New generations take on Spanish law firms

Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón, Juan Antonio Sagardoy, Esteban Ceca Magán and Miquel Roca have years of experience in case law between them. Every day, they convey this knowledge to their children who work alongside them.

Mª José G. Serranillos. Madrid

Having a father who has been Minister of Justice or was one of the seven founders of the Spanish Constitution of 1978, is a privilege. José Ruiz-Gallardón and Joan Roca have their fathers, Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón and Miquel Roca, respectively, who are not only two role models to look up to, but also day to day work colleagues, in the family offices, who lead by example.

Likewise, Juan Antonio Sagardoy, who participated in the writing of the Workers’ Statute, and Esteban Ceca Magán, are two role models for their children, who despite having led their respective law firms for years, still pay attention to their parents’ advice.

“Parents bring knowledge and opinion; the sons, a more current view of the business.”

Ruiz Gallardón Abogados, Roca Junyent, Sagardoy Abogados and Ceca Magán Abogados are four firms which have successfully combined the years of experience accrued by their founders with the most contemporary vision of understanding the profession, provided by their descendants. The founders give their opinion, one of the values that Jose Ruiz-Gallardón sees in his father, and the descendants allow more attention to be paid to new business trends that bring the latest technologies to the profession, as Esteban Ceca Magán perceived in his children, Esteban and Enrique.
 
Tradition and modernity go hand in hand with one common purpose: perpetuating the law profession from one generation to the next.

Roca Junyent

Establishing ways to work in the 21st century

Almost two decades passed by between Miquel Roca writing the Spanish Constitution with six other founders, and opening the office he founded in Barcelona, bearing his surnames: Roca Junyent. The years 1978 and 1996 are key dates in the life of this lawyer born in Bordeaux, France, who has lived through the democratic transition of Spain and the opening of the country to a new legislative landscape.

A valuable experience passed on to the firm, with a team of 173 lawyers, now led by son, Joan Roca Sagarra. Talking about his father, he highlights “his courage in making decisions in favour of the client and his passion for law, which guides us.” This translates, he adds, into “his ability to read and understand the changing situations that affect client interests and impact the economic context in which he operates.” Roca Sagarra takes his time when describing his father’s generosity.

“The transfer of leadership means that the firm can now engage on a new strategic pathway, with its risks and challenges, by embarking on new areas of speciality and other ways of working,” he said. He insists on his father’s ability to work, “which starts from the bottom; he is the first to arrive and the last to leave, but without intruding into aspects of management.” His job is to continue advising clients, “something that excites him.”

In 2017, the firm’s partners appointed Roca Sagarra chairman of the board of directors, on which he assumed the role of associate director. “The generational relief did not mean a disregard for senior talent, but focused on management,” Miquel Roca’s son explains.

The law firm led by Roca Sagarra thus gave another boost to the firm with new initiatives in line with the 21st century. These include adapting to “new realities” such as digitisation and artificial intelligence. Ultimately, “adapting to a new economy”