READ MORE Original Story on LAW.COM Daily Business Review, also on LAW360, National Law Journal and many other publications in Madrid and Europe.
Early November 2023, Carlos and Christine Concepción, a father-daughter duo, combined their boutique law firms to cater to high net-worth clients. Their firm, Concepción Global, is setting itself apart by introducing an innovative fee structure that aims to attract top legal talent.
Concepción Global, operating with offices in Miami and Madrid, specializes in handling business disputes, arbitration, tax, and estate planning for high net-worth clients. They are offering attorneys an hourly salary along with an additional 70 to 80% of their originations, and the firm currently employs four lawyers.
Both Carlos and Christine had previously left Big Law to establish their respective boutique firms. Now, they are joining forces to provide lawyers with more control over the money they bring into the firm.
"The attorneys who are going to join us are the attorneys who want to bet on themselves. They know what they are worth, and they want to be able to have agency over their time and over the type of work that they deliver to their clients,"
emphasized Christine Concepción.
Christine had left McDermott Will & Emery in 2021 to launch Global Tax Law, which later evolved into Concepción Global. She also has prior experience with firms including DLA Piper and Deloitte.
Her father, Carlos, left Hughes Hubbard & Reed in 1995 to run his own boutique for over 20 years. In 2015, he returned to Big Law, becoming a partner at Jones Day and later chairing Shook, Hardy & Bacon's international arbitration practice. In 2022, he initiated his own firm, Concepción Disputes, which eventually transformed into Concepción Global.
Throughout their careers in boutiques and Big Law, Carlos learned that lawyers yearn for autonomy. He stated,
"Lawyers want to have the independence and the discretion to represent their clients and set the rates according to how they think it's going to be best for their clients. When you have the model that we have, it allows you to do that a lot more effectively than the traditional Big Law model."
With their roots in Miami, Concepción Global is poised to tap into the growing market of high net-worth clients in the city. The firm's name signifies its global aspirations to handle tax issues and disputes for clients in any Spanish-speaking country.
"We really do focus on our Latin American clients because culturally and linguistically, we can communicate, and most Latin American clients really do want to speak in Spanish. It's also not too far away from Miami, so if we do need to go to Latin America, that's not a problem,"
explained Christine. Additionally, Christine's ability to speak French has attracted clients from France and North Africa.
The decision to establish an office in Madrid was driven by the region's increasing flow of Latin American capital, similar to the growth witnessed in Miami in recent years. However, Miami remains the firm's primary base because it continues to serve as the gateway to Latin America, and clients from Europe also find it an appealing destination for their financial interests. Carlos noted,
"Miami is and will continue to be the gateway to Latin America, and in many respects, the capital of Latin America. That's not going to change, and we just see that our clients, in addition to Miami, have an alternative destination, which is Madrid."
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Discover more: https://www.concepcionlaw.com/