Spanish law firm ECIJA saw its revenue top €70m for the first time in 2020, catapulting it into the top four firms in Spain by global turnover, according to rankings published by Spanish newspaper Expansión.

That was a fifth higher than its revenue for the 2019 financial year, which clocked in at €58.8m – making it the seventh largest firm at that time. A significant part of the revenue growth recorded in 2020 came from its international operations, which grew by 27.9% to €27.4m. That follows its recent spate of M&A activity across Latin America, opening five new offices in the region in the past year alone.

Hugo Écija, CEO and founder of the firm, said: “Our decentralised model has allowed us to move forward in America in an agile way; our challenge now is to continue consolidating our position, walking hand in hand with our clients in the places and matters in which they need us.”

Pablo Jiménez de Parga, the firm’s executive vice-president, said further international expansion is on the cards this year: “In 2020, despite all the difficulties, we managed to establish ourselves in very important territories in Latin America. We are currently in advanced talks to announce new openings in Andean countries and, in this way, consolidate the firm’s position as a benchmark in the Latin American market in the coming years.”

Last month ECIJA opened in Colombia following its merger with Bogota-based firm MBCR, having also combined with Argentinian firm ELZEN in March. Since the start of last year the firm has opened in Brazil, Ecuador and Mexico, as well as expanding its existing presence in Guatemala.

ECIJA was one of only two firms in the top 10 of Expansión’s Spanish law firm rankings that saw double-digit growth last year. Spain’s number one firm Garrigues posted modest revenue growth of 1.4% to €386.9m, though second and third-ranked firms Cuatrecasas and Uría Menéndez both saw their revenue decline by 0.3% and 1.3% to €315.3m and €248.9m respectively. 

Leading firm Garrigues said its revenue growth had slowed in 2020 due to a sharp fall in Latin American currencies.