Gala Nacional del Derecho 2026: all the winners of the Legal Leadership Awards

Madrid's Hotel InterContinental hosted on Thursday 5 November 2026 the Gala Nacional del Derecho, the event organised by Gericó Associates at which the 2026 Legal Leadership Awards were presented. The evening brought together law firms, legal departments and professionals from Spain and Latin America, and also served to celebrate the organising firm's fifteenth anniversary, with the presentation of its new corporate identity at the event.

The gala was hosted by Diana Jennen, a partner at Gericó Associates, and opened by Mabel Klimt, a board member of the Madrid Bar Association (Ilustre Colegio de la Abogacía de Madrid). Klimt reminded the audience that leading also means marking a path that others can follow, and underlined the peculiarity of a profession that works with the law and with interests but, above all, for people. During the evening, Marc Gericó, the firm's Global Managing Partner, and María Sol Rubio, partner, presented a collective book coordinated by Gericó Associates and published by Aranzadi LA LEY, in which legal directors who sit on the awards jury share their vision of the role.

The programme included two panel discussions. The first analysed the competition between British and American firms, with José Giménez, National Managing Partner of Linklaters; Eduardo García, Office Managing Partner Spain of Clifford Chance; and Armando Albarrán, partner at Gibson Dunn Spain. The second, moderated by Gonzalo Antón Tascón, Legal Engineering Manager EMEA at Harvey, brought together Fernando Ortega, Board Member and general counsel for Spain and Portugal at Siemens; Gloria Sánchez, Group Chief Data and AI Officer at Banco Santander; María José López Lorenzo, legal director of LALIGA; and Sara Molina, partner at Pérez-Llorca.

Full list of winners

The 2026 Legal Leadership Awards covered Spanish categories, some of them with two bands, labelled Band 1 and Band 2 in the published list, and Latin American categories. This is the complete list of winners, according to the information published by Cinco Días:

• Lifetime Achievement Award (Premio de Honor a la Trayectoria Profesional): Almudena Arpón de Mendívil, partner at Gómez-Acebo & Pombo and Honorary Life President of the International Bar Association (IBA).
• Managing Partner of the year: Fernando Vives, executive chairman of Garrigues.
• Legal Director of the year: Dorleta Vicente García, director of Legal Affairs and ESG at Ecoembes.
• Firm of the year: RocaJunyent (Spain, Band 1), CECA MAGÁN Abogados (Spain, Band 2) and Martínez Quintero Mendoza González Laguado & De La Rosa (Latin America).
• Best Legal Boutique: ECIX.
• Business model transformation and applied AI: ECIX (Spain) and Hogan Lovells Cadwalader (Latin America).
• Most attractive firm for talent: CECA MAGÁN Abogados (Spain) and Payet, Rey, Cauvi, Pérez Abogados (Latin America).
• Best Marketing, Communications or BD strategy: Grant Thornton (Spain, Band 1), the Madrid Association of Family and Children Lawyers, AMAFI (Spain, Band 2), and PPU (Latin America).
• Best legal startup with AI: Prudencia.ai.
• Practice leader of the year: Carlos Alberto Saiz, of ECIX (Spain), and Mauricio Olaya, of Estudio Muñiz (Latin America).
• Best Marketing, Communications or BD Director: Miguel Verger, of Linklaters (Spain), and Ana López Pariente, of Galicia Abogados (Latin America).
• Legal Department Transformation of the year: Insulet (Spain) and Ericsson Latam North & Caribbean (Latin America).
• Rainmaker lawyer of the year: Carlos Alberto Saiz, of ECIX (Spain), and Carlos R. Olarte, of OlarteMoure (Latin America).
• Best in-house legal advisory: Iberdrola (Spain).
• Best in-house legal management: Ericsson Latam North & Caribbean (Latin America).
• Best legal journalist: Álvaro Zarzalejos, head of El Confidencial Jurídico.

In addition, Gericó Academy presented the Academic Excellence Award of its Next Generation programme to Luis Alejandro Quintero Sáenz, of Q&Q Legal, as the best student of the 2025-2026 class.

