Pérez-Llorca appoints five new partners

Javier Carvajal has over 15 years experience in corporate law. He specialises in takeover bids, M&A transactions, corporate restructurings, joint ventures and admission to trading. Carvajal is recommended by Chambers Europe and Chambers Global in the Corporate/M&A and Capital Markets practice areas, and in 2016 he was recognised by Best Lawyers as ‘Lawyer of the Year’ in Venture Capital in Madrid. In 2009 he received the Iberian Lawyer ‘40 under Forty’ award, recognising him as one of the 40 best lawyers under the age of 40 in the Iberian Peninsula. On the academic side, Carvajal lectures on M&A and capital markets for several masters programmes. Furthermore, Carvajal was an associate professor of International Private Law for the National Distance Learning University (UNED).

Alfredo Lafita is an expert on M&A transactions, corporate restructurings, joint ventures, capital markets and private equity transactions. Lafita has advised numerous multinationals on securities issues and placements, mergers and acquisitions, shareholder agreements, purchase agreements and corporate restructurings.

Pedro Fernández has a wealth of experience in capital markets, M&A, company law, commercial contracts and privatisation processes. Moreover, he specialises in advising start-ups and venture capitalists in investment rounds. He has been recognised by several legal directories such as Best Lawyers for Corporate and M&A and Capital Markets. With regard to his teaching activities, Fernández is a lecturer at ESADE, director of the Corporate Finance & Law Master at ESADE and law professor at the Madrid Complutense University, and also lectures on several masters at institutions such as ICADE and the Adolfo Ibánez Miami University.

Carvajal, Lafita and Fernández join Pérez-Llorca’s Corporate team of more than 40 lawyers and 15 partners.

These appointments are in addition to the promotions of Mercedes Romero and Ander Valverde, who have become partners of the Litigation and Arbitration and Banking & Finance departments respectively.

Mercedes Romero joined Pérez-Llorca in 2006. She has a law degree from the Carlos III University in Madrid and has a postgraduate diploma in “International Commercial Arbitration” from Queen Mary University, London. Romero is an expert on arbitration and litigation and has carried out her work in sectors such as energy and engineering, telecommunications, corporate, gambling, insurance, finance, construction and real estate. Moreover, Romero lectures at the Carlos III University on various modules related to litigation and arbitration.

Ander Valverde has worked at Pérez-Llorca since 2010. He has a law degree from the Pontificia Comillas University in Madrid and has an LL.M from the New York University School of Law. He is a member of the Madrid and New York State bars. Valverde is an expert on Banking and Finance Law. He has advised national and international clients on acquisition finance transactions within the scope of private equity transactions and public takeover bids for listed companies and is an expert in direct lending. He is a lecturer at the Centro de Estudio Garrigues where he teaches “Banking and financial contracts” on the Masters in Legal Business Practice. Valverde also teaches on the Masters degree for Access to the Legal Profession and on the Masters in Business Law at the Pontificia Comillas ICAI-ICADE University, where he teaches classes on “Corporate Law” and “Banking regulation”. Valverde also collaborates with IE University teaching a class on “Business Law”.

Pedro Pérez-Llorca, Senior Partner of the firm, has highlighted that “the hiring of Javier Carvajal, Alfredo Lafita and Pedro Fernández, together with the promotions of Mercedes Romero and Ander Valverde to partner are fully in line with the growth that the firm has been experiencing in the last few years and will signify an important boost for the Corporate, Litigation and Arbitration and Banking & Finance practices of the Firm”.

These appointments follow on from the incorporation of Pablo Ulecia last September as Tax partner at the Madrid office.