Garrigues is a law firm with offices in Spain, Portugal, London, New York, and 9 other countries. Founded in 1941, the firm has experience in a wide range of fields and industries, from traditional practice areas to the newest legal fields. As of July 2015, Garrigues was the second largest law firm in turnover in Continental Europe.

Founders

In 1941, two brothers, Joaquín and Antonio Garrigues Díaz-Cañabate, founded J&A Garrigues. Born in 1899, Joaquín Garrigues Díaz-Cañabate became a professor of commercial law at age 29. According to the Garrigues company’s website, he oversaw reforms to Spanish company law in 1944 at the Institute of Political Rights, he founded the Revista de Derecho Comercial (Commercial Law Review) in 1946, and soon after he prepared the draft legislation that would become the Spanish Corporations Law (1951) and the Limited Liability Companies Law. The younger brother, Antonio Garrigues Díaz-Cañabate, was born in 1904. He practiced law until his appointment in 1931 as director-general of registries and notaries during the days of the

Spanish Republic The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931, after the deposition of King Alfonso XIII, and was dissolved on 1 A ...

. He was ambassador to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

(1962–64) and to the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

(1964–72), and he became the minister of justice in the first government of the returned

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(1975–76).

History

The company says that “During the second half of the 20th century, J&A Garrigues played an active role in Spanish legal life and played host to reforms to the country’s legislation, particularly during the

transition to democracy Democratization, or democratisation, is the transition to a more democratic political regime, including substantive political changes moving in a democratic direction. It may be a hybrid regime in transition from an authoritarian regime to a full ...

, placing the firm in an ideal position to dominate the legal services market.” In 1997 it merged with

Arthur Andersen Arthur Andersen was an American accounting firm based in Chicago that provided auditing, tax advising, consulting and other professional services to large corporations. By 2001, it had become one of the world's largest multinational corporat ...

, Asesores Legales y Tributarios (ALT) and became Garrigues & Andersen. In March 2002, with the disappearance of the Andersen Worldwide network, the firm became independent, and today it operates under the name of Garrigues. In 1991 the company set up the Portuguese Legal Group, along with other firms from Portugal, Brazil and the United Kingdom. Garrigues’s Portuguese practice has been operating since January 2005 through Garrigues Portugal, which incorporated the firm Leónidas, Matos & Associados. In 2013, Garrigues took the first step towards opening its own office network in Latin America. In 2017, Fernando Vives was re-elected executive chairman of Garrigues for five-year term.

References

External links

Official siteGarrigues pulls plug on Latin America alliance to go aloneGarrigues expands LATAM presence to ChileGarrigues and Fernando Vives, most influential law firm and lawyer respectivelyBoard of Executives at Garrigues Partners Ratified for a Second Period
* {{Authority control Law firms of Spain Law firms established in 1941