A jury with legal directors and a book as a legacy

One of the distinctive features of these awards is the involvement of in-house lawyers in their design. The collective book presented during the gala, coordinated by Gericó Associates and published by Aranzadi LA LEY, gathers the vision of the legal function from legal directors who sit on the awards jury. The presentation was led by Marc Gericó, the firm's Global Managing Partner, and María Sol Rubio, partner, at an evening that also served to celebrate the consultancy's fifteen years of activity and to unveil its new logo and corporate identity.

The gala rounded out its educational side with the Academic Excellence Award of Gericó Academy's Next Generation programme, which went to Luis Alejandro Quintero Sáenz, of Q&Q Legal, as the best student of the 2025-2026 class.

How the categories are organised

The Legal Leadership Awards combine three levels of recognition. The first is that of firms: firm of the year in two Spanish bands and one Latin American band, legal boutique, talent attraction, business model transformation with applied AI, and marketing, communications and business development strategy, the latter also split into bands. The second level is that of individuals: lifetime achievement, managing partner, practice leader, rainmaker, marketing director and legal journalist. The third is that of in-house legal teams, with legal director of the year, department transformation, best in-house legal advisory and best in-house legal management.

That architecture allows the winners' list to be read as an X-ray of the market: the published list labels some Spanish categories as Band 1 and Band 2, without the source detailing the criterion that defines each band, and Latin American firms have their own recognition in the categories open to the region.

What this year's awards highlight

The 2026 edition leaves several readings about the state of the sector. The business model transformation and applied AI category, with twin winners in Spain and Latin America, confirms that the adoption of artificial intelligence has become an explicit criterion of recognition for firms, in the same league as talent, legal marketing or department management. The consolidation of the legal startup with AI category, which this year went to Prudencia.ai, points in the same direction.

Also striking is the double distinction for Carlos Alberto Saiz, of ECIX, as practice leader and rainmaker of the year in Spain, and the reinforcement of in-house legal teams, with specific awards for legal director of the year (Ecoembes), best in-house legal advisory (Iberdrola), legal department transformation (Insulet in Spain and Ericsson Latam North & Caribbean in Latin America) and best in-house legal management.

The Latin American section, present in nine categories, reflects the transatlantic vocation of awards that split their attention between Spanish firms — with RocaJunyent and CECA MAGÁN as firms of the year in their two bands — and those of the region, with Colombia's Martínez Quintero Mendoza González Laguado & De La Rosa as firm of the year, Peru's Payet, Rey, Cauvi, Pérez Abogados as the most attractive firm for talent, and PPU as the benchmark in marketing, communications and business development strategy.

The Madrid event has become one of the fixtures of the legal sector's professional calendar in Spain, both for the attendance of the leading firms and legal departments and for a format that combines the presentation of the awards with debate among leaders of firms and in-house teams.

More coverage of sector events in our events section and more news about firms in large law firms. To follow the evolution of artificial intelligence applied to law, see the legal AI section.

Frequently asked questions

What are the Legal Leadership Awards?

They are the awards presented at the Gala Nacional del Derecho, organised by Gericó Associates, to recognise law firms, legal departments and professionals from Spain and Latin America.

When and where was the 2026 Gala Nacional del Derecho held?

On Thursday 5 November 2026 at the Hotel InterContinental in Madrid.

Which firm won the Firm of the Year award in 2026?

RocaJunyent in Spain Band 1, CECA MAGÁN Abogados in Spain Band 2 and Martínez Quintero Mendoza González Laguado & De La Rosa in Latin America.

Which company won the best legal startup with AI award in 2026?

Prudencia.ai, in the Best legal startup with AI category of the 2026 Legal Leadership Awards.

Who was named Managing Partner of the year?

Fernando Vives, executive chairman of Garrigues.

Sources

• Cinco Días, 6 Nov 2026, list of winners of the 2026 Legal Leadership Awards: https://cincodias.elpais.com/legal/2026-11-06/garrigues-iberdrola-gomez-acebo-pombo-y-ecix-se-coronan-en-los-legal-leadership-awards-2026-consulta-la-lista-de-ganadores.html