Job offers for lawyers in Madrid: where to look, what is asked and how to move

Madrid is Spain's primary legal employment market: the capital concentrates the activity of most national and international big firms, the legal departments of large companies, public bodies and a growing legaltech ecosystem. This guide covers where offers are really published, which profiles are in demand right now, how to organise the search and what lawyers earn, and we update it periodically with market changes.

Where the offers are published

1. The firms' own careers pages. The big firms (and the legal arms of the Big Four) publish on their websites first. It is the most reliable source: the offer is current and the selection process is explained in full.
2. The ICAM Employment Portal. The Madrid bar maintains a job board with offers from firms and companies, accessible to members. Bar associations channel a large share of vacancies at mid-size and local firms, as we explain in our guide to bar association job boards.
3. Recruitment consultancies. Michael Page, Morgan Philips and other consultancies handle much of the middle and senior legal management market, sometimes without naming the client firm until advanced stages.
4. Generalist portals. InfoJobs, LinkedIn and aggregators carry both direct offers and consultancy listings; filter by publication date.
5. Our daily selection. Every morning we publish a selection of verified legal job offers, with each original link checked one by one.

What Madrid is asking for right now

Looking at this week's active offers, the Madrid market is asking above all for:

• Employment. The most active area: positions are open at international firms (Hogan Lovells), Big Four (EY Abogados) and consultancies (Morgan Philips), from junior to senior profiles.
• Real estate and corporate. Transactional practices keep hiring, with ECIJA recruiting for real estate and team moves like Osborne Clarke's, which has just hired an entire real estate team from Baker McKenzie, as we report today in Big firms and lateral hires.
• Intellectual property and technology. International firms ask for IP lawyers with very high English.
• Support profiles. Paralegals and legal assistants find openings both at big firms (CMS is looking for a paralegal for the public law area) and at mid-size practices.

How to organise your application

1. Define your area before applying. Processes at big firms filter by practice and years of experience; a generic application rarely passes the first screen.
2. Prepare CV versions per area. Employment, corporate and litigation value different experience.
3. Watch the offer date. Many vacancies close without notice when a strong candidate comes in; apply in the first week of publication.
4. Sign up for alerts. Our training and employment alerts form sends the news as it is published; it is at the bottom of this page and in the Legal jobs section.

What lawyers earn

Salary depends on the type of firm and seniority. According to the XXI Comparative Analysis of remuneration in law firms in Spain, by Signium and Universidad Francisco de Vitoria, in 2025 a junior lawyer (1-3 years) earned an average of around 46,000 euros gross per year and a senior associate (7-9 years) exceeded 104,000; we break down the figures by category and firm type in What a lawyer earns in Spain. Madrid concentrates the international firms, which lead the increases, according to the same report.

We update this guide with new offers and market changes. Last review: 20 October 2026.