents chapter and rounds off the firm’s excellent showing in the 2008 edition of this compendium.