DEPARTMENT PROFILE

Gómez-Acebo & Pombo

Public Law

6 ranked lawyers

Band 1

Spain

Europe 2022 View ranking table

chambers review

department information

Ranked Lawyers

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What the team is known for

Gómez-Acebo & Pombo made a series of important lateral hires at the beginning of 2022, which help to further strengthen its position as one of the top firms in Spain for a variety of public law matters. The firm's top-ranked environment law practice has a superb reputation for its understanding of waste and water management regulations, while new hires boost the firm's capacity to handle standalone energy sector regulatory matters. The team advises on public tender processes for the award of water, waste collection or healthcare services contracts, and it assists with contentious claims arising either in relation to awards or the fulfilment of concession contracts. It also has notable experience in regulatory issues affecting agri-food, ride-hailing or pharmaceutical companies.

Strengths

Interviewees appreciate that the lawyers "share with the client the details of every proceeding, share their knowledge and act in an agile way."

Work highlights

Acted for Meridiam on its EUR484 million acquisition of Acciona's shares in eight infrastructure concessionaires, including companies responsible for the upkeep and management of hospitals, motorways and a university building.

Notable practitioners

Borja Carvajal has joined Gómez-Acebo & Pombo as a partner in the Madrid office. As part of his broader administrative and public law practice, he has standout experience in challenges to public bodies' efforts to restrict the operations of ride-hailing service providers in Spain. "One of his main qualities is that he has a global and strategic vision of cases," says one client, while another notes: "He is able to put things in a very simple way, though in reality they are very complex." Market commentators report that he is "commercial and has good negotiation skills, which means he is able to find a way for the parties to sign an agreement."

Interviewees praise Carlos Vázquez Cobos for his "great knowledge of Spanish administrative law, his analytical skills and his ability to find solutions to the most complex problems." He heads the public law team and leads the firm's advice to hospital operators, infrastructure construction companies and lenders on disputes arising within the context of concession contracts. He is also well known for his knowledge of environment law matters.

Irene Fernández Puyol is a key driving force behind the firm's presence in varied public procurement matters. She advises contracting authorities on the drafting of public tender documents and assists the holders of healthcare, waste management and port services concessions with contentious claims. Sources say that she is "enormously efficient and solution-oriented," adding: "She is always able to bring solutions to each of the questions that arise and is able to come up with different viable options in order to obtain the best possible answer." Clients further praise her ability to "explain legal matters to any listener; she is very versatile."

Juan Alfonso Santamaría Pastor is a renowned figure among market commentators. "He's really a public law sage; I think that he knows about every aspect of public law," states one interviewee.

Pedro Soto has joined Gómez-Acebo & Pombo as counsel in the public law team. "He is very knowledgeable, so he always has the answer," states one client, going on to note: "He is also very accessible and adopts a pro-deal approach." "His level of knowledge and engagement on our file is always perfect," says a second source.

Santiago Garrido is best known for his environment law expertise. He also earns praise for his handling of energy sector regulatory mandates. Interviewees highlight his "commercial and practical approach" and say that "he's very detailed in his analysis." He is a new hire to the team at Gómez-Acebo & Pombo.

Department Information

This content is provided by Gómez-Acebo & Pombo.

Overview

We have an Administrative and Regulatory team specialised in the different areas of Public Law and that works together with the rest of the Firm to offer multidisciplinary legal advice.

We know how the public authorities work given that some of our lawyers have held positions of maximum administrative responsibility. We also have a team of prestigious professors who can respond to the new challenges posed every day by constant regulatory changes. The integration of the teams and the experience acquired, together with our interest in understanding our clients' business, has enabled us to become experts in regulated sectors and, at the same time, provide the best legal advice possible.

Our areas of activity in this field are:

Regulated sectors: energy (electricity, gas, hydrocarbons), telecommunications, transport and postal services, agri-food, life sciences, defence, gambling
Competition: merger control and sanctioning proceedings for restrictive conduct, abuse of dominant position
Environmental law: air protection and climate change, environmental impact
Administrative contracts (tenders, resources, execution of contracts)
Advice to public authorities
Comprehensive advice on permits and licences
Expropriation (compulsory purchase/eminent domain) and liability
Public services: water (concessions, services, project processing, taxation), waste management, healthcare services
Public resources, in particular mines and forests
Administrative appeals and judicial review