About

‘We are above all “business partners”. We work very close to the business team. We apply and interpret specialised law and rules for the media business to make sure that all projects happen in the most satisfactory manner for the company. We also look after the principles of the company in the field of responsible communication, such as legality, integrity, transparency, neutrality and the protection of minors, among others’, states Ángeles López Lobatón, head of the Audiovisual Division which forms part of Telefonica de España Legal Department. This division is comprised of 10 lawyers and five support staff. López, the team’s leader, has extensive experience in negotiating and drafting contracts of content acquisition, production and, in general, in all legal aspects of the television business. The department contains a number of different legal specialists supporting business areas of the company, and López explains how the team has ‘incorporated two new lawyers to support new or [growing] businesses. We have also created a coordinator for the support staff to make administrative processes more efficient. We have redefined some of the functions of some of the lawyers in connection with the changes in the corporate structure and the business allocated to this unit’. The team is stacked with other legal talent including specialists in the areas of media law, intellectual property, content acquisition, corporate support and other related matters. The depth of quality in the team and its contribution to the business can be seen in the range of transactions the team has been involved in. Often these relate to some of the most important and noteworthy deals in the market, including football rigths as Lopez explains. The team has also been involved in litigation, securing ‘positive results’ for the company during various claims including ‘several procedures’ regarding obligations to finance European content that saw fines of approximately €2m annulled and returned to the business.