Notes on the modern firm
Short articles on the management, technology and compliance decisions a firm faces today.
Inside 20 October: what the firm files itself and what it reminds its clients
The third quarter seen from inside a Spanish law firm: the forms the firm files on its own account, the direct-debit date that actually matters, and the reminders worth sending clients before Tuesday the 20th.
Client confidentiality and AI: where a draft can live, and where it cannot
Professional secrecy has no technology exception. Four places a draft can end up when you use AI, what changes between them, and five questions your vendor must answer.
Changing lawyers in Spain: the venia, unpaid fees and handing over the file
The venia is no longer requested: it is notified, and it cannot be refused. What binds each lawyer when a client switches counsel, what happens to the outstanding invoice and how to hand over without losing a deadline that keeps running.
Remote hearings in Spain: when you can appear from your office and what must be ready
Since March 2024, remote attendance is the preferred rule under the Civil Procedure Act, but oral evidence still calls for the courtroom. What the law says, where the exceptions are and the checklist before you connect.
Crea y Crece finally has its regulation: the second clock your firm isn't watching
Royal Decree 238/2026 sets out mandatory B2B e-invoicing in Spain. Its timetable runs separately from VeriFactu's, and adapting to one without planning for the other means doing the work twice.
Tribunales de instancia: what changed for the litigating firm
Spain's single-judge courts no longer exist. What LO 1/2025 means in practice for how you identify the court, address filings and keep each case file's data current.
The AI Act changed in July: what binds your firm today and what was postponed
The Digital Omnibus on AI pushed high-risk obligations to 2027 and 2028. AI literacy and the Article 50 transparency duties still apply. What that means for a law firm using AI.
A data breach at a law firm: the first 72 hours
A lost laptop, an email to the wrong recipient or a compromised mailbox. What to do hour by hour, when you must notify the Spanish DPA and when to tell clients.
MASC: how to prove the attempt to negotiate so your claim is not rejected
Eighteen months after Organic Law 1/2025, the problem is no longer knowing you must try to negotiate before suing, but being able to prove it on the day you file. A workflow that gets the evidence to court intact.
Client advances: how much to ask for, how to invoice them and when to give them back
An advance on fees is a prepayment that carries VAT and withholding from the day it is received. An advance for disbursements is the client's money. Mixing the two is the most expensive mistake in a firm's billing cycle.
LexNET is on its way out: what Citius is, and what is still undecided
Spain's Justice Ministry has started the process to replace the LexNET regulation with one governing Citius. What the document says, what it doesn't, and what a firm should do in the meantime.
Limitation and forfeiture periods: the deadlines LexNET will never send you
Procedural deadlines arrive on their own, with a notification. Substantive ones only exist if the firm records them the day the client walks in. That is where most malpractice claims start.
Jura de cuentas: how a Spanish lawyer collects fees the client won't pay
The article 35 LEC procedure step by step, what changed after Constitutional Court judgment 34/2019 and Real Decreto-ley 6/2023, when it does not apply, and how long you have before the debt is time-barred.
Conflicts of interest: how to check before you take a matter
What Spain's General Statute of the Legal Profession and the Code of Conduct require, who to search for in the firm's database, and what to do when a conflict surfaces mid-matter.
The engagement letter: what it must contain and why going without one no longer makes sense
Spain's Right of Defence Act, the General Statute of the Legal Profession and consumer law all push the same way. The minimum clauses, and a worked example of a properly scoped engagement.
August in Spanish courts: what stops and what keeps running
August freezes civil procedural deadlines, but not criminal investigation, much of employment litigation, administrative appeals or limitation periods. A jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction review and a real 2026 calculation.
E-signatures for lawyers in Spain: what actually holds
A practical matrix by destination: court, notary, registry and foreign clients. What needs a qualified signature — and who pays to prove it if challenged.
GDPR for Spanish law firms: 7 obligations most get wrong
Where AEPD fines actually come from and what your firm needs to fix: processors, records, WhatsApp, retention and breaches. With articles and deadlines.
