Laura González Menéndez

Senior Legal Counsel with 14+ years’ experience, including over 8 years in top-tier private practice and 6 years in-house within a publicly listed multinational group (IBEX 35 and NYSE). Strong background in cross-border M&A, investment and post-acquisition matters, acting as a strategic legal business partner to senior management in complex, highly regulated, multi-jurisdictional environments across Europe, the UK, and Latin America, with exposure to public company governance and disclosure-driven decision-making, as well as the financing and infrastructure-related aspects of complex transactions, including asset-intensive businesses such as infrastructure-driven telecoms projects.

Mar. 2020 - Present

TELEFÓNICA, S.A. - Senior Legal Counsel (Corporate & M&A)

• Provide legal advice on corporate and transactional matters across the Telefónica Group, a publicly listed multinational, leading the legal workstream for complex cross-border M&A and investment transactions, including acquisitions, divestments, joint ventures, and internal reorganisations.
• Draft and negotiate core M&A and investment documentation, including NDAs, LoIs, MoUs, term sheets, NBOs, binding offers, SPAs, SHAs, and investment agreements, overseeing all deal phases from due diligence to signing and closing.
• Advise on transaction structuring and risk allocation for acquisitions, divestments and minority investments, including exposure to financing-related considerations. 
• Identify and assess legal, regulatory and transactional risks, advising on deal structuring and mitigation strategies in complex cross-border transactions, supporting senior decision-making while balancing legal exposure and business objectives.
• Act as a legal business partner, working closely with cross-functional teams including Finance, Regulatory, Compliance and ESG, in an international group environment.
• Maintain regular interaction with the Vice Secretary to the Board of Telefónica, S.A. in connection with corporate, governance and transaction-related matters within a listed company framework.
• Manage and instruct external legal counsel, ensuring high-quality advice and cost-efficient delivery aligned with business priorities.
• Contribute to internal legal training initiatives in collaboration with relevant teams.

Oct. 2005 - Jul. 2011UNIVERSIDAD PONTIFICIA COMILLAS (ICADE). Double Degree in Law & Business Administration (E-3).Aug. 2010 - Dec. 2010UNIVERSITY OF SAN FRANCISCO. International Programme in Business Administration.