Withers creates solo operation in Spain

UK FIRM Withers has established an independent presence in Spain after eight years of practising in the country as part of an association.

Head of the firm's Spanish department Michael Soul, a partner in the London office, has opened Michael Soul & Asociados in Madrid and Malaga.

The offices, which officially opened on 1 April, will be staffed alternately by Soul and Gerard Vasquez, a Spanish expatriate practising with Withers in the UK.

"For 24 years now my own specialisation has been work involving Spanish law and Spain generally," says Soul.

"We have now taken our existing structure a stage further and taken accommodation both in Madrid and Malaga."

He says the firm will continue to work in association with its Spanish network, but he and Vasquez will run a separate complementary practice within the offices of those firms.

"What we're seeking to do now is that instead of operating solely through associations in Spain we will have our own offices there," says Soul.

"What we've been doing previously is doing work involving Spanish law for UK resident clients and English law work for Spanish resident clients, but that work has been conducted through associate offices and out of London. From now on we will have our own presence in Spain."

Soul says the new firm is a "natural extension" of Withers' existing Spanish practice.