Kennedys has made two local partner hires in Miami in a move which will allow the firm to practice US law for the first time. US-qualified Neil Bayer and Dan Sanders will join Kennedys’ Miami office and will oversee the firm’s US advisory capability. The hires come as the firm aims to give ‘rise to new local growth opportunities and strengthen its London market capability’.
DLA builds LatAm presence with Colombia pact as firm hopes to leverage Spanish relationships
Just three months after sealing its entry into Canada by combining with local firm Davis, DLA Piper has continued its march across the Americas by signing a cooperation agreement that will see it launch in Colombia.
Garrigues in Latin America: a step ahead – Javier Ybañez discusses the firm’s international position.
We would like to think that staying one step ahead is one of Garrigues’ hallmarks – one of our obsessions. Garrigues was the first Spanish law firm to become an institutional organisation and leave behind the traditional model of an inherited family business to become a firm owned purely on merit, and this some decades before our competitors chose the same route.
Being the first to take such a difficult step is probably what instilled our enduring pioneering spirit. Many years ago we were the first major Spanish law firm to open an office in New York and, more recently, the first to publish a corporate social responsibility report. To some extent, this background has undoubtedly driven us to be the first major Spanish law firm to open its own offices in the principal Latin American cities.
Staying put: A&O Brazil partner remains at the firm having been set for Paul Hastings
Banking partner Bruno Soares, who decided to leave Allen & Overy’s (A&O) Brazil offering to join US firm Paul Hastings and help establish its Sao Paulo office in March, has made the unusual step of reversing his decision.
International ambitions: Kennedys enters formal association with Chilean boutique
Insurance specialist Kennedys, which has been boosting its international ties in recent months, has entered into another formal association – this time with Chilean insurance boutique Sateler Depolo Diemoz (SDD).
Continue reading “International ambitions: Kennedys enters formal association with Chilean boutique”
Guest post: Letter from Sao Paulo – How the Brazilian legal market is shaping up
Just back from a week of meetings with law firms in Sao Paulo, and a few impressions are worth reporting. First of all, everyone – no surprise – has the political situation in Brazil on their minds front and centre.
Continue reading “Guest post: Letter from Sao Paulo – How the Brazilian legal market is shaping up”
Launching in Mexico City: Mayer Brown plans new oil and gas outpost
Mayer Brown is looking to become the latest law firm to try and capitalise on Mexico’s liberalising economy, chasing oil and gas work with a new office in Mexico City and the hire of ExxonMobil’s in-house counsel for Latin America.
Continue reading “Launching in Mexico City: Mayer Brown plans new oil and gas outpost”
Baker & McKenzie and DLA Piper bet on Mexico’s growing legal market
DLA combines with local firm while Baker & McKenzie boosts its Mexican office
Mexico’s legal market has seen steady growth as President Enrique Peña Nieto’s package of reforms, including widespread tax breaks and the opening up of the energy sector to foreign companies, liberalises the economy. Last month saw both DLA Piper and Baker & McKenzie seek to capitalise on that growth by making strategic hires to broaden their offerings.
Continue reading “Baker & McKenzie and DLA Piper bet on Mexico’s growing legal market”
Uría Menéndez takes stake in first major Latin America tie-up
As Dentons hires IDB’s general counsel in hunt for regional mergers
Last month saw leading Iberian law firm Uría Menéndez acquire a 30% stake in the merger of its best friend firms and national heavyweights, Chile’s Philippi and Colombia’s Prietocarrizosa, as part of its strategy to consolidate its commitment in the region.
Continue reading “Uría Menéndez takes stake in first major Latin America tie-up”
Latam briefing: Garrigues extends local network, foreign players continue push and Brazil leader secures antitrust coup
Market developments around the region continue apace: in the Dominican Republic, where the recent tie-up between Squire Saunders and Patton Boggs will be particularly felt (the former Squire Sanders, Peña Prieto & Gamundi was a key market player), further movement has seen the departures of Marielle Garrigó and Fabiola Medina (from Pellerano & Herrera and Medina Rizek, respectively), to establish new firm Medina Garrigó.