The biggest issues facing many European businesses in 2020 seem to be how to increase output, speed up work significantly in the latter hours of the day, and inspire staff members in the face of constant changes and limitations. There exists a marginal association between the influence of the jurisdiction block on financial outcomes and its strength. From a geographical perspective, the financial results vary from stable (Austria and Nordic countries), to challenging (France and Ireland), to very robust (Portugal, Switzerland, and most of Germany). While few of the ten European corporations publish earnings, there have been reports of margin growth around the continent. Moving everything online has resulted in huge cost savings, which have also affected revenue.
Garrigues
The “Iberian giant” Garrigues was founded in 1941 when the brothers Joaquin and Antonio Garrigues Diaz-Canyabate combined two modest legal practices. Over the next fifty years, the corporation expanded, setting up offices in Brussels in the next ten years and New York in 1973.
It’s possible that Garrigues was the first Spanish legal practice to start doing business abroad. He established the Lawyers’ Club, or Club de Avogados, a global network in the 1980s that connected like-minded businesses worldwide. When Garrigues joined forces with the Spanish tax and legal branch of the audit company Arthur Andersen in 1997, it marked a significant turning point in his career. The combination was effective. The workforce has doubled in size in just five years, while employee turnover has skyrocketed by 130%.
The business added 152 new shareholders in 2011 as part of its shift to a more equitable organizational structure. Ultimately, in a modified state, approximately 95% of the partnerships were stockholders.
Son of Antonio Garrigues Diaz-Canyabate, Antonio Garrigues Walker began working for the company in 1954. When his father was named Spanish Ambassador to the United States in 1962, he was named Chairman of the Board of Directors. He served in that capacity for an incredible 52 years, retiring in 2014 at the age of 80. Following his retirement, the company’s partners named him honorary chairman.
Former Chairman Fernando Vives served as the company’s Corporate and Commercial Management Officer from 2001 to 2009, when he and tax partner Ricardo Gomez Barreda were named Co-Management Partners.
Jose Maria Alonso and Miguel Gordillo, who led the business from 2000 to 2009, are replaced by Vives and Gomez Barreda.
2011 saw Garrigues restructure his executive team. Gomez Barreda was named senior partner and Vives became the only managing partner. Gomez Barreda was re-elected as Senior Partner, and Vives added “Executive President” to his title after Antonio Garrigues departed.
In January 2017, Vives was re-elected for a further five years.
The research data on lawyers
European 100 position: 1
Earnings: €386.7
326 partners in total
Nation: Spain
Loeff & Loyens
Situated in the second tier of European law firms, Loyens & Loeff boasts an extensive tax practice. Established in 2000 through the union of Loeff Claeys Verbeke, a law firm, and tax consultancy Loyens & Volkmaars, it continues to employ a large number of non-legal tax consultants. Approximately 25% of our workforce is dedicated to tax law or consultancy.
The company’s history begins with its founding and continues with distinct departments located in Rotterdam and Amsterdam. Despite the fact that the previous Loeff Claeys has not expanded worldwide, Legacy Loyens & Volkmaars has, and the united firm now has offices in eight jurisdictions outside of the Benelux region, where its headquarters are located.
The Zurich office, which was last opened in 2015, is expanding quickly.
The income and workforce of Loyens & Loeff have varied recently, reaching a peak in 2014, rising in 2015, falling somewhat in 2016, and then rising once again in 2017 and 2018. It is still among the biggest sovereign nations in Europe, nevertheless. a business in terms of income and personnel count.
The primary focus of Loyens & Loeff’s practice is taxation, although corporate governance comes first. Nonetheless, the business provides small finance, legal, and real estate teams in addition to comprehensive services. Loyens & Loeff has three Dutch bases in Brussels and Luxembourg, as well as seven offices outside of the Benelux region. He doesn’t belong to any networks.
The current chair of the board of directors is Loyens & Loeff. The other members of the board are Thierry Charon, Marieke Bakker, and managing partner Bram Linnarz. In 2018, the three were chosen to serve two-year terms. Willem Jarigsm has served two periods as Managing Partner; Linnartz is his first term in that role. At the moment, Jarigsma works out of Loyens’ London office. The 4,444 directors of Loyens & Loeff make up its legal and tax advice group. Furthermore, the non-executive director forms a single-story eight-member model by sitting next to the managing director.
The research data on lawyers
European 100 position: two
Income: €344 million
There are 123 partners.
