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Private equity and M&A partner Armando Albarrán is building a lean, senior team at Gibson Dunn's Madrid office, prioritising fewer lawyers and bigger deals as US firms seek a larger share of Spain's legal market, Law.com International Edition reported.
The approach differs from the full-service model most international firms use to enter Spain. Gibson Dunn is building a small local practice around one Band 1 dealmaker, with a focus on high-end private equity and cross-border M&A.
Gibson Dunn's Madrid office opened in April 2026 as its seventh in Europe
Gibson Dunn opened in Madrid on 27 April 2026, its seventh European location, with Albarrán leading and of counsel Alfonso Bernar, Asís Martín de Cabiedes and Reka Palla alongside associates Alberto Broseta and Mario Pacini. The firm announced the launch on 15 January 2026, hiring Albarrán, a Chambers Band 1 lawyer in Capital Markets, Corporate/M&A and Private Equity who spent nearly 30 years at Freshfields heading its Spanish corporate/M&A and capital markets groups.
Chair Barbara Becker described Madrid as "a vital European hub for private equity and cross-border M&A, particularly for sponsors and multinationals executing high-value transactions between Europe and the Americas." The office follows the firm's 2025 Zurich opening and a London buildout that grew from roughly 84 to 100 lawyers in 2020 to over 200 today, with offices also in Brussels, Frankfurt, Munich and Paris. The team targets public and private M&A, private equity and capital markets across energy, infrastructure, real estate, telecommunications and financial services.
Spain's M&A market grew 64% in value as Stephenson Harwood and Harvey entered
Spain's M&A market registered 688 deals worth €36.2bn in the first quarter of 2026, a 64% rise in value year-on-year, with 84 private equity transactions, 17 of them disclosed at €9.6bn, up 15%. That volume helps explain why international firms are pursuing Madrid.
Gibson Dunn is one of several recent entrants. Stephenson Harwood is launching a Madrid office later in 2026 by absorbing the Spanish boutique J Almoguera Abogados, with partners Jesús Almoguera, Carlos González and Eduardo Vázquez, focused on Private Capital & Funds and Energy Transition & Infrastructure. Legal technology companies have followed a similar path: Harvey opened a Madrid office on 23 April 2026 and Legora announced a Madrid opening for the third quarter of 2026.
Freshfields rebuilt its Madrid private equity bench after Albarrán's departure
Albarrán's move is one of several senior European exits from Freshfields as Gibson Dunn enters Spain, according to The Lawyer. The firm has begun enforcing the full six-month notice period in its partnership agreement for certain non-US partners leaving, and according to Bloomberg Law, former European leaders reportedly balked at the firm's lagging US growth, context cited for senior partners moving to US firms.
Freshfields moved to replace the practice Albarrán led. It hired Pablo González Mosqueira as a Madrid partner in a new head of private capital role, and added a private equity partner from Pérez-Llorca. Elsewhere in the market, Linklaters rehired M&A partner Sebastián Albella from Latham & Watkins, with Albella returning to its Madrid office in mid-December after a six-year absence.
Uría, Garrigues and Linklaters lead the league table Gibson Dunn's team will challenge
The 2026 TTR Data M&A league table by value is led by Uría Menéndez at €18.7bn, Garrigues at €7.7bn and Linklaters Spain at €7.3bn. Gibson Dunn's senior-only team is positioned against these firms for high-end mandates. Among US firms, Latham & Watkins, named Private Equity Team of the Year in Spain, is the established benchmark for cross-border PE and M&A in Madrid.
A small, partner-heavy office competing for high-end mandates is a model that leans on the named partner's relationships rather than local scale. Gibson Dunn's model focuses on the deals behind Spain's 64% rise in M&A value, including public and private M&A and private equity, while leaving the broader Spanish practice to the incumbents and the firms now building local teams.
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