Biography
Dual qualified as an attorney admitted to practice law in Spain and New York, Dr. Payá has broad experience in national and cross-border transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, private equity, management buyouts, joint ventures and strategic alliances, corporate restructurings, finance and real estate transactions. He has participated in some of the most important transactions in various industrial and service sectors, as well as in regulated sectors such as finance and insurance, energy, pharmaceutics and biotechnology.
From 1999 to 2000 he was an international associate at the US firm White & Case (New York).
Recommended by several directories, including Chambers Global, Chambers Europe, Best Lawyers, IFLR, Legal l500 and and Latin Lawyer in Corporate, M&A and Private Equity. Best Lawyers has recognized him since its first edition in Spain and awarded him as “Lawyer of the Year” in Corporate M&A (2013), Private Equity (2014 and 2018) and Venture Capital (2016 and 2019). In 2007, Mr. Payá was also granted the '40 under 40' award, which the prestigious publication Iberian Lawyer Review grants to the top 40 lawyers under 40 years of age on the Iberian Peninsula.
He also lead and presented the M&A case that lead Cuatrecasas to obtain the award by Financial Times as the Most Innovative Law Firm in Europe in Corporate in 2015.
ACADEMIA AND BUSINESS
A doctor of laws and an associate lecturer of corporate law ESADE (Universitat Ramon Llull), Mr. Payá also lectures on the Master in Legal Practice at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra, and regularly speaks at courses and conferences. He is also a member of the Scientific Committee of the Barcelona Bar Association’s Master of Business Law.
He is the author of several publications, such as the book Régimen Legal de la Titulización (Legal Regime of Securitization), Tirant lo Blanch, 2002, and co-author of the collective works El patrimonio familiar, profesional y empresarial: sus protocolos (The Family, Business and Professional Estate: Their Protocols), Bosch 2005, and Régimen jurídico y tributario del capital riesgo. Entidades y operaciones (Legal and Tax Regime of Venture Capital. Entities and Transactions), Marcial Pons, 2006.
He is also the secretary of the boards of directors of several national and international groups.
He is a member of the Barcelona Bar Association and the New York Bar Association, as well as of the New York State Bar Association, the American Bar Association and the International Bar Association.
EDUCATION
Doctor of Laws (PhD) (cum laude), Universitat de Barcelona, 2001
Master of Laws (JSM), Stanford University, (Fulbright scholar), 1999
Master of International Business Law, Instituto de Empresa, 1996
Bachelor of Laws, Universitat de Barcelona, 1993
Bachelor of Business Administration, Universitat de Barcelona, 1994
Maître en Droit Public, Université de Caen, 1992
Languages: Spanish, Catalan, English and French
