Special report Global : Central Roundup America of key clients . Meanwhile , Arias is another firm that is expected to expand its operations in Central America and the Caribbean in the next five years . Arias is viewed as a pioneer with regard to pan-regional coverage , having expanded beyond its home country 20 years ago – the firm has offices in Costa Rica , El Salvador , Guatemala , Honduras , Nicaragua and Panama .
Mariano Batalla , Batalla Abogados
Meanwhile , Dentons , which is currently the only global full-service law firm located in the region , is planning to further expand its operations in Central America , according to José Antonio Muñoz , managing partner of Dentons Muñoz . Dentons arrived in the region in 2016 and now has five outposts across Costa Rica , El Salvador , Guatemala and Panama .
A total of 78 per cent of respondents to the survey expect other global law firms to follow in the footsteps of Dentons . In addition , there are rumours that at least one independent firm in Central America is in merger talks with an international counterpart .
Earlier this year , Écija became the first Spanish law firm to launch in Central America following its merger with Expertis , which has offices in Costa Rica , Dominican Republic , El Salvador ,
Honduras , Guatemala , Nicaragua and Panama . Market insiders predict that other Spanish firms will open in Central America in the near future , with some saying Spanish firms are more naturally suited to the market than US or UK firms .
However , Hernán Pacheco , managing partner at EY Law in Central America , expects some global firms to establish operations in the region . He adds that there are “ signs of interest from global law firms keen on closing the gap between Mexico and the Southern Cone , by having a presence in Central America .” Pacheco moved to EY in 2018 when his law firm joined forces with the global professional services firm . The link up with EY led to growing concern that the ‘ Big Four ’ would be muscling in on the Central American legal market . Pacheco says EY expects to grow its operations in the region by attracting talent and focusing on providing valueadded multidisciplinary services . Deloitte , KPMG and PwC also have operations in Central America .
New York opening ? Sfera Legal , which was formed as a result of the 2012 merger between Costa Rican law firms Facio Abogados and Feinzaig , Scharf & van der Putten , is one of the firms looking to expand its pan-regional coverage . It initially opened an office in Guatemala in 2017 ( before entering into a strategic alliance with Asensio Andrade Flores , a more established law firm in that market , in 2018 ). Sfera Legal now has seven offices across Costa Rica , El Salvador , Guatemala and Nicaragua . The next step will be to expand to Honduras before the end of the current year , according to Ignacio Andrade , the firm ’ s managing partner in Guatemala . He adds that the firm also has ambitions of launching a presence in New York .
Meanwhile , ACZALAW is looking to rebuild is operation across the Central American region , an insider says . The firm was founded in 2001 as a regional firm with a presence in Costa Rica , El Salvador , Guatemala , Honduras and Nicaragua . In 2013 , some member firms chose to join another pan-regional grouping , which meant the capability and coverage of ACZALAW was negatively affected . Now , the original ACZALAW founding partners in El Salvador , Honduras and Nicaragua have sought integration again and re-launched a pan-regional offering , which includes an alliance with law firms in Costa Rica and Guatemala .
Diego Martín , a partner in the El Salvador office of Consortium Legal , the largest law firm in the Central American region , says that his firm is satisfied with the extent of its regional coverage .
José Antonio Muñoz , Dentons Muñoz
However , he adds that the firm does have plans to expand outside Central America . Martín expects more independent firms in Central America to join networks or open offices in other countries in the region because , he says , international law firms prefer to work with local lawyers from
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