The Lain American Lawyer: March 2018 Latam_March 2018 | Page 20

Law firm profile
Catching the wave
After moving to its new home
at Winston last year, the Latin
America-focused practice
group formerly at Chadbourne
is set to make a new, bigger
splash in the region
When the Latin American group
at legacy Chadbourne & Parke
in New York rejected the merger
of their firm with Norton Rose
Fulbright (NRF), joining Winston
& Strawn instead, legal market
observers were left intrigued.
Some commentators noted that
none of their former colleagues on
the ground in Latin America were
following and that Winston lacked
the regional footprint of the newly
merged NRF.
The news of the departures came
in the summer of 2017, just two
months after NRF and Chadbourne
announced their tie-up. Corporate
lawyers Talbert Navia and Allen
Miller, who were co-heads of
Chadbourne´s Latin America
practice, plus a team which
included eight other partners,
joined the New York office of
Winston & Strawn.
In a way, the team was
swapping a name with a lot of
history attached (Chadbourne had
been around for 115 years when
it joined NRF) for another one
of similar long-standing record
(Winston & Strawn was founded
in Chicago in 1853). That, however,
is where the similarities end:
Winston & Strawn had no offices
in Latin America and while it
had been rapidly expanding with
lateral hires in the US over the last
three years, observers felt that its
dedicated Latin American practice
needed a stronger, deeper bench
in corporate, M&A and private
equity to achieve greater market
recognition in the region. Would
Miller and Navia - with quarter of
a century working together in Latin
America - be able to change that?
The jury was out.
Six months on and Allen Miller
and Talbert Navia are upbeat.
“The benefit of not practicing local
law in Latin America is that we
can choose the best local firm for
a particular matter, “ says Miller.
“The client’s needs and interests
are paramount. We have cultivated
relationships with local counsel in
the region for over 25 years, and
Winston fact file
Total number of partners globally: 421
Total number of lawyers globally: More than 900
Total number of partners in the formally
organised Latin America practice: 20
Total number of lawyers in the formally
organised Latin America practice: 35 in New York City, Houston,
and Washington, D.C.
18 • THE LATIN AMERICAN LAWYER • March 2018
at Winston we are happy we can
continue working together with
these local law firms,” Navia says.
Both partners take stock of the
integration process, acknowledging
the challenges and opportunities.
For Navia, their 2018 goals include
the ongoing integration of the
team into the new and expanded
platform at Winston. “The
integration process is going very
well and it has been well received
among the clients, the ones which
followed us and the existing
Winston clients,” he adds. Miller
agrees, saying that expanding the
multidisciplinary team which came
with them, while benefiting from
the Winston talent in other areas
which touch upon Latin America
is a priority. He also points to
recent arrivals at the firm bringing
proficiency in other areas and
geographies which add to the mix.
Navia recognizes that projecting
the new Winston brand throughout
the key Latin American markets
remains an ongoing process. “The
www.thelatinamericanlawyer.com