Chapter 2: The Increasing Role Professional Service Firms Play in the Reform of Shareholders’ Meetings

In the first months of 2005, there were reports in the Spanish business press of the launching of several associations for the defense of shareholders’ economic interests. While some of these associations were specific to particular large companies or sectors (most notably banking), others were open to minority shareholders of all companies and industries. Some of the reports revealed that the executive committees of these associations were led by lawyers who were partners of Madrid’s most prestigious law firms, with the backing of some well-known executives, many of them retired. It seemed, then, that most big firms had their own association. Often, that sponsorship was not clear in the press and had to be uncovered by further inquiry.