---

The Impact Lawyers publishes an interview with Diego Solana, Parner and Associate Managing at Cremades & Calvo Sotelo. This interview and others can be found in the Survey on the internationalization of law firms

What strategy have you followed when opening offices abroad? Why?

We are in countries where there are two circumstances. The first is that there is an economic and social relationship between Spain and the country where we set up our offices. The second is that we find a team of lawyers we trust and who share our values, so that together we can pursue our purpose.

Whichever model you have chosen to establish in a new jurisdiction or to grow internationally, what are the biggest challenges you have faced? 

Two are our biggest challenges. On the one hand, identifying great local professionals with whom we can collaborate in an environment that is inclusive, diverse and open to new ways of helping and serving clients who require our services. On the other hand, learning the culture and connecting with the different industries in each country to understand their needs and assess how we can add value to them. 

How has the COVID-19 crisis affected your international growth strategy?

The health and economic consequences have substantially affected our internationalization strategy. Many of the trips organised in the development of our partnership strategy have been suspended or cancelled. However, we have also been able to test the effectiveness of videoconferencing and its ease of use. Adjusting to the new environment we have to live with was difficult at the beginning, but we have gradually been able to meet our 2020 and 2021 targets and even exceed them. We are now more connected to industries and lawyers in other countries than probably at any other time in our almost 25-year history as a law firm. 

This survey was conducted through Venize Comunicación between December 2020 and January 2021.