Early 2020. An Andalusian law firm founded in 1983 wants to grow and expand its Madrid office. To make himself known, he organizes lunches with politicians and journalists. A Law graduate who could have been Vice President of the Government has just left politics. He played all or nothing and lost a hand of 2.5 million votes. The office is called Martínez-Echevarría. The politician, Albert Rivera, and on March 1 they announce the start of their professional relationship. “This bet is long term. I have pledged to dedicate the next few years of my life to this task, body and soul. I come with charged batteries ”, assured the former president of Ciudadanos at the press conference to communicate his signing. Last Monday, as anticipated The confidential, filed for divorce by email with his right-hand man, José Manuel Villegas. The firm accuses him of “empty speeches” and “poor performance.”
Villegas, who left Ciudadanos after Rivera’s resignation, explains to EL PAÍS: “Some headhunters [cazatalentos]. We were entrusted with the presidency and executive vice-presidency of the firm, being the number 1 and 2 of the company. They signed us up to lead a project in Madrid because we have a name and an agenda. They were leaders in Andalusia, but in the capital they had a very small office. When we arrived, the firm was practically unknown and we put it on the map. They had 13 lawyers in that office and now they are close to 50″.
“We do not understand this war. Our experience is the same now as when we were hired”
Asked if they directly managed the incorporation of these new lawyers, Villegas replies: “It was through different channels, but always using our name as a hook.” The office accuses them of lack of involvement and disinterest. Asked about his schedules and objectives, Rivera’s right-hand man affirms: “We didn’t sign, we were senior managers. The office invoiced in Madrid 1.3 million euros when we arrived and now four million. This increase was thanks to the fact that we recruited lawyers from other firms and clients.”
Villegas assures that no one gave them “any touch of attention” for poor performance and that they did complain about what they considered breaches of their contract. “That has been the only problem. Our appointment as executive president and vice president in the commercial registry was not executed. They promised us to be partners, with shares of 5% and 2% in the company’s capital, respectively, and they didn’t do it either. Our salary was a fixed part and another variable on the billing and that did not materialize. He does not want to give figures, but assures that the firm owes them “significant amounts of money.”
Regarding the criticism that the firm launches for lack of experience and legal knowledge, especially of Rivera, Villegas replies: “We do not understand this war that they have mounted. Our experience is the same now as when we were hired.” Rivera graduated in Law in 2002. That year he began working as a legal adviser at La Caixa until in 2006 he was elected a deputy in the Parliament of Catalonia. Before entering politics, Villegas had worked in his own firm in Barcelona, specializing in tax law. Both now plan “another project together in the legal field.” “Politics is a closed stage for both of us,” insists Villegas.
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After several days criticizing Rivera, the office has fallen silent. “We have no intention of making any statements on this matter. We think that the scope of the claims that they want to make against us should be the judicial one. We hope to receive the demand with its claims”, affirms Eugenio Martínez-Echevarría, one of the partners. Villegas hopes to be able to reach an agreement before going to court: “he would be the smartest thing for both parties.” Asked about his salary claim until 2025, when their contracts expired, the right hand de Rivera affirms that “this is part of the negotiations. If there is no agreement, we will take it before a judge.” At the moment, the office rejects his requests outright. “We will not reach an agreement with him even if we only had to pay him 1,000 euros,” they say.
Politicians? No thanks
“The fault”, sums up a veteran lawyer from one of the large Spanish law firms, “is from both parties: from the firm, because it did not incorporate them because of their knowledge of the law, but thinking of taking advantage of their political contacts to increase their clientele , but it is not enough to have an agenda because what customers are looking for are solutions to increasingly complex problems. And of Rivera, because he offered to practice public relations without having sufficient legal knowledge”, “We have never hired politicians, and not because we despise them, but because you have to know the trade”, he adds. The claim of the former leader of Ciudadanos to receive his salary until 2025 does not seem “reasonable”. “The logical thing would have been to reach a peaceful agreement,” he concludes.
Another lawyer from an important law firm in the capital agrees: “Exposing your shame in public is the worst thing for the reputation of a firm. They signed Rivera looking for notoriety, to appear in the media, not because he was a prestigious jurist. When they hired him they already knew that he had no experience, they thought that because of his fame they could use him as a commercial claim, they wanted to grow too fast and they have not chosen the right people to do it. It is not a case comparable to that of Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría, for example, in Cuatrecasas because she is a State attorney and because since she entered the office she has completely withdrawn from public life while Rivera has not stopped making political comments. .
A lawyer subscribed to controversy on Twitter
“I am not going to do what I am no longer, an active politician. Now I am a lawyer. I have always viewed guardianships with suspicion”, promised Albert Rivera when he announced his incorporation to the firm. Since he left the presidency of Ciudadanos he has been a trend on Twitter on numerous occasions for political comments, something he has also done in other forums and not always in favor of his party. During the negotiation of Citizens with the Government for the approval of the Budgets, he said: “One can have a waist, but you have to have dignity. Luckily I resigned because if I have to put up with this I have to be escorted in front of my voters. After her abrupt departure from the firm, Inés Arrimadas, to whom those words were addressed, limited herself to wishing “the best” to her predecessor. She has suffered a disbandment after successive electoral bumps and several former leaders blame Rivera for the collapse of the party. The war with Martínez-Echevarría broke out in the middle of the electoral campaign in Castilla y León, but they do not believe that it will harm them. The candidate for the Board, Francisco Igea, has already criticized his “caesarism”. “Not agreeing with the PSOE when we added 180 deputies was the great political mistake since the Transition,” he said.
Among the criticisms of the former president of Cs that Martínez-Echevarría has aired is that of excessive protagonism. When announcing his signing, Rivera wanted to “highlight the intelligence of this office to have an executive president from now on [se refería a él mismo] that I can continue to grow humanly and professionally. It is a new way of understanding the legal profession: enriching oneself from what is outside”. Martínez-Echevarría then enjoyed the notoriety provided by something unusual in the discreet world of law firms: a press conference. Now, after the sound divorce, they try to get away from the spotlight.
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