Latham & Watkins has scored a major coup against
DLA Piper after hiring three senior partners – including
DLA Piper’s global co-chairman – who are based in Madrid.
Juan Picón, the current global co-chair of DLA Piper, will become Latham & Watkins’ Madrid managing partner. He succeeds José Luis Blanco, a founding partner of the Spanish practice and the office managing partner since 2007, who retires at the end of 2017.
Joining Picón are Ignacio Gómez-Sancha and José Antonio Sánchez-Dafos, who is currently DLA Piper’s head of corporate.
Latham & Watkins holds the record for the biggest revenue ever recorded by a law firm, after a
massive top line for fiscal 2016. Equity partners also
made millions in the period, as profit per equity partner jumped to a firm record.
The three-partner team has a strong track record acting for Spanish, Latin American, and other global companies, financial institutions, and private equity firms. Furthermore, Picón was instrumental in the expansion of DLA Piper’s Latin America and European operations.
Picón has a particular focus on M&A, capital markets, private equity, management buyouts, and corporate matters.
Gómez-Sancha is an expert in capital markets and general company law. He also advises on IPOs, takeovers, venture capital, M&A, special situations, and distressed investments.
Sánchez-Dafos is a specialist in cross-border M&A, private equity, management buyouts, fund formation, incentive plan, joint ventures, and corporate restructuring.
“We are thrilled to add the talents of Juan, Ignacio, and José to our team in Spain. They will be a great addition to our practice and their market knowledge will be a great asset for our clients,” said Marc Jaffe, Latham & Watkins global corporate group chair.
“Spain’s largest banks, private equity sponsors, and public companies are global industry leaders. Spain also continues to be an important investment platform for Latin America. We see meaningful cross-border opportunities to leverage our expertise in M&A, finance, infrastructure projects, and oil and gas, among other areas in Latin America,” he said.
Rich Trobman, Latham & Watkins vice chair, said that the firm’s expanded Spanish practice is well-placed to deliver sophisticated services for Spanish and global private equity funds, investment banks, and companies with interests in Spain and around the world.
Bill Voge, chair and managing partner of Latham & Watkins, thanked Blanco for his work.
“When we launched in Spain, we were focused on building one of the preeminent corporate practices in the market. We thank José Luis for his dedication and hard work over the years to accomplish this goal. We wish him well in his retirement and in the next exciting chapter of his career,” Voge said.
Voge said that Picón is “everything you could want in a leader: an effective practice builder, problem-solver, strategic, thoughtful, and driven.”
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