News, analysis and opinion pieces on deals published on AGENTE LEX.
Collaborations between firms, partner departures and agreements with other professionals all raise the same question: can fees be split? The Code of Ethics sets a general rule and four exceptions, and prohibits paying commissions for bringing in clients unless the client is informed.
A firm organised as a company is a legal entity and can be criminally liable for certain offences. The Criminal Code allows exemption if an effective organisation and management model exists, and sets six requirements for that model. We review them from a firm's perspective.
The knowledge a firm accumulates, such as its templates, methodology or commercial information, can be protected as a trade secret. But Law 1/2019 protects it only if the firm takes reasonable measures to keep it secret, and it does not allow restricting professionals' mobility.
The Central Beneficial Ownership Register, created by Royal Decree 609/2023, centralises information on who controls companies and other entities. For firms involved in corporate transactions it is both an obligation of their clients and a due diligence tool.
Lawyers' fees are freely agreed, and the Professional Associations Act prohibits bar associations from recommending prices. They may only draw up indicative criteria for a very specific purpose: the assessment of costs and the jura de cuentas (fee-claim procedure). We explain the scope of the rule.
Conflict of interest is one of the most relevant ethical risks for a firm with many clients. The Code of Ethics of the Spanish Legal Profession devotes eight rules to it in its Article 12, and the last extends all the others to the firm as a whole.
