The Firm
The Firm
Oliva-Ayala Abogados has been a benchmark in criminal law in Spain for more than 30 years. Our commitment to excellence in the legal profession has earned us the trust of the most demanding clients in the most complex and relevant matters in the country over the course of three decades.
Our founding partners Horacio Oliva García and Ignacio Ayala Gómez transformed the original firm into a firm specialising exclusively in criminal law, surrounding themselves with some of the best specialists in the field. The lawyers at Oliva-Ayala share a vocation for practising law, the rigour that comes from technical and academic excellence, and a firm commitment to offering our clients a high added-value service.
Awards and recognitions
The only boutique criminal law firm recognised in band 1 of Chambers and Partners.
As a result of our commitment to providing a service of the highest quality, we are recognised by our clients, whose opinions allow us and our lawyers to be included, year after year, in the most prestigious directories and rankings in the world, such as Chambers and Partners and Legal500.
They are well known and respected in the market. They have a fantastic team.
They have shown great professionalism. They provide quick and accurate responses
They are well known and respected in the market. They have a fantastic team.
In 2022, the newspaper Expansión awarded Oliva-Ayala with its 2022 Best Boutique Firm award, making it the first law firm dedicated exclusively to criminal law to earn this recognition.
"He's a very effective lawyer in the way he's speaking and reporting to court. He is very convincing."
"He's informed, truthful, and accessible."
"He is a star criminal lawyer."
"He is an experienced practitioner and a spectacular professor."
"She has a well-rounded strategic vision."
"She's concise, informed and hard-working."
"Her approach is always very practical and technically excellent. She is a very discreet person."
Publications
To offer service that is at the forefront of criminal law and that offers high added value, we devote a great deal of time to researching and studying the increasing complexity of this branch of law. We are passionate about studying criminal law and our professionals are proudly linked to the academic world. This allows us to offer innovative solutions to the complex legal challenges presented to us by our clients.
Oliva-Ayala Abogados also sponsors and participates in specialised publications (mementos and others) and in active research forums related to economic and business criminal law.
International experience
Oliva-Ayala has extensive international experience, having advised individuals and legal entities from many jurisdictions and having been involved in proceedings in the USA, France, Germany, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Italy, Portugal, Israel, Switzerland, Chile and Mexico, among others, as well as in proceedings before the Court of Justice of the European Union, the European Court of Human Rights and other international courts.
Our international prestige has enabled us to establish an extensive network of contacts with leading law firms in many countries over the last 30 years, which allows us to respond to complex legal issues of international scope.
Commitment to training
Partnerships
Oliva-Ayala is committed to various initiatives aimed at promoting excellence in the practice of law and criminal law, such as those proposed for years by the Fide Foundation and the Spanish Union of Criminal Lawyers, and its lawyers have joined other more recent initiatives such as the Women’s White Collar Defence Association, which our lawyers are members of, and the Spanish Business Litigation Club, with Laura Martinez-Sanz sitting on its board.
Social responsibility
Since its foundation, Oliva-Ayala’s values have included its commitment to society by providing pro bono advice to individuals and NGOs with limited resources that have a hard time accessing legal services.
The ethical commitment of our firm and our lawyers evolves as society evolves, defending the equality that our firm enjoys, and respecting policies that protect the environment and sustainable growth. Oliva-Ayala is honoured to work together with the Association for the Support of Education and Development Projects for Children (APROEDI), and to provide legal assistance to the Raíces Foundation for the defence of the rights and interests of unaccompanied minors and young people, facilitating access to justice and effective judicial protection for unaccompanied minors.
