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Eduardo Soler Tappa has been reelected managing partner of HSF Kramer in Spain for a three-year term ending 31 May 2029. In an interview after the vote, he described Madrid as "on fire" in the competition for talent and warned firms against making poor AI investments, according to Law.com International Edition. Soler Tappa is a State Attorney on leave who joined the firm in 2010. He first took executive responsibility for the Spanish office in May 2023 and continues to handle litigation and arbitration for regulated sectors, especially energy, per Iberian Lawyer.
HSF Kramer Madrid at 18 partners and 150 lawyers after post-merger growth
The office now has 18 partners and more than 150 lawyers and other professionals. It has grown through lateral hires including Sergio Cires in Finance, Jaime Bofill in Insurance Litigation and Esteban de Santos Smith in Corporate/M&A, Líder Legal reported. Soler Tappa's management team includes Alberto Frasquet in Corporate, Armando García-Mendoza and Iria Calviño, who was named co-head of ESG for the EMEA region. During his tenure, the firm also promoted Alejandra Galdos, Marcos Fernández-Rico, Guillermo Uriarte, Miguel Fraga and Miguel García-Casas to partner, per Iberian Lawyer.
That growth followed the Herbert Smith Freehills–Kramer Levin combination, which took effect on 1 June 2025 and created a firm with more than 2,700 lawyers across 26 offices and combined revenue above $2 billion, giving Spanish clients transatlantic reach, HSF Kramer said. The firm's stated priorities in Spain are energy, corporate and international arbitration, where cross-border demand is strongest.
Gibson Dunn, Stephenson Harwood and Jones Day built in Madrid in 2026
Soler Tappa's second term begins in a crowded market. Gibson Dunn opened in Madrid in 2026, its seventh European office, hiring Freshfields' long-serving Spanish corporate/M&A and capital markets head Armando Albarrán to lead the launch, Legal Business reported. Invest in Madrid described Madrid as the firm's base for growth in Europe. Stephenson Harwood launched on 1 June 2026 with an eight-partner team led by Juan Oñate. It absorbed boutique J Almoguera Abogados and its partners Jesús Almoguera, Carlos Gonzalez and Eduardo Vazquez, with a focus on Private Capital & Funds and Energy Transition & Infrastructure, per Stephenson Harwood.
Jones Day expanded its international litigation and arbitration practice in Madrid with partners Pedro Claros and Pablo Doñate. The new offices and hires are concentrated in the same areas HSF Kramer targets, Iberian Lawyer noted: funds and energy transition, private equity and M&A, disputes and arbitration.
International firms pay 20-40% above Spanish rates for energy and funds partners
The "fire" Soler Tappa describes has a price. International firms in Madrid pay 20 to 40 percent above domestic rates. Senior associates with seven to twelve years' experience earn roughly €90,000 to €140,000, compared with starting salaries of €38,000 to €45,000 at Spanish firms, Sartori Global found. Stephenson Harwood's absorption of J Almoguera shows how new entrants are buying established teams and drawing senior energy and funds lawyers away from the independent market where HSF Kramer competes, The Lawyer reported. Spain's market continued to grow through 2025, supported by high-value advisory, transactional and regulatory work, per Iberian Lawyer.
Legora, Harvey and the spending behind Soler Tappa's AI warning
The AI warning comes as spending in the sector rises. Legora announced a Madrid office for the third quarter of 2026 as part of a European expansion that also includes Milan and Paris, Leaders League reported, entering the Spanish market directly. The vendor race shows the scale of the spending: Harvey raised $200 million at an $11 billion valuation and Legora $550 million at a $5.55 billion valuation in 2026, TechCrunch reported. That raises both the cost and the risk of spending in the wrong places.
Soler Tappa's renewed mandate follows the growth of a Spanish office with 18 partners in energy, corporate and arbitration. It also comes as three international firms opened in Madrid in 2026 in the same practice areas, where pay is 20 to 40 percent above domestic rates. The firms competing for the work are also competing for the partners who handle it.
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