Garrigues seeks out South American best friends

The firm has around 900 lawyers, but sources say that although it referred a lot of work to other Andersen Legal members, the relationships were less than reciprocal.

The firm does have a large number of tax lawyers and did rely heavily on the Andersen tax practice for work, but has solved this problem through a recent tie-up with Deloitte & Touche in Spain.

"We'll look to secure best friends agreements with firms in Europe and North America for international referral work, but we're not really thinking about it yet," said Garrigues partner Fernando Mantilla Serrano.

Mantilla Serrano said Garrigues has started hunting for best friends in Brazil, Mexico, Chile and Argentina.

"This is because our domestic clients are more active in these countries and there's more urgency for us to meet their needs here than in Europe or North America," Mantilla Serrano added.