ECIJA continues to strengthen its team in Spain with the appointment of María Cortizas as a new partner in the Tax practice, thereby expanding its advisory capabilities in corporate and financial matters and highly complex transactions.
María Cortizas has over two decades’ experience advising large companies, financial institutions, private equity funds, property funds and international investors on the tax structuring of M&A transactions, corporate restructurings, capital markets and structured finance, both nationally and internationally. Throughout her career, she has been involved in acquisitions and divestments, corporate reorganisations, cross-border investments and transactions involving investment, infrastructure and property funds. She also has a strong track record in tax proceedings, audits and tax litigation, with a dual transactional and litigation profile that enables her to support companies from the design of a transaction right through to its eventual defence against the tax authorities.
Before joining ECIJA, María Cortizas spent seven years heading the tax practice at Dentons in Spain. Prior to that, she spent twelve years at Linklaters and, before that, eleven years in the Transactions department at KPMG Abogados.
Her career has been consistently recognised by leading international legal directories. Chambers Europe has recognised her in the Tax sector, whilst The Legal 500 has named her a Leading Partner in Tax in Spain, highlighting in particular her transactional expertise. Furthermore, International Tax Review has recognised her in the field of Transactional Tax as a ‘Highly Regarded Practitioner’ and a ‘Woman in Tax Leader’, amongst other accolades.
According to Alejandro Touriño, CEO of ECIJA, “María’s appointment reflects our commitment to continuing to bring top-tier professionals on board in areas that are critical for our clients. Her experience in major transactions, her market knowledge and her ability to combine technical excellence with business acumen extraordinarily strengthen our value proposition in Tax and our transactional capabilities”. For her part, María Cortizas states: “My aim is to drive the development and consolidation of the Tax practice, supporting the firm’s strategic clients and addressing their most complex needs, as well as enhancing synergies with other areas of ECIJA”.