4th Aranzadi In-House Counsel Congress: 24 and 25 November in Madrid, with AI as the first theme

The 4th Aranzadi In-House Counsel Congress takes place on Tuesday 24 and Wednesday 25 November 2026 in Madrid, at Espacio Maldonado, between Serrano and Maldonado streets. The official website also presents it as the Aranzadi Business Law Congress.

It is a meeting designed for lawyers who work inside companies, in legal departments, compliance or regulation, and not for outside firms. That focus shapes both the programme and the admission conditions.

Who it is for

The organisers list as target audience in-house lawyers, heads and directors of legal departments, CEOs, co-founders and board members, data protection officers, compliance officers and directors of regulation or corporate governance.

There is one important condition: only people who hold positions in the internal legal or regulatory departments of companies whose business is not providing legal services are admitted. Places are limited, allocated in order of registration and the organisers reserve the right of admission.

For a lawyer at a firm, that means it is not an event they can register for as an attendee. They may still want to know what worries their corporate clients.

The programme topics

The official website announces these blocks, with the programme still being developed and speakers yet to be confirmed:

1. The impact of artificial intelligence on the role of the corporate lawyer.
2. Consumer and supply chain risk.
3. Compliance and marketing.
4. Pharmaceutical and consumer goods regulation.
5. Directors' liability.
6. Legal team management.
7. Data and energy infrastructure.
8. Mergers and acquisitions.
9. Risk map in industrial and intellectual property.

What the programme says about the market

The list of topics works as a thermometer of in-house legal departments' priorities, and has consequences for the firms that serve them.

AI is already a legal-leadership issue

That artificial intelligence opens the programme confirms that legal departments are deciding how to use it and what to demand from their suppliers, including outside firms. The obligations for high-risk systems have been delayed, as we explain in the new AI Act timetable. A firm that works for companies should be able to explain how it uses these tools and how it protects information, in line with the CCBE guide on generative AI.

Professional secrecy in the company

The protection of legal reports directly affects in-house departments. The Spanish Legal Profession has argued in its Circular 1/2026 that reports the lawyer delivers to the client remain covered by professional secrecy, a position we analyse in our editorial on professional secrecy and reports delivered to the client.

Team management

The presence of legal team management in the programme reflects that running an in-house department is also managing budget, talent and outside suppliers. For firms, that translates into clients who compare, measure and ask for cost forecasts.

Practical details

• Dates: 24 and 25 November 2026.
• Place: Espacio Maldonado, Calle Serrano 104 and Calle Maldonado 1, Madrid.
• Registration: through the registration website linked from the official page.
• Price: not in the information published at the date of this article.
• Admission: subject to the position requirements stated and availability of places.

Other November dates

November packs several dates for the legal profession. The 26th civil liability and insurance lawyers congress takes place from 5 to 7 in Huesca, and Legal Tech Expo 2026, with free access for professionals, on 18 and 19 at IFEMA Madrid.

The full agenda is in Events. If you organise an event for lawyers, you can send us the information from the "Submit your news" form.