The Latin American Lawyer magazine Special Focus - Latin America July 2015 | Page 2

Special focus: Latin America

On safari
Latin America´s emerging Pacific
trade bloc – consisting of Chile,
Colombia, Mexico and Peru –
offers a wealth of opportunities
for law firms in Spain, but to win
the hunt for business offered by
the ‘Pacific Pumas’, firms will have
to tread carefully
The Latin American market is
becoming increasingly important
for law firms in Spain, but
what´s the best way to crack it?
The rise of the Pacific Alliance
countries – namely Chile,
Colombia, Mexico and Peru
(which have been collectively
dubbed ‘The Pacific Pumas’)
– have excited investors and
law firms alike. Uría Menéndez
is one of the Spanish firms to
have bet heavily on this region
with the formation of Philippi,
Prietocarrizosa & Uría. Other law
firms looking to follow suit are
warned to develop their strategy
carefully – such a move involves
considerable investment and the
selection of the right partners. It
is also vital that the partners a
firm chooses properly buy-in to
the project.
The thawing of relations
between Cuba and the US has
also wedged open a window
of opportunity, but law firms
in Spain must act quickly if
they want to capitalise – it is
anticipated that an international
firm will open in Havana soon
and the betting should not be
against it being one of the US
players. Meanwhile, one of the
other issues facing law firms in
Latin America is corruption, the
shadow of which is never far
away – lawyers warn of ‘state
attorney mafias’, particularly in
Mexico. All in all, opportunities
abound in this wildly diverse
region, but only the most astute
law firms will be in a position to
capitalise.
Pablo González-Espejo,
partner at Uría Menéndez, says
there are currently two main
opportunities for law firms in
Latin America: “Law firms in
Spain are exploiting the Spanish
connection with the region –
Spanish firms are now more
aware of the opportunities there,
42 • IBERIAN LAWYER • July / August 2015

while non-Spanish firms are using
their Spanish partners to develop
a practice in Latin America, for
example UK firms are focusing
on Latin America from their
Spanish offices. Meanwhile,
there is also a trend for in-bound
Spanish investment from Latin
America into Europe – they are
using Spain as a base [to access
European markets].”
Bird & Bird partner Javier
Fernández-Samaniego says that
while UK firms do not have a
significant strategic interest in
Latin America – and instead
prefer to focus on locations
such as Singapore and Hong
Kong – most European clients
that do have interests in the
region ask for the firm’s Madrid
office to be involved in the
work. He adds: “In-bound work
from Latin America to Europe
presents an opportunity as the
strong dollar makes Spain an
opportunistic place.” FernándezSamaniego adds that Cuba also
has potential – largely due to
the expertise of Bird & Bird
partner Hermenegildo Altozano
– but he does not see any UK
firm opening in Latin America
in the near future. Jones Day
partner Javier López Antón says
that law firms seeking to make
a success of a Latin American
office need to be prepared to
put sufficient financial resources
into the venture: “To be a player,

you need to make a relevant
investment.”
LatAm firms opening in Spain?
Gonzalo Barboza, partner at
Arochi & Lindner, a Mexican
firm that opened an office in
Barcelona in 2014 says that with
Lain American clients investing in
Europe, there were many reasons
for opening an office in the
Spanish market. He adds: “More
Latin American firms could open
in Spain, but it is risky as it is a
well-established market.” Barboza
says that Arochi & Lindner
practices intellectual property
law, which is a “very specialised
area”, and that it would be harder
and would require a bigger
investment for a Latin American
firm that practiced other types of
law to establish an office in Spain.
Broseta partner Julio Veloso
believes that, while law firms
may have different strategies
depending on their clients, it is
“natural” for law firms in Spain to
look to expand in Latin America.
“Most of us are focused on Latin
America and there are now
opportunities for Latin American
countries to come into Europe –
we [Spain] can be the gateway
into Europe,” he says. “We also
have a great opportunity to be a
hub for investors from Europe
and China, for example, to go into
Latin America.” Veloso highlights
the fact that investors are showing
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