西班牙Uria Menendez律师事务所近期在北京设立了其在亚洲的第一家代表处。位于国贸的新北京办公室将设在Slaughter and May 和De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek北京办公室的隔壁。同时，该所也成为第一家在北京开设代表处的西班牙律所。 目前，有另外三家西班牙律所在中国设有代表处，均位于上海。

Leading Spanish firm Uría Menéndez has become the first Iberian firm to open in Beijing. The firm has recently opened a representative office, which is its 16th location worldwide and first in Asia, in the orld Trade Center. The office is next to the Beijing offices of two of its "best friends": Slaughter and May from the UK, and De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek from the Netherlands.

The new office offers an ideal base for the firm to service its clients and help them manage their investments directly in China. It also serves as the first point of contact for Chinese clients seeking advice on their investments in Spain, Portugal and, especially, Latin America, where Uría Menéndez has five offices and extensive experience advising foreign investors.

Speaking to ALB last year, Juan Martín Perrotto, head of the firm's Beijing office, said that the firm had chosen Beijing because of its role as the political and business decision-making centre for foreign investors – a major part of Uría Menéndez 's practice in China. "We feel that Shanghai – home of clients' operative divisions – is a proper location for those willing to provide operational legal support on an ongoing basis. Meanwhile, Beijing, where government and business headquarters are located, is a more suitable location when it comes to inbound and outbound investment work," he said.

Uría Menéndez had been developing strong links with China even before the Beijing office was set up. Under the strategic agreement it signed with the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), the firm has been supporting Chinese companies with interests in Spain, Portugal and Latin America. It has been entrusted by the All China Lawyers Association (ACLA) with running an annual training program for Chinese lawyers in continental Europe and Latin America. It is also part of the consortium that operates the only law school in China with private funding – China EU School of Law.

Three other Spanish firms have also established a representative office in China – all in Shanghai.