Julissa Reynoso, former US ambassador to Spain, joins Hogan Lovells Cadwalader as litigation partner in New York

Hogan Lovells Cadwalader has appointed Julissa Reynoso as a partner in its litigation practice in New York. The hire, reported by Expansion on 26 October, brings to the firm one of the most singular public profiles on the Spanish-American legal scene: former US ambassador to Spain and Andorra during the Biden Administration, the first woman to hold that post, and until now a partner at Winston & Strawn.

A career between the White House and international litigation

Reynoso's institutional resume is unusual even by the standards of major New York firms. During the Biden Administration she held, alongside the Madrid embassy, the roles of assistant to the president, chief of staff to First Lady Jill Biden and co-chair of the White House Gender Policy Council. Previously, during Barack Obama's presidency, she served as ambassador to Uruguay and as deputy assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere Affairs.

As ambassador in Spain she managed US economic, political, security and defence affairs in Spain and Andorra, working with multiple federal agencies. She also advocated for US companies in Spain and promoted Spanish investment in the United States, in a period that included the 2022 NATO summit in Madrid and Spain's presidency of the Council of the European Union between July and December 2023.

A practice with a Hispanic focus

On the strictly legal side, Reynoso advises institutions, companies and individuals in high-stakes government investigations, including congressional investigations. Her practice also covers crisis management, enforcement proceedings, cross-border litigation and international arbitration, including proceedings under the rules of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and UNCITRAL, as well as disputes relating to bilateral investment treaties. Geographically she covers the Americas and Europe, with an established presence in Latin America and Spain, across sectors such as financial services, energy and infrastructure, technology, media and telecommunications.

For the firm, the move fits its bet on government investigations and cross-border litigation, areas where direct institutional knowledge of Spain and Latin America has immediate value for clients.

Her arrival also comes amid intense competition in New York, where major firms openly contest partners with books of business and institutional access. In that context, a partner able to open doors in Washington, Madrid and the Latin American capitals is a strategic asset that goes beyond individual billings: it changes the map of trust to which the firm can present itself before a board of directors.

Reading for the Spanish market

The hire holds a double interest for the Spanish observer. On one hand, it confirms the trend of major international firms recruiting profiles with top-level diplomatic and regulatory experience for their compliance, investigations and dispute-resolution practices. On the other, it reinforces the Spain-Latin America-United States corridor that already feeds much of the international litigation business with a Spanish-speaking component, a corridor where Spanish firms maintain alliances that will keep moving.

It is a pattern we have been documenting in our big law section, from recent partner moves to the analysis of fee models at major firms and of the special employment relationship of in-house lawyers. For those following international careers, it also connects with the opportunities we review every week in jobs.

What makes this hire particularly telling is the direction of travel: institutional expertise is no longer a decorative addition to a litigation practice but its core selling point in regulated sectors. Clients facing a congressional investigation or a multi-jurisdiction enforcement action buy, above all, someone who has sat on the other side of the table.

The firm has not disclosed the financial terms of the appointment.