Ecija Abogados

Chairman: Hugo Écija
Managing Partners: Alejandro Touriño (Madrid), Gabriel Nadal (Barcelona), Pablo Romá (Valencia), Cristina Llop (Zaragoza), Ignacio Díaz de Aguilar (Canary Islands), Fernando Antas da Cunha (Lisboa), Mauricio Paris (Latin & Central America), Franz Ruz (Santiago de Chile)
Number of partners: 60
Number of lawyers: 300
Languages: English, French, German, Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, Bulgarian, Dutch

Firm Overview: ECIJA is a Top 10 Law Firm in the Spanish market, which offers distinctive specialisation in areas linked to the most developed sectors of industry, being the leading firm in Spain for full service advice to both national and international companies. ECIJA has 18 offices in 11 countries worldwide and collaborates in all jurisdictions through its international networks.

Main Areas of Practice:

IT, Telecoms, Data Protection & Outsourcing:
9 partners; 40 fee earners based in Spain, Portugal, Latin and Central America
ECIJA acts on behalf of the most important companies operating in the Iberian Market.
■ Advice to Energias de Portugal (EDP) with the design, development and implementation of a company-wide IT compliance framework for Portugal and Spain
■ Advice to the Business Software Alliance and its members on the full range of enforcement matters in Spain, including civil proceedings, criminal complaints, evidence-gathering searches, criminal complaints and product seizures
■ Legal advice to American real estate company CBRE with all the IT law issues associated with its electronic procurement processes, including development contracts, e-commerce, data protection and international data transfer matters
■ Advice to the online holiday rentals company Homeaway on liability issues affecting the company in its capacity of information society service provider under the EU’s Electronic Commerce Directive 2000/31/EC. ECIJA represents Homeaway in several litigation cases involving discussion with the Tourism authorities of Catalonia, Valencia and Balearic Islands on the application of Internet rules to ISPs or the application of sectorial rules
Key Clients: Telefonica, Mercadona, Sanitas, Axa, Orange, Fox
Contacts: Alejandro Touriño, Carlos Pérez
Emails: [email protected], [email protected]

Media, Entertainment & Sports:
6 partners; 32 fee earners based in Spain, Portugal, Latin and Central America
ECIJA acts on behalf of the largest media corporations, advertising groups and production companies
■ ECIJA is Globomedia´s sole legal counsel, and advise the company on commercial and distribution contracts for its productions with TV channels in Spain and abroad, as well as providing representation in litigation and handling regulatory, tax and labour law issues
■ Advise to NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC on the production of documentary ‘El Niño Inca’, which is being filmed in Chile, Argentina and Peru. It handles all aspects of the project, including the management of multiple administrative authorisations and negotiating access to materials in the field of cultural and museum heritage, as well as assisting with international contracting
■ Freemantle Media's lead counsel, ECIJA advises the British company on the contractual, image rights, merchandising, product licensing and product placement issues associated with its vast portfolio of hit-TV shows
■ ECIJA advises leading video-on-demand streaming service provider Rakuten TV with the full range of legal matters arising from the development of its own audiovisual content
Key Clients: Mediapro, Rakuten TV, National Geographic, M&C Saatchi, Turner Broadcasting System, Omnicom
Contacts: Hugo Écija, Juan Salmerón
Emails: [email protected], [email protected]

Intellectual Property & Copyrights:
10 partners; 38 fee earners based in Spain, Portugal, Latin and Central America
ECIJA is one of the leading players in the Spanish IP area, offering outstanding expertise on the full range of patent, trademark, design and utility models and copyright issues.
■ Representation of Dentsu Aegis in patent litigation proceedings concerning a utility model for key technology owned by the client. As Dentsu Aegis´ lead counsel on IP ‘issues, the firm also provide ongoing advice on all related matters affecting the company
■ Advice to leading retailer MediaMarkt with the acquisition of IP and licensing rights over AI technology
■ Advice to NYSE-listed media giant Omnicom with the cataloguing of all its IP assets, including trademarks, domain names and rights over audiovisual content and software
■ Advice to Energías de Portugal on the IP aspects of the development of multi-support and multi-platform digital projects, which involve graphic and audiovisual content. These include negotiations with rights holders and collecting societies, and assistance with compliance and best practice issues
■ Advice to Telefónica on the IP protection issues arising from the development of cybersecurity software
Key Clients: Google, Adidas, BSA, Havas Media, Associated Press, Teva Pharma
Contacts: Alejandro Touriño, Carlos Pérez
Emails: [email protected], [email protected]

Risk & Compliance:
5 partners; 10 fee earners based in Spain, Portugal, Latin and Central America
ECIJA’s dedicated corporate compliance group advises household names on the full range of compliance matters associated with their activities. The group works on behalf of the public and private sectors, across a variety of industries.
■ ECIJA assists NYSE-listed company Domtar Group with the definition, development and implementation of a management system for the Prevention of Criminal Liability of Legal Persons, covering all aspects of the project
■ Advice on the implementation of a non-face-to-face user identification system for the prevention of money laundering offenses
■ Legal advice to sports management and media company Dorna (the exclusive rights holder for the MotoGP™ and Superbike World Championship) with the design and implementation of its company-wide compliance program
■ Advice to HomeServe Group company Reparalia with the design and implementation of a company-wide compliance program, covering all aspects of the business
Key Clients: Banco Santander, Media Markt, Abertis, The Phone House, Makro
Contact: Alonso Hurtado
Email: [email protected]

Corporate/M&A & Private Equity:
26 partners; 50 fee earners based in Spain, Portugal, Latin and Central America
ECIJA is deeply involved in key corporate operations in the TMT sectors (advising in complex transactions, acting as secretariat of corporate boards in multiple organisations). Strong presence in the startup sector, ranked among the best law firms in the Spanish markets in assisting startups and entrepreneurs.
■ Acquisition of a TV Channel by one of the most relevant production companies in Spain of a relevant stake in the companies’ share capital
■ Advice to leading advertising agency in the acquisition by the new creative team of a relevant stake in the share capital
■ Advice to one of the most important internet browsers worldwide in the moving of the entire business from Spain to Ireland
Key Clients: Yahoo!, PSA Group, Spotify, McCann, Sony, Cope
Contacts: Emilio Prieto, Gabriel Nadal
Emails: [email protected], [email protected]

Awards:
■ Best IT, IP and Data Protection Law Firm of the Spanish Market (Expansión Awards 2016, 2017, 2018)
■ Most innovative Project (Expansión Awards 2016, 2017, 2018)
■ Ranked amongst the most innovative law firms in Europe (Financial Times 2019)