José Prieto

Jose advises employers at the point where workforce decisions become business-critical: when a restructuring, a negotiation with unions or a collective dispute can determine whether a company's strategic plan succeeds on time and without disruption.
 
He leads collective bargaining and consultation processes across the full range of workforce transformation projects, including collective redundancies, outsourcing of entire business functions, multi-site harmonization of employment terms and multi-region collective bargaining. His role typically begins well before the formal process opens: shaping the negotiating strategy, mapping the positions of the different unions and works councils involved, sequencing the measures over time and steering discussions through to a signed agreement and its implementation.

He also acts for employers in complex labor and employment disputes, including collective claims, executive terminations, bonus and incentive litigation, unfair competition and breaches of confidentiality by departing employees. His work on employment compliance, internal investigations and whistleblowing matters allows him to address sensitive situations before they escalate into litigation or reputational exposure, and his experience as an ILO-certified mediator gives him an unusual ability to find the settlement zone in conflicts that appear deadlocked.
 
Working within Baker McKenzie's international platform, José advises on the Spanish dimension of cross-border workforce projects, post-transaction integrations and global reorganizations, coordinating with colleagues in other jurisdictions to keep local execution aligned with the client's overall plan. Clients turn to him for judgment as much as for technical depth: an understanding of how the business actually operates, a realistic view of what can be achieved at the negotiating table, and hands-on involvement from strategy through to implementation.

• Advised a US-headquartered multinational on a complex employment dispute involving unfair dismissal, stock option claims, Employer of Record arrangements and cross-border liability issues, ultimately achieving a favourable settlement for the client.
• Represented a multinational technology company in a collective redundancy process in Spain affecting nearly 100 employees, including negotiation of the final agreement with employee representatives and implementation of enhanced severance arrangements.
• Advising a US-based multinational on the implementation of a return-to-office programme in Spain, including legal strategy, negotiations with employee representatives and mediation proceedings in a highly sensitive industrial relations environment.
• Advised Mission Foods on the negotiation of its first company-wide collective bargaining agreement in Spain, managing a highly complex process involving labour authorities, mediation procedures and significant union engagement. 
• Advised on a sensitive internal investigation concerning allegations of retaliatory dismissal involving a senior executive, including witness interviews, evidence assessment and preparation of the final investigation report.
• Provided strategic advice on the negotiation of a company-wide collective bargaining agreement for a manufacturing facility, including negotiation strategy, drafting of provisions and engagement with unions and employee representatives.
• Advised on a multi-phase reorganization involving individual objective dismissals across both the sales network and central services functions, from strategy design through implementation and settlement negotiations.

• Band 4, Employment/Elite, Chambers and Partners Europe (2026)

• Madrid Bar Association