Dentons, the world’s largest global law firm, has recruited partner Santiago Hurtado as Head of its Litigation and Dispute Resolution practice in Spain. In his new role, he will focus on insolvency and restructuring, as well as financial litigation. He joined the Madrid office on March 1, 2023 along with counsel Javier Royo.

Santiago Hurtado has more than 20 years’ experience in litigation and corporate matters related to shareholder conflicts as well as distressed and special situations. He advises both financial institutions and debtors on complex restructuring and insolvency matters, including some of the largest insolvency proceedings ever filed in Spain. He is ranked in Band 1 for Restructuring/ Insolvency: Administration in Spain by Chambers and Partners and as “Highly Regarded” by IFLR1000.

Prior to joining Dentons, Santiago Hurtado was the head of the dispute resolution practice in Simmons & Simmons’ Madrid office. Prior to that, he was a partner at Deloitte and worked as a state attorney in various government departments, including the Ministry of Justice. During his time at the Ministry of Justice, he led the reform of Spanish Insolvency Law in 2011, and participated in the reform of the Arbitration Law of 2011, the Companies Law of 2010 and the Civil Procedure Law of 2009 and 2011.

“Santiago is widely recognized as among the top financial and insolvency litigators in Spain. His recruitment supports our strategy to invest in high-quality talent to address the needs of our clients, while strengthening our presence in the Spanish market,” said Jabier Badiola, Spain Managing Partner at Dentons. “In the current difficult market conditions, we are seeing increased demand from both creditors and debtors for legal and litigation support in relation to restructuring and bankruptcy in Spain.”

Santiago Hurtado commented, “I am looking forward to the challenge of further developing Dentons’ litigation and restructuring and insolvency offering in Spain. Not only is Dentons a truly global firm, it is also a firm that has experienced dynamic development in the Spanish market over the last few years.”

With the addition of Hurtado and Royo, Dentons’ Litigation and Dispute Resolution practice in Spain now includes seven lawyers, including two partners. Globally, the Litigation and Dispute Resolution practice includes more than 1,300 lawyers around the world.