Squire Patton Boggs and Stephenson Harwood have both made senior hires in Madrid, adding arbitration and restructuring expertise, respectively, to their Spanish disputes practices.
Squire Patton Boggs has recruited former Spanish state attorney Lorena Fatás Pérez as a litigation partner, while Stephenson Harwood has secured restructuring and insolvency specialist Juan Oñate from Pérez-Llorca to lead its Madrid office.
Fatás Pérez, who was a state attorney in the Special Department for Economy, Energy and Environmental Law within Spain’s State Attorney’s Office, is well known for her work handling litigation, arbitration and regulatory matters related to economic policy, energy transition and environmental regulations.
Stephen Sampson, Squire’s EMEA disputes lead, said: “Lorena is a talented lawyer with experience in many high-profile cases. I know she will stand ready to serve clients, on both domestic and international work, including through our deep connections in Latin America.”
Teresa Zueco, Madrid managing partner, referenced the growth of the disputes practice under Javier Izquierdo, the office’s head of litigation and arbitration, who joined in 2023, having been co-head of litigation at Pérez-Llorca.
“Under Izquierdo’s leadership, we have built a team in Spain to be rightly proud of,” she said.
Earlier in her government career, Fatás Pérez spent more than five years in the international arbitration department, where she became deputy head in 2021. During this time, she advised and represented Spain in complex investor-state disputes, particularly under the Energy Charter Treaty and bilateral investment treaties (BITs), for which Spain is well known in arbitral circles.
Spain is one of the most sued states under the ECT globally, largely due to its rollback of renewable-energy subsidies. Over 50 claims, totalling billions of euros, have been brought against Spain, which has robustly defended itself. Many of the awards remain unsatisfied, as the Spanish government has sought annulment proceedings, resisted jurisdiction or contested asset recoveries.
Prior to joining government service, Fatás Pérez worked as in-house counsel at the Port of Castellón de la Plana for a year and at leading Spanish firms Uría Menéndez and Cuatrecasas, where she trained and qualified.
In May, European IP and technology partner Andrew Wilkinson succeeded private equity partner Jonathan Jones as European managing partner.
Oñate, meanwhile, becomes Madrid managing partner on joining Stephenson Harwood.
“Juan is highly regarded and well known in the market,” said the firm’s chief executive, Eifion Morris. “He brings a first-class track record in complex restructuring work, as well as the energy and commercial focus we look for in our partners. His approach reflects our culture – he combines personality with professionalism, and he’s the kind of lawyer clients enjoy working with.”
Oñate leaves Pérez-Llorca after more than six years advising on some of Spain’s most significant cross-border insolvency and restructuring matters. He previously worked at Linklaters as counsel for seven years and at Cuatrecasas and Baker McKenzie for five-year stints.
“From the moment I met Eifion and the team at Stephenson Harwood, I was impressed by their ambition and the platform they are building,” said Oñate. “The opportunity to lead a new office, backed by such a strong international network, is compelling for my clients and me. From a personal point of view, it’s an opportunity I couldn’t refuse.”
The Madrid office was founded in January by partners Jesús Almoguera, Carlos González and Eduardo Vázquez, former colleagues in the boutique firm J Almoguera Abogados. The firm had previously left Spain in 2002.
“Expanding into Spain is an important step in our strategy,” explained Morris. “We have an exciting group of lawyers lined up to join us in Madrid, reflecting the interest in what we’re building here.”
He concluded: “Our ambition is to grow quickly and build a full-service team, establishing Stephenson Harwood as a leading international player in Spain across transactional, including corporate, tax, real estate and finance, and dispute resolution matters.”
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