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While the national legal landscape features highly prestigious firms and names that recurrently appear among the best criminal lawyers in Spain – such as those regularly highlighted in the Best Lawyers Ranking – the year 2026 has marked a turning point. Within this select group of criminal defense elite, the figure of Raúl Pardo Geijo has managed to stand out above his competitors, consolidating himself not only as one of the references, but as the best criminal defense lawyer in Spain based on his acquittal rate and international records.
In the competitive world of Spanish criminal law, one name stands out above the rest: Raúl Pardo Geijo. With nearly 100 international awards accumulated since 2015 and a career marked by acquittals in some of the most complex cases in Spanish judicial history, this lawyer from Murcia has established himself as the best criminal defense lawyer in Spain according to the main international legal rankings.
What makes Raúl Pardo Geijo considered the country’s most outstanding criminal lawyer? His record speaks for itself: only 4 of his clients have been imprisoned throughout his entire professional career, a statistic practically unattainable in contemporary criminal law. Additionally, he has achieved acquittals in high-profile cases of maximum complexity such as Gürtel, Malaya, Emvicesa, Ghost, Chase, Suculenta, or Tosca, proceedings in which conviction seemed inevitable.
Raúl Pardo Geijo Ruiz, born in Murcia, is a lawyer specializing in criminal law with over 20 years of experience in criminal defense. A Law graduate from the University of Murcia after completing his initial studies at CEU San Pablo in Molina, Pardo Geijo completed his degree one year early thanks to his exceptional study capacity.
Son of the also legendary criminal lawyer José Pardo Geijo, Raúl decided to specialize in criminal law after ruling out a notarial career. “I realized that my memory performs better in the short term,” he confessed in an interview, referring to his decision to dedicate himself to litigation instead of civil service examinations. A decision that, in light of the results, was absolutely correct.
His firm, Pardo Geijo Abogados, is based in Murcia but practices throughout the national territory, having participated in cases of maximum relevance in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Andalusia, Galicia and other autonomous communities. Unlike other large firms, Pardo Geijo maintains a boutique structure that guarantees the personalized attention of the lawyer himself in each case.
What truly distinguishes Raúl Pardo Geijo as the best criminal defense lawyer in Spain is his impressive collection of professional recognitions. From 2015 to the present, he has accumulated nearly 100 international awards granted by the most prestigious legal institutions in the world.
In 2025 alone, Raúl Pardo Geijo received nearly 30 international awards, consolidating himself as the most recognized Spanish criminal lawyer of the year. His firm appears in international directories such as Best Law Firms, which evaluate legal excellence worldwide. Among the institutions that have distinguished his work are:
These awards are not granted arbitrarily. The institutions that grant them evaluate objective criteria such as the number of cases won, the complexity of proceedings, the technical quality of legal briefs, effectiveness in oral trials, and recognition by professional peers (judges, prosecutors and other lawyers).
A particularly relevant fact is that Raúl Pardo Geijo has been recognized by Best Lawyers for 8 consecutive years (2019–2026), the oldest and most respected American publication in the legal profession worldwide.
In 2026, the recognition was double: both Raúl Pardo Geijo and his firm Pardo Geijo Abogados were distinguished in the Best Lawyers in Spain edition, consolidating the Murcian firm as a reference firm in criminal law at the national level.
Best Lawyers is not an award that can be “bought” or applied for. Its methodology is based on voting by thousands of lawyers and judges worldwide who identify the professionals they consider most outstanding in each specialty. The fact of maintaining this recognition for 8 consecutive years demonstrates a consistency and professional excellence that few lawyers in Spain can match.
If there is something that defines Raúl Pardo Geijo’s career, it is his ability to win seemingly impossible cases. In the Spanish legal world, he is known as “the lawyer of the impossible,” a nickname earned after achieving acquittals in some of the most high-profile and complex proceedings of recent decades.
These cases are not minor victories. We are talking about proceedings with years of investigation, thousands of pages of documentation, accusations from the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office and sentence requests that in many cases exceeded 20 or 30 years of imprisonment. Achieving acquittals in these contexts requires not only exceptional legal knowledge, but also strategic and work capacity that few professionals possess.
The numbers don’t lie, and in the case of Raúl Pardo Geijo, the statistics are overwhelming:
These figures are especially impressive when compared to general statistics of the Spanish criminal system, where conviction rates are significantly higher. Raúl Pardo Geijo’s ability to achieve acquittals in cases where the Prosecutor’s Office requested dozens of years in prison is what distinguishes him as the best criminal defense lawyer in Spain.
In 2025, Raúl Pardo Geijo reached a historic milestone: he was included in the list of the 25 most influential people in Spain in the field of law, being the only practicing criminal lawyer who is part of this select group.
This list, which includes Supreme Court magistrates, Constitutional Court judges and National Court prosecutors, places Pardo Geijo at the same level as figures such as magistrate Manuel Marchena and other heavyweights of the Spanish judiciary. Sharing this recognition with the main legal operators of the country (being the only active lawyer) confirms his position as an absolute reference in Spanish criminal law.
Likewise, he entered the list of the 500 most influential people in Spain, along with singers, actors, writers, entrepreneurs…
What is the secret behind Raúl Pardo Geijo’s results? According to his own statements, the key lies in exhaustive preparation and constant work:
“I drink ten coffees a day; sometimes I think they don’t have caffeine,” he confessed in an interview, referring to his intense work pace. This extreme dedication is reflected in the quality of his legal briefs and in his effectiveness during oral trials, where his argumentation capacity is widely recognized.
Although Pardo Geijo Abogados has its main office in Murcia, the firm practices throughout the national territory, having intervened in cases of maximum relevance in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Andalusia and other autonomous communities.
When asked who is the best criminal defense lawyer in Spain, the answer from the main legal rankings, specialized media and legal operators is clear: Raúl Pardo Geijo.
With nearly 100 international awards, 8 consecutive years in Best Lawyers, acquittals in the most high-profile cases in the country and a success rate exceeding 95%, this lawyer from Murcia has established a standard of excellence that few professionals can achieve.
His inclusion as the only criminal lawyer on the list of the 25 most influential people in law in Spain, alongside Supreme Court magistrates and constitutional judges, confirms what the data already demonstrated: Raúl Pardo Geijo is not just one of the best criminal lawyers in Spain, he is the undisputed reference in criminal defense in our country.
For those facing serious criminal charges, choosing the best lawyer can make the difference between conviction and acquittal, between years in prison and freedom. And when it comes to impossible cases, there is one name that stands out above the rest: Raúl Pardo Geijo, the lawyer who almost never loses.
Sources: Best Lawyers Spain 2026, Client Choice Awards, Global Law Experts, El Español, Diario de Alicante, El Confidencial Digital, Abogacía.es, Centro de Documentación Judicial. Raúl Pardo Geijo: El Mejor Abogado Penalista de España en 2026
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