MBRM alliance firm opens in Barcelona

Mayer Brown Rowe & Maw's (MBRM) Spanish alliance firm Ramón & Cajal is about to launch a new office in Barcelona.

Rather than send one of its own lawyers from Madrid to open the office, Ramón intends to recruit a team from a firm in Barcelona.

The move will give MBRM its first base in the Catalan capital.

Ramón founding partner Diego Lozano told The Lawyer: "We're recruiting a senior lawyer to manage the office and we expect that to be completed this month."

The firm is planning to start with a team of around five corporate lawyers to launch at the end of the month.

Lozano said that Ramón had planned to open in Barcelona for some time and that the alliance agreement with MBRM had speeded up the process.

"We think it will help us provide a service to both our clients in Barcelona and clients of MBRM with interests in Catalonia," said Lozano. "We could serve our alliance better with an office in Barcelona."

The alliance between Ramón and MBRM was announced at the start of February.

Lozano added that partners at the two firms have spent a significant amount of time getting to know each other to consolidate the relationship.

"If the alliance is going to work, we'll need to work. It won't happen by itself," said Lozano. "Meeting up and making personal relationships is a very important goal for 2007."