Cuatrecasas Gonçalves Pereira
The third of three Iberian law firms in the European top 10, Cuatrecasas Gonçalves Pereira has – much like its peers – jumped out of a family run firm into a major international player with offices around the world.
The firm was founded in 1917 by Emilio Cuatrecasas Buquet and was led by a Cuatrecasas for the best part of a century. Cuatrecasas Buquet`s son Pere Cuatrecasas Sabata succeeded his father and was in turn succeeded by his son, also Emilio.
After the Portuguese market opened up to foreign firms in 2001, Cuatrecasas became the first Spanish law firm to find a Portuguese merger partner. Like the larger city of Garrigues, Cuatrecasas-Gonçalves-Pereira extended beyond Iberia. It has 11 offices outside Iberia with a focus on Latin America, Africa and Asia.
Over the years, Cuatrecasas Gonçalves Pereira formed alliances with several companies and was once a close friend of Herbert Smith in England. Most recently, he collaborated with Italian Chiomenti, French law firm Gide Loyrette Nouel and former ally of Herbert Smith, Gleiss Lutz, to create a non-exclusive European alliance. The quartet works closely and shares office space across multiple jurisdictions.
Revenue has been steadily but slowly growing in the past few years, and Cuatrecasas Gonçalves Pereira employs around 1,400 people worldwide, including nearly 900 lawyers.
Tax and corporate are the firm's major practice areas, with corporate contributing more than a third of total revenue in 2016 and tax just under a third.
In 2012 Cuatrecasas Gonçalves Pereira split the responsibilities formerly held solely by Emilio Cuatrecasas, creating a new role of chief executive. Managing director Rafael Fontana became CEO and assumed Cuatrecasas` executive powers.
When Cuatrecasas stepped down as firm president, Fontana took it on and continues in this role, leading the firm's board with support from other partners. Litigator Jorge Badia was named managing partner in March 2015 and is responsible for running of the practice, although Fontana remains the figurehead.
The duo were reelected in April 2019 and Badia was handed more power in the process. Emilio Cuatrecasas is still involved with the firm and leads a three strong partnership board.
The Lawyer research data
- European 100 rank: 3
- Revenue: €315.3m
- No. of Partners: 224
Country: Spain
Website: https://www.cuatrecasas.com/en/global/
