Garrigues’ revenue growth bounced back to 7.1% in 2021 to hit €414.2m after a lacklustre performance in 2020.

The Spanish firm, which saw revenue increase by just 1.4% to €386.9m in 2020, claims its latest results make it the first Iberian law firm to see billings pass the €400m mark.  

The firm billed €361.4m in its home country last year, an increase of 7.4%, while billings were up 5% in the rest of the world, primarily driven by the firm’s offices in Portugal in Latin America in Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru.  

The corporate law department continued to be the largest contributor to the firm’s revenues, accounting for 33.7%, followed by tax (30%), labour and employment (11.3%) and litigation and arbitration (11.1%).

Having seen a more robust revenue increase of 4.4% in 2019, Garrigues pointed to the impact of a 'sharp' decline in Latin American currencies due to the Covid-19 pandemic as a factor for its slowed growth in 2020. Nevertheless, its revenue that year saw it still well ahead of Spain’s second-ranked firm Cuatrecasas, which according to Iberian Lawyer pulled in €276m.

Garrigues executive chairman, Fernando Vives, noted that 2021 had been “a complicated year, overshadowed by the Covid-19 pandemic,” but added that: “Thanks to the trust our clients place in us, the talent and efforts of our team and our focus on sound, profitable growth, we achieved record revenues this year.” 

Vives began a new four-year term as executive chairman in February and has been at the helm of the firm since 2009. The firm said the next four years would see international expansion, digitalisation and sustainability remain at the core of its strategy, with €45m earmarked to implement a new systems plan on top of the €55.9m invested in innovation over the past five years.

In response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has seen an array of international firms close their Moscow offices and terminate relationships with Russia-related clients, Vives said Garrigues “does not provide services to the Russian or Belorussian states, or to any citizen or company on the sanctions list of the EU or that is controlled or managed by those governments.”

He added that since the start of the crisis the firm has been “closely and systematically monitoring any professional services required by Russian and Belorussian citizens and companies, always in keeping with our values as an organisation and with the ethical standards of the legal profession.

“Beyond the deep concern we feel as human beings, as lawyers we condemn the flagrant violation of international law, which is essential for the peaceful co-existence of sovereign nations.”

European Law Firm 2021 Financial Results