Naiara Rodríguez-Escudero leads the Benefits, Compensation & Employment Practice in Madrid and also serves as Regional Chair of Latham & Watkins' Tax Department in Europe. She advises global private equity funds and major employers in Spain on a variety of complex employment matters.

Ms. Rodríguez-Escudero draws on deep experience and a sophisticated understanding of Spanish and European employment law to counsel and represent major employers in their most sensitive and business-critical matters, including:

  • Compensation plans
  • Employment litigation
  • Negotiating with trade unions
  • Relocation
  • Senior executive contract negotiations
  • Stock and cash-based incentive programs
  • Downsizing and redundancy plans
  • Mergers and acquisitions
  • Outsourcing
  • Restructurings
  • Whistleblower and internal investigations

Ms. Rodríguez-Escudero's experience includes advising:

Corporate Transactions  

  • TA Associates on the acquisition of the esPublico group, a Spanish group of companies that develop legal and economic content platforms 
  • Kensing, a One Rock Capital portfolio company, on the acquisition of (i) Vitae Caps, a leading manufacturer of botanical based ingredients for the food industry and (ii) Advanced Organic Materials S.A., a pioneer producer of non-GMO plant-based Vitamin E
  • Archimed on the acquisition of Spanish life sciences company Suanfarma 
  • Inflexion Private Equity Partners on the acquisition of a 40% stake in Auxadi Contables & Consultores, an accounting services provider based in Spain
  • Platinum Equity: 
    • On the acquisition of Urbaser.
    • On the acquisition of a majority stake in Iberconsa from Portobello Capital. 
  • H2B2 Electrolysis Technologies, a Spain-based green hydrogen platform that provides solutions across the hydrogen value chain, on its business combination with RMG Acquisition Corp. III 
  • Wallbox on its US$1.5 billion de-SPAC merger with Kensington Capital Acquisition Corp. II
  • Farmfront Group in the acquisition of RKD Irrigacion and Irrimec Group, two irrigation system companies
  • Solum Partners on acquiring Agrupa Lettuce, a leading Spanish agricultural holding company
  • Triton Partners in the acquisition of Fertiberia, a manufacturer of fertilizers and agricultural chemicals, from Grupo Villar Mir
  • Carlyle on the €390 million acquisition of a majority stake in Codorniú, a Spanish based wine and cava producer 
  • L Catterton on the acquisition of an 80% stake in Goiko Grill

Advice and Counsel

  • Advice on implementation of mass redundancies and furlough schemes to several groups and corporates in Spain
  • Advice on major litigation cases involving class actions and individual claims
  • Spanish bank BBVA in a wide variety of labor matters, including:
    • The Board of Directors’ remuneration committee on the new contractual framework for bank executives ensuring compliance with employment regulations, remuneration rules, and EBA guidelines
    • Drafting new senior executive contracts, including the coordination and execution of these contracts in other countries
    • Coordination of local counsel in a variety of employment matters worldwide for BBVA and its local entities
  • A major pharmaceutical company in a whistleblower-related internal investigation
  • A major pharmaceutical company in internal investigations resulting from regulatory actions
  • Morgan Stanley on day-to-day employment and compensation matters in Spain
  • A global media company in a harassment litigation matter in Spain
  • A major pharmaceutical company in the closure of certain operations in Spain
  • BoAML in a collective suspension of labor contracts in relation to a hotel investment in Spain

Bar Qualification

  • Spain (Abogado)

Education

  • BA, Law, Universidad de Deusto

Languages Spoken

  • English