A&O Spain hit as co-head takes up GC role with client
Allen & Overy (A&O) has lost one of its most senior lawyers in Spain after co-managing partner Graham Donnell left to become general counsel at client Stemcor.
The move leaves structured finance partner Iñigo Gómez-Jordana as the sole managing partner for A&O's Spanish arm.
The firm wished Donnell well in his new role at Stemcor, which he is due to take up in the summer.
Gómez-Jordana takes over a Madrid office in good shape. It grew by nearly 24 per cent last year to break through the €10m (£6.79m) barrier.
But the six-partner branch is still small compared with its magic circle rivals, such as Linklaters, which has 12 partners, and Clifford Chance with 21.
Donnell spent more than 20 years at A&O and was a partner for 12 of them. He moved to Madrid in 2000 to head the firm's operations in Spain, having previously worked in offices in Asia and Eastern Europe.
Donnell specialised in cross-border M&A work, but his practice also touched on projects, construction and energy matters.
He will lead the legal team at Stemcor, a services provider to the steel industry with a turnover of $5bn (£2.53bn) and nearly 1,000 employees.
