Managing Partner · Doctor of Laws (PhD in Law) · Practising Lawyer
Cristóbal Dobarro Gómez
Doctor of Laws (PhD in Law, Ibero-American Administrative Law, University of A Coruña), Best Lawyers Spain since 2019 in Administrative Law, Litigation, MASC and Insolvency Reorganisation. Lecturer at UDC, URV and UNIR. President of COFER. Over 20 years of practice in public business law.
Professional profile
Cristóbal Dobarro Gómez founded Dobarro y Asociados in Ferrol (A Coruña) with a clear objective: to provide companies operating in highly regulated legal environments with the level of technical expertise usually found only in large generalist firms, but with the direct commitment and proximity of a boutique practice.
His doctorate, completed Cum Laude at the University of A Coruña, focused on alternative dispute resolution methods in Ibero-American administrative law — a line of work that has led him to lecture at Spanish and Latin American universities, publish legal monographs and participate as a speaker at international forums on four continents.
In parallel, he has built a litigation and advisory practice of reference in environmental law, public procurement, urban planning and administrative law, with a client base of over 500 active companies across all autonomous communities of Spain.
Academic background
- Doctor of Laws (PhD in Law) — Ibero-American Administrative Law, Cum Laude · University of A Coruña (UDC)
- Law Degree · Comillas Pontifical University (ICADE), Madrid
- Master's in Administrative Law · UNED
- Postgraduate qualification in Public Procurement · University of A Coruña
Professional track record
- Founder and Managing Partner — Dobarro y Asociados (2004–present)
- UDC Technology Transfer Spin-off — Legal and regulatory counsel
- Arbitrator — Corte de Arbitraje del Noroeste
- Arbitrator — Xunta Arbitral de Consumo de Galicia
- Mediator — accredited in civil and commercial mediation (Law 5/2012)
Areas of expertise
Institutional positions
- President of COFER (Federación de Empresas de Ferrol y su comarca)
- Member of CEC (Confederación de Empresarios de Galicia)
- Member of CEG (Cámara de Empresarios de Galicia)
- Member of CEPYME and CEOE
- Member of the A Coruña Chamber of Commerce
- Member of EXPONAV (Ferrol Naval Exhibition)
Teaching and research
- Lecturer — Master's in Administrative Law, University of A Coruña (UDC)
- Lecturer — Postgraduate programmes, Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV) and UNIR (International University of La Rioja)
- Research collaborator — IBERAMASC (Ibero-American MASC Research Group)
- Academic publishing — Tirant lo Blanch (monographs and collective works)
Selected publications
Monographs
- Los métodos alternativos de solución de conflictos en el ámbito del derecho administrativo iberoamericano (Tirant lo Blanch)
- La mediación como método de resolución de conflictos en la Administración Pública española
- Manual de contratación pública para PYMES
Collective works
- Derecho Administrativo Iberoamericano (coord. Jaime Rodríguez-Arana)
- Estudios sobre mediación y arbitraje administrativo en Iberoamérica
- Comentarios a la Ley de Contratos del Sector Público (Ley 9/2017)
International speaking engagements (selection)
- FIDA 2024 — International Forum on Administrative Law · Bogotá (Colombia)
- IBERAMASC 2023 — Ibero-American Congress on MASC · Mexico City
- Congreso Internacional de Derecho Administrativo · Santiago de Chile
- Foro Latinoamericano de Mediación Pública · Quito (upcoming 2026)
- Jornadas de Derecho Público Empresarial · San Juan, Puerto Rico
Awards and distinctions
- Best Lawyers Spain — Administrative Law (2019–2025)
- Best Lawyers Spain — Litigation (2019–2025)
- Best Lawyers Spain — MASC / Alternative Dispute Resolution (2019–2025)
- Best Lawyers Spain — Insolvency Reorganisation (2019–2025)
- European Medal for Merit at Work
- Paul Harris Fellow — Rotary International
- Ártabro Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2025
- Alecrín Award — Galician Business 2025
- Town Crier of Ferrol (Pregonero de las Fiestas de San Jaume, 2019)
Approach and working method
Every matter starts with a frank conversation: what is the actual legal problem, what is realistically achievable, and what would be the best course of action if the client were the lawyer's own family member. That is the standard applied to every file.
Cristóbal Dobarro leads each matter personally from initial assessment through to resolution, with no delegation of strategy or client communication to junior lawyers. Each client has direct access — by phone, email or in person — throughout the entire process.
The combination of academic rigour (doctoral research, international publications, peer review) with active litigation practice (hundreds of administrative proceedings, court appeals and regulatory cases per year) provides a technical precision that is unusual in either academics or pure practitioners alone.
“Would you like to discuss your matter directly with Cristóbal? Tell me what you need. I respond personally.”
Get in touch →