Spanish leader Garrigues is to launch an office in Bucharest next week (1 July) – expanding its Central & Eastern European (CEE) practice to cover Romania as well as Poland.

The office will be led by corporate partner Jaime Fuster and litigation partner Jacobo Sartorius. The pair, who launched their own firm in Warsaw in 2004, which then merged with Garrigues in January 2007, will remain based in Madrid but will spend much of their time overseeing the CEE operations.

They will launch the office with eight fee earners, with a further two local partners expected to join shortly. The office will focus on real estate, public law, M&A, litigation, arbitration and corporate and commercial law.

Sartorius said: "Poland was our head office to serve the CEE. Now, with Romania, the Warsaw office can focus on northeast Europe while Bucharest will be the reference for the southeast. Romania is developing fast, with a lot of Spanish companies entering – especially in construction and infrastructure."

Garrigues is also planning to boost its Warsaw office with local partner hires. Since its launch the office has growth from six lawyers to 23 fee earners – including four senior associates and eight associates.

Among clients in the CEE, Garrigues has secured a role as legal adviser to the consortium for the UEFA Euro 2012 football championship to be held in Poland and Ukraine.

Ukraine is also in the frame as Garrigues' next office in the CEE although no formal plans have yet been outlined.