Rafael Mateu de Ros is a principal partner of Ramón y Cajal Abogados. He was awarded a PhD of Law by The Complutense University of Madrid and a PMD by Harvard Business School. Government lawyer (Abogado del Estado), currently on leave. He acts as non-executive director of Bankinter, S.A. and director and trustee in other companies and foundations.

Rafael leads the art law department at Ramón y Cajal Abogados and he is also an expert in corporate and commercial law, corporate governance, compliance, tax law, litigation and arbitration.  One of the founders of the Corte Civil y Mercantil de Arbitraje and a regular arbitrator to the Corte Española de Arbitraje and the Corte de Arbitraje de Madrid.  He is admitted to the bar in Madrid, Barcelona and Bilbao.

Member of the board and committees of several art and cultural institutions including: member of the Museo del Prado’s Círculo de Velázquez; member of the 9915 Association for private collectors of contemporary art in Spain; director and shareholder of Ars Magazine, S.L., member of the Art Law Association of Spain (ADA). Art Law professor at the Instituto de Empresa (IE) Business School. Art critic for the main Spanish business journal Expansion (Grupo Unidad Editorial). Author of diverse articles in art journals.

Rafael is regularly engaged on art collectors related legal issues. Among his clients are some of the most relevant Spanish collectors both individuals, foundations and other institutions. He is acting on cross-borders transactions, import-export licenses, appeals against the Public Administration on historical property and heritage, titles disputes, auctions disputes, museums loans and gifts, the organization and advising of art foundations, cultural goods legalisations, legacy planning and programs for living artists and estates, and international underwater conflicts.

Author of the Getting the Deal Through: Art Law: Spain, 2019.  Contributor of the Spanish chapter of The Art Collecting Legal Handbook, 3^rd edition, Edward Elgar Publishing, 2023.

Guest speaker and participant in numerous conferences and seminars on art, regulation both European and Spanish, arbitration and mediation.

He speaks Spanish and English.