It was founded in 1941 by brothers Joaquín and Antonio Garrigues. Since its incorporation, it has provided legal advice in all areas of business law. The firm opened its first office in New York in 1973, becoming the first European firm to establish itself in the Big Apple.
In the 1980s, the Brussels office followed, which was key for its relations in Europe, and, on the other hand, the creation of the Lawyers’ Club, which allowed it to have an international network through agreements with firms in Latin America, Europe, and Japan.
In 1997, it merged with Arthur Andersen Legal and Tax Advisors (ALT), giving rise to Garrigues & Andersen, but the agreement ended in 2002, so Garrigues resumed its previous name: J & A Garrigues.
After that, the firm set the objective of having its own international network together with the extensive network of offices it began to have in Spain, with offices in 18 cities. Internationally, Garrigues decided to become a reference firm in Latin America, where it has been present for more than four decades through various alliances. However, from 2013 onwards, it began to develop its legal and tax practice under its own network of offices.
In addition to its dense Iberian network (Spain and Portugal), the firm operates directly in key financial and business centers such as London, New York, Shanghai, and Casablanca.
Garrigues’ governance integrates technological transformation and social responsibility as strategic axes of its legal practice. On one hand, it leads the sector in LegalTech through its Garrigues Digital division, developing proprietary artificial intelligence and automation tools to optimize mass litigation and large transactions. On the other hand, it channels its social impact through the Garrigues Foundation and an institutional Pro Bono policy of free legal advice to third-sector entities, operating under the United Nations Global Compact guidelines and with strict carbon neutrality commitments.