Practice management software for Spanish law firms: a 2026 comparison
Sage Despachos, Wolters Kluwer's Kleos, Lefebvre's LexON and Mandato, compared on what actually separates them: which category each one plays in, which price you can verify, and which part of the Spanish administration it talks to. Written by Mandato.
KYC requirements in Spain: complying with Ley 10/2010 without losing your mind
The working procedure, not the textbook: what to ask for, in what order, from whom, and what the file must contain to still be worth something in six years. With the specific articles of Spain's Ley 10/2010.
Property Copilot: managing real-estate matters with AI
Mandato's conveyancing assistant reads the nota simple, queries the Catastro and orders the deal inside one matter. What it genuinely automates, and what stays the lawyer's judgement.
What a legal CRM is and why your firm needs one in 2026
What separates a legal CRM from a generic CRM or a plain case-management tool, and why, with VeriFactu binding in 2027, 2026 is the year to settle it.
The complete VeriFactu guide for lawyers: what you need to know
VeriFactu binds Spanish law firms from 2027, not 2026 — RDL 15/2025 postponed the calendar by a year. What RD 1007/2023 requires, who is exempt, and what to do with the year you have left.
How to choose the right practice management software for your firm
A practical method for evaluating legal software: map your real workflows, question the vendor properly, spot the red flags and pilot with real matters.
KYC and anti-money laundering: complying with Law 10/2010
When a Spanish law firm is an obliged entity, what due diligence actually requires, and how to keep the KYC file in order without drowning in paperwork.
Property purchases in Spain: a practical guide for law firms
Conveyancing as a workflow your firm runs: pre-contract checks, deposit agreements, the notary, taxes, and what changes with foreign clients.
AI for lawyers: what actually works and what is hype
A practical 2026 guide for law firms: which AI uses deliver real value today, which promises to discard, and what the GDPR and the EU AI Act require.
How to automate billing at your law firm
From time worked to invoice collected: capturing billable work as it happens, arriving ready for Spain's VeriFactu rules in 2027 and a clean month-end close.
WhatsApp Business for law firms: a legal and practical guide
Your clients already message you on WhatsApp. The three ways a firm can use it, what GDPR and professional secrecy demand, and how to do it properly.
The client portal: why your clients no longer want to call you
Your clients track parcels and transfers in real time, yet their legal matter is a black box. What a client portal actually changes — and what it doesn't.
The AEAT tax calendar 2026: every deadline for law firms
The 2026 Spanish tax deadlines for a law firm: quarterly filings, annual summaries, corporate tax, Renta and form 720 — and how to miss none.
Golden Visa, NIE and immigration: digitalising the practice
Spain's Golden Visa was abolished in 2025. What that means for holders and the alternatives, and how to digitalise the immigration practice that endures: NIE, appointments, KYC and client communication.
One inbox for everything. The end of chaos.
Email in Gmail, WhatsApp on a phone, calls on a sticky note and portal messages unopened. Why a firm needs a single inbox per client — and what changes once it has one.
How to choose management software for a boutique firm
Practical criteria for a small or boutique firm: fit over feature-count, connection to the Spanish administration, predictable pricing, and honest comparisons.
AI in the law firm: what works and what's hype
A sober look at artificial intelligence in legal practice: where it genuinely saves time, where it is marketing, and why human judgement remains irreplaceable.
LexNET for lawyers: everything you need to know
LexNET is the system through which the Spanish courts notify legal professionals. Understanding it well — and knowing what can be automated and what cannot — avoids the one error no firm can afford: a missed deadline.
5 signs your firm needs to automate
Automating does not mean buying software because it is fashionable. It means taking off the lawyer's desk the repetitive work they are not paid for. Here are five concrete signs the moment has come.
Why international law firms need a bilingual CRM
A foreign client does not judge your firm on the quality of your law, at least not at first. They judge it on whether they understand what you tell them.
