Andersen strengthens its M&A tax practice with the hire of Ignacio Ruiz as partner, joined by a two-lawyer team

Andersen has hired Ignacio Ruiz as a new partner in the tax department of Andersen Iberia, a move aimed at strengthening transactional tax work and, in particular, the analysis and management of tax risks linked to domestic and international M&A transactions. He does not arrive alone: he joins with a team formed by Andrea Gonzalo, senior associate, and Miguel Ponce, consultant.

With more than 15 years of experience in tax advisory work, Ruiz specialises in identifying and managing tax contingencies in corporate transactions, a profile in growing demand as deals become more complex and international.

Track record and specialisation

Ignacio Ruiz holds a law degree from Universidad Complutense de Madrid and completed his training with a Master's in Stock Exchange and Financial Markets at IEB, an LLM in Business Tax Advisory and an Executive Course in International Taxation at IE.

Throughout his career he has taken part in tax due diligence processes and in taxpayer defence proceedings before the Spanish Tax Agency, advising business groups, large companies and family offices. The firm also highlights his experience coordinating multinational teams on complex tax advisory projects, a key factor when a transaction spans several jurisdictions.

The firm's statements

José Vicente Morote, managing partner of Andersen Iberia, frames the hire within the strategy of developing highly specialised areas inside an already consolidated tax practice: in corporate transactions of growing complexity, integrating tax analysis from the outset is essential to anticipate risks, provide legal certainty and support decision-making.

Pablo Gómez-Acebo and Borja de Gabriel, partners and co-heads of Tax, stress that Ruiz's experience in M&A processes and in coordinating multinational teams will allow the firm to deepen its analysis of tax risks and contingencies and to support clients through every phase of a transaction, from the initial review to structuring and execution.

Why transactional tax attracts talent

The hire illustrates a clear market trend: firms compete for profiles able to embed tax analysis in the engineering of a deal, not only in its later review. Early detection of contingencies shapes price, guarantees and coverage mechanisms — representations and warranties, escrows, W&I insurance — so the tax adviser has become part of the deal team from the letter of intent stage. In that context, laterals with taxpayer-defence experience and international coordination skills carry evident strategic value for firms with cross-border practices.

A department of more than 100 professionals

Andersen Iberia's tax department has more than 100 professionals, 24 of them partners, advising domestic and international companies on both recurring tax management and complex transactions: restructurings, due diligence, project finance and tax planning.

The hire adds to a particularly active season in the big-firm talent market. This very week we covered the move of Baker McKenzie's real estate team to Osborne Clarke, another full-team transfer, and the internal promotion of five new partners at BDO Abogados, the alternative growth formula. On the deontological limits of these moves, see the regulation of lawyer hires, deontology and non-compete rules.

For the market, the move confirms that the tax structuring of transactions remains one of the areas where large firms concentrate their growth bets, in a deal-making environment that rewards tax specialisation from the very design of each operation.

All market moves of partners and teams are tracked in our Grandes despachos section.