Rafael García del Poyo

Practice Areas

Having acted as legal counsel for many of the largest national and international clients in the life sciences and healthcare sector, Rafael brings deep expertise in digitalisation to his work in an increasingly data-driven industry.

He is currently Partner-in-Charge of IT and IP matters for Osborne Clarke Spain, and a leading member of the Digital Business service team. Over a career spanning more than 25 years, he has specialised in data protection projects within the field of life sciences and healthcare, along with other sectors, meaning he is now active in formulating Spanish data protection law and regulation.

Working with major pharma, medical and clinical companies across Europe, he provides strategic support on product distribution and regulation, clinical trials, GDPR compliance, intellectual property and consumer protection matters, among many others.

Alongside life sciences and healthcare, Rafael is equally highly regarded in technology, media and communications, with Chamber Europe Guide describing him as “one of the real specialists”, and “one of the best lawyers in Spain right now when it comes to e-commerce”.

He is experienced in cases within the Spanish courts and the Court of Justice of the European Union, and is a member of the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP). Rafael also frequently participates as speaker and lecturer at different courses related to data protection at many leading institutions and universities.

In data centres related work, Rafael is also experienced in acting as coordinator of a team of advisors to several clients in the context of project management activities for the acquisition, development, operation and commercialisation of data centre facilities aimed at providing full coverage to strategic areas in Spain and Portugal.

In the wider industry, Rafael is a collaborator on the Spanish Society in Healthcare IT (Sociedad Española de Informática de la Salud) and AIMFA (Agrupación de Investigación y Marketing Farmacéutico), a major association in the field of marketing activities in the Life Sciences and Healthcare sector.

Additionally, he is a member of the European Association for Arbitration (AEADE) at the Committee for Technology, Engineering and Energy; a member of the European Union network of national bodies for the extra-judicial settlement of consumer disputes (EEJ-Net) managed by the European Commission; and acts as an arbitrator in matters of domain names for RED.ES for the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation.