AI Issue 6 2018

Acquisition International - Issue 6 2018 17 Founded in the 1940s, Uría Menéndez has since become one of the most prestigious international law firms. We profiled the firm and Emilio Díaz Ruiz to discover more about how the firm has developed over the years into being one of the most prestigious international law firms. stablished in the 1940s, Uría Menéndez has grown throughout the years into becoming one of the most prestigious international law firms. The firm’s capacity for innovation, their profound analysis of the law and their unwavering respect for deontological ethics, have all made Uría Menéndez one of the leading firms across the Iberian and Latin American markets. Rodrigo Uría González and Aurelio Menéndez, who founded the firm, along with Rodrigo Uría Meruéndano, have been able to create a legacy of teaching and research. Today, Uría Menéndez have almost 600 lawyers working in 17 different offices - all of which are located in the most important financial centres in Europe, the Americas and Asia. In addition to this, the firm also makes up part of the first ever major Ibero-American law firm, Philippi, Prietocarrizosa, Ferrero DU & Uría. The team at Uría Menéndez are there for its clients across the globe, through its close ties with prestigious local firms. In addition, through their network of closest friends within Europe, they are able to create cross-firm teams with the leading firms from the main European countries with neighbouring law firms located therein, and even from the rest of the world through Lex Mundi group. One of the key benefits of Uría Menéndez’s close links with the academic world, is their ability to innovate and find the best solutions to the most complex legal problems. The firm encourages their lawyers to further their studies and share the knowledge they possess through teaching. Uría Menéndez’s lawyers participate regularly as speakers at seminars and conferences on subjects relating to their fields of expertise. It is no secret that every business will encounter challenges along their way, for Uría Menéndez, they know that there are many factors which affect the way in which legal practice is developing these days, and which will likely change the way in which the legal profession has been practiced till now. One is the technological changes, this provides more tools but also render the clients more demanding in terms or timing and availability. Another change is Contact: Emilio Díaz Ruiz Company: Uría Menéndez Príncipe de Vergara, 187 Plaza de Rodrigo Uría, Madrid 28002, Spain Telephone: 0034 91586 0365 Web Address: www.uria.com Creating a Legacy of Teaching and Research E 1806AI16 the globalisation, which provokes that law firms must be ready to provide legal services to clients from many countries in many different legal systems, and a third issue would be that of competition from new players, such as auditors, who try to sell the clients the “one-stop-shop” concept. The factors mentioned are seen as challenges, however they are also opportunities. For lawyers with a long standing practice, like Emilio Díaz Ruiz (who has been practising Law for almost 40 years), technological advances have always provided new opportunities of improving the service to clients, as well as changes in the approach to legal problems and their solutions. Moving forward, the team at Uría Menéndez believe that legal knowledge, innovation, availability and quality of the final product are four key attributes that are essential to achieving success within their industry.