The rise of the Spanish economy is often championed as one of the European Union's (EU's) miracles. Dubbed one of the 'poor four' on joining the Union, it has grown at a tremendous rate and has attracted all the big UK names to its legal market. Its law firms have suffered at the hands of the Anglo-Saxon firms but, as in France and Italy, the top independents say they are taking the best of what they have learned from the international firms' arrival to create a new kind of indigenous firm.

Rafael Fontana, deputy general director at Cuatrecasas, sums up the firm's feeling about its independence: "There is a saying in Spain that wine does not travel well – legal work also does not travel well."

Cuatrecasas has largely shunned formal alliances in favour of selecting referral partners in other jurisdictions on a case-by-case basis, while vying to be the best Iberian firm – a title it will have to battle for with Uria & Menendez.

Pedro Perez-Llorca, founding partner of Perez-Llorca, says his firm's broad practice area is a major advantage to clients, in contrast to the corporate finance focus of most international firms.

"We present ourselves as knowing the law, and being able to handle a matter adequately whatever the complications are – if our clients have to litigate, we can get them to court for example," he says.

Perez-Llorca admits that young lawyers used to shy away from working for a Spanish firm, where they felt they would be little more than employees.

Now, with all the firm's partners holding equity status and an Anglo-Saxon business model in place, he says that Spanish firms have taken on the newcomers at their own game.

"The global firms, because of their size, are implementing changes now, while independent firms are sticking to their business models," Perez-Llorca says. "In the battle for lawyers, the independent firms are winning. Four years ago, (young lawyers felt) the only thing to do was to send their CVs to the international firms. Now, I hope there is room for both models."

Despite its popularity, the Spanish market has not attracted the same numbers of US firms as the German and French markets, with some such firms managing their Spanish work out of London or Paris. For the ones that have arrived in Madrid,
the going has initially been tough, says Mullerat's Alberto Echarri.

"You cannot start an office from scratch with 20 to 25 lawyers, so it is very pressured at the beginning," he says. "There is no time for marketing or PR – promoting the firm while making sure you meet the budget at the end of the year is difficult."

Because many US firms are finding it tough to justify the investment involved in setting up and operating a Madrid office, Echarri says Mullerat is pushing its profile in North America. The firm has grown 50% in two years, with the time and money invested in visiting firms in the US paying off – Echarri attributes great importance to the firm's public relations profile.

Cuatrecasa's Fontana agrees that US firms are showing little sign of interest in opening in Spain, but adds that things might change if the Latin American economy picks up.

"Spain is important in acting as a bridge between Latin America and Europe," he says. "It is often the case that the headquarters of a Latin America investment house is in Madrid now, rather than Miami."