Littler adds six-strong team

Littler adds six-strong team

Abdón Pedrajas Littler, a regional affiliate of Littler Mendelson's US labour and employment law firm, has hired six lawyers from local rival Cuatrecasas to open an office in Valencia

This move represents the firm's latest expansion effort across Iberian Peninsula, having previously planted a flag in Portugal in 2021 through the acquisition of Lisbon-based boutique firm DCM Lawyers in November.

Along with its existing offices in Madrid and Barcelona, Littler plans to open a third office in Valencia. In addition to Javier Molina, who joins the firm as a partner from Cuatrecasas, a team of five female lawyers will join Javier Molina in this venture, including Patricia Madrona Garcia and Amparo Bru Mundi, Gemma Pla Peris, Maite Martinez Otero and Raquel Romero Gonzalez.

Abdón Pedrajas Littler's managing partner, Antonio Pedrajas, said Valencia is the firm's "strategic location for growth across Europe as well as in Spain".

With Javier and his team serving as the cornerstone of the new office, all of whom are recognized leaders in labour law with extensive knowledge of the Valencian legal market, we will be able to expand our client services while continuing to provide top quality legal advice," Javier said.

Molina has more than 30 years of experience practicing labour law in Valencia. He joins the firm after working at Cuatrecasas for over 20 years. In addition to concerns related to accidents in the workplace and occupational prevention, his research focuses on collective bargaining and production decentralization.

According to the firm, Molina has experience advising German and Spanish businesses doing business in Germany and Spain on their labour issues, as well as acting for Spanish entities.

"Given the strong ties between Latin America and Europe, Stephan Swinkels, one of Littler's shareholders, said the opening demonstrates the firm's commitment to the Latin American market."

The company set up its third office in Mexico in 2021, after Monterrey and Mexico City, as it celebrated ten years of operation in Mexico.

Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil and the Dominican Republic are also part of the firm's relatively large footprint in LatAm.

The last six months have seen a number of other firms ramp up their efforts in Latin America. These include Greenberg Traurig and DLA Piper which have both bolstered their offerings in Mexico City.

Greenberg, which has more than 60 lawyers in Mexico City, both recruited seven associates from Holland & Knight to build their Mexico employment practices in December, while White & Case recruited six partners from DLA Piper in January. After the March hires, Holland & Knight raided DLA Piper's Mexico City office to add six lawyers to its capital markets practice led by Xavier Mangino, an experienced corporate lawyer.