DWF has fulfilled its ambition to enter the South American legal market with new associations in Argentina, Panama and Colombia, following swiftly on from the firm’s Asia launch in June.
The Manchester-headquarted firm has entered into associations with VAGEDES & Asociados in Argentina, Fabrega Molino in Panama and Duarte Garcia Abogados (DG&A) in Colombia. The associations will operate as ‘best friends’ arrangements and are not exclusive.
Stefan Paciorek, head of international at DWF said the firm had been eyeing the South American market for some time due to the fact that the continent was predicted to significantly increase in its global economic importance.
He added: ‘We know these three firms well through our long lasting ties in Germany. They all share our vision of doing things differently to meet clients’ needs and have a similar sector focus to us. We look forward to working closely with them.’
The move follows DWF’s first foray into Asia. In June, the firm hired a four-partner team which was previously at Singapore Eversheds.
The launch was DWF’s first office opening since April, when the firm set up office in Berlin. DWF hired DLA Piper’s financial services partner Nina Siedler and real estate partner Irene Schmid in the Berlin office, alongside Wolfgang Richter, who joined DWF Germany following the firm’s 2016 merger with BridgehouseLaw.
In January, DWF opened a Paris office after acquiring four-partner local firm Heenan Paris. The buyout brought in Heenan’s expertise in corporate, private equity, commercial, intellectual property/IT and litigation.