Federico Durán

Federico Durán López joined Garrigues in 2001, after a lengthy academic career at various universities and political responsibilities relating to labour and employment. Until 2012, he served as director and national coordinator of Garrigues’ labour and employment law department. His areas of expertise include all aspects of employment and social security law: collective bargaining, business restructuring, administrative and judicial appeals, mediation and arbitration, and occupational risk prevention.

He is widely respected in the business community, particularly in certain sectors, such as air transport and large retail, where he advises the most important Spanish companies.

He is a professor of employment and social security law at the University of Córdoba and has held various positions of academic responsibility at the university (including dean and vice chancellor). He was government-appointed chair of the National Consultative Committee on Collective Labour Agreements (a tripartite organisation made up of representatives from the government, employers’ associations, and labour unions) from 1986 to 1992.

From 1992 to 2001, he was the inaugural chair of the Economic and Social Council, a constitutional body — the government’s top advisory body on employment, economic, and social affairs — made up of the most representative employers’ associations and labour unions and by government-appointed experts.

He has been a member of various study groups appointed by the European Commission to examine issues relating to the job market and training. He has also served on expert committees appointed by the Spanish government in relation to regulation of the job market, good corporate governance, and European integration. He chaired the government-appointed working group on the harmonisation of the social security programmes for workers and public officials. He also sits on various commissions of the Spanish Confederation of Employers’ Organisations (CEOE), an institution with which he regularly collaborates.

In 2001, he was commissioned by the Spanish prime minister to draft a report on occupational risks and their prevention (known as the Durán Report). This report has served since then as a benchmark for occupational risk prevention in Spain. He has subsequently been responsible for various studies and reports on occupational risk prevention, both general and industry-specific (construction) or focusing specifically on small businesses.

Alongside his academic activities, he oversees the Master in Employment Law and of the Executive Programme in Employment Relations at Centro de Estudios Garrigues.

He is a regular contributor to Spanish financial press (Cinco Días, Expansión) and frequently participates in labour and employment forums and seminars. He delivers numerous lectures throughout Spain each year, hosted by a number of institutions and business or academic organisations.

Federico Durán López is featured in various employment law practice directories, including Iberian Lawyer and Chambers & Partners — in both Chambers Global and Chambers Europe editions. He is part of a group of employment law experts singled out by the director, which ranks Garrigues as a leading employment law firm in Spain. Chambers & Partners views Federico Durán López as one of the foremost employment law experts in Spain, highlighting his understanding of clients’ needs and his creative approach.

He was a visiting fellow at the European University Institute in Fiesole, Italy.

He is a member of the Madrid Bar Association.