Gericó Associates announced the new edition of the National Law Gala – Legal Leadership Awards 2026, awards that recognize excellence among legal professionals, departments, and firms in Spain and Latin America. The call for nominations will be open from July 14 to September 30, 2026, and will be conducted through the official platform: Legal Leadership Awards.
The awards ceremony will take place on November 5, 2026 at the InterContinental Hotel in Madrid, and will bring together legal industry leaders, general counsel directors and partners from international firms to celebrate the achievements and transformative impact of the most outstanding professionals and organizations.
Categories of the awards
The 2026 Legal Leadership Awards include a total of 26 categories divided into five blocks:
Block I – Institutional Leadership of Legal Advisory Directors
- Legal Director of the Year
- Transformation of the Legal Department of the Year
- Better In-House Legal Advice
- Better Internal Legal Management
Block II – Signature Excellence
- Signature of the Year
- Best Legal Boutique
- Most Attractive Firm for Talent
- Best Marketing, Communication or Business Development Strategy
Block III – Professionals
- Rainmaker Lawyer of the Year
- Best Director of Marketing, Communication or Database
- Practice Leader of the Year
Block IV – Innovation and ecosystem
- Business Model Transformation and Applied AI
- Best AI-powered Legal Startup
- Best Legal Journalist
Block V – Night’s Grand Prix
- Managing Partner of the Year
- Lifetime Achievement Award
Top-Tier Independent Jury
The evaluation process for the nominations will be carried out by an independent jury made up of leading legal advisors and legal journalists, such as Ana Bayó Busta, South Europe Cluster Lead for Law, Patents & Compliance at Bayer; Andrea Viale, Global Head of Legal at Idealista; Ana Gómez, Director, Group Corporate & Vice Secretary of the Board of Directors at Amadeus IT; Ana Isabel Montero, General Counsel at Japan Tobacco International (JTI); Ana Suárez Garnelo, General Counsel at Intrum; Asier Crespo, Legal Director for Spain and Portugal at Microsoft; Carlos Menor Gómez, Legal Director & Compliance Officer at Groupe Renault España; Carlos Valenciano, Director of Legal Counsel for Latin America at Ericsson; Clara Cerdán, General Counsel at Famar Group; Fernando Díaz Barco, Head of Litigation at SACYR; Fernando Ortega, General Counsel at Siemens; and Ignacio Mendoza, Legal Director at Heineken. Gemma Casademunt Serra, Head of International Branches’ Legal Department at CaixaBank; Javier Ramírez, VP Legal & Associate General Counsel at HP; John Rigau, Vice President, General Counsel West Europe and Sustainability Europe at PepsiCo; Leonor Abad, Industrial Legal Director at Repsol; María Cermeño, Director of Legal Services at Telefónica; María José López, Legal Director at LaLiga; Miguel Soler, General Counsel, Compliance Director & Deputy Company Secretary at Prosegur; Rafael López, Regional Head of Legal and Compliance, Latam Xiaomi Technology; and Teresa Mínguez, General Counsel at Porsche, among others.
This panel of experts will evaluate each application with complete independence, guaranteeing transparency and objectivity in the selection of the winners.
About the National Law Gala – Legal Leadership Awards 2026
The Legal Leadership Awards emerged as a continuation of the Legal Marcom awards (2016, 2018, 2022 and 2024), consolidating a benchmark platform in Spain and Latin America to recognize innovation, leadership, transformation and reputation in the legal sector.
Previous editions have awarded firms such as Uría Menéndez, Baker McKenzie, Iberdrola, LaLiga, Linklaters, Dentons, Ceca Magán, Philippi Prietocarrizosa Ferrero DU & Uría, A&O Shearman, Miranda & Amado, Banco Santander, Freshfields, Clifford Chance, Microsoft, Porsche Ibérica and Amadeus IT, as well as professionals who have become benchmarks in the sector.
With this new call for entries, the National Law Gala – Legal Leadership Awards 2026 will continue to identify and celebrate the leaders and teams that are transforming the legal sector and consolidating legal areas as a strategic pillar of companies.