Nation: Netherlands
Cuatrecasas Pereira Gonçalves
Like its contemporaries, Cuatrecasas Gonçalves Pereira, the third of three Iberian law firms in the European top 10, grew from a family-run business to a significant global player with offices across the globe.
Emilio Cuatrecasas Buquet created the company in 1917, and for the better part of a century, Cuatrecasas led it. Pere Cuatrecasas Sabata, the son of Cuatrecasas Buquet, succeeded his father, and Emilio, his son, followed him.
Cuatrecasas was the first Spanish legal practice to find a Portuguese merger partner following the 2001 opening of the Portuguese market to foreign enterprises. Cuatrecasas-Gonçalves-Pereira, like the bigger city of Garrigues, was not limited to Iberia. With an emphasis on Latin America, Africa, and Asia, it has 11 offices outside of Iberia.
Cuatrecasas Gonçalves Pereira forged partnerships with other businesses throughout the years and was once close friends with Herbert Smith in England. Most recently, he formed a non-exclusive European alliance with the help of the Italian company Chiomenti, the French law firm Gide Loyrette Nouel, and the former ally of Herbert Smith, Gleiss Lutz. The four share office space and collaborate closely across several jurisdictions.
Over the past few years, Cuatrecasas Gonçalves Pereira’s revenue has increased gradually but steadily. The company employs over 1,400 individuals worldwide, roughly 900 of them are lawyers.
The two main practice areas of the business are tax and corporate, with the former accounting for little less than a third of total revenue in 2016 and the latter for more than a third.
Cuatrecasas Gonçalves Pereira divided the duties that Emilio Cuatrecasas had previously performed exclusively in 2012, establishing a new position of chief executive. Rafael Fontana, managing director, took over as CEO and gained Cuatrecasa’s executive authority.
Following Cuatrecasas’ resignation as firm president, Fontana assumed the position and has remained in it, heading the firm’s board with assistance from other partners. The practice is managed by litigator Jorge Badia, who was designated managing partner in March 2015; Fontana serves as the icon.
After the two were reelected in April 2019, Badia received further authority. Emilio Cuatrecasas still works for the company and is in charge of three capable partnership boards.
The research data on lawyers
European 100 position: 3.
Income: €315.3 million
224 partners in total
Fidal
Due to its solid tax foundation, the French legal firm Fidal is comparable to Garrigues and Loyens & Loeff, yet it is nevertheless unique among the major European corporations.
The “Trustee of France” tax office was established by the corporation in Grenoble in 1923, and it relocated to Paris in 1924. Fidal’s quick growth allowed it to establish 24 offices by 1928, and in 1933 it added law to the proposal.
Fidal started its first worldwide expansion with offices in French-speaking North Africa. In 1986, a year before Pete Marwick and accounting firm KMG merged to establish KPMG, Fidal relocated to Pete Marwick’s French international tax practice. For many years to come, Fidal and KPMG will have a close working partnership.
Fidal became “the first law firm in France” right away when the professions of “avocat” and “consil juridique,” which are comparable to English attorneys and lawyers, were combined in 1991 due to a change in the legislation.
Fidal was a crucial component of the KPMG legal network KLegal, which disintegrated as a result of the Enron scandal. They continued to collaborate closely until July 2018, when KPMG stated that it was ending its cooperation and will shortly be hiring 145 Pidal lawyers in Paris.
Fidal has been making an effort to expand its global reach over the last few years by announcing a number of office openings, joint ventures, and network announcements—the most recent of which was with Mills & Reeve in the UK. Additionally, he is attempting to raise his profile in the corporate legal community. They continue to have a low status outside the jurisdiction despite these attempts.
Fidal has thousands of customers and over 90 offices around France; nevertheless, it does not typically give a list of its most important clients. The lion’s share of revenue for legal firms still comes from taxes.
A modified higher pay level is assigned to affiliates. Less than half of Fidal’s partnerships have stakes, while around half of its attorneys are partners. With more than 2,300 workers, Fidal is the biggest legal firm in Europe in terms of personnel.
The executive committee of Fidal is led by President Yves de Seven, the tax partner, and CEO Regis Lassabe, who have held this position since 2012. Both have served in the executive branch since 2008 and were chosen in 2018 to serve two-year terms in their current roles.
The research data on lawyers
European 100 position: 4
Income: €286 million
There are 515 partners.
Nation: France
