The Latin American Lawyer September 2018 LATAM MAGAZINE SEPT18 | Page 28

Special report: Central America
large regional firms.
A total of 87 per cent of
lawyers expect demand for legal
services to grow in Costa Rica,
the Dominican Republic, El
Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras
and infrastructure sectors are
proving attractive to investors
and generating significant work
for lawyers, Pacheco says. He
adds that investors are also
targeting the real estate and
Costa Rica’s medical technology manufacturing sector is attracting interest from
international investors
and Nicaragua, according to the
survey. New service lines and
regulatory changes are expected
to drive this growth, participants
say. However, 12 per cent of
respondents do not expect an
increase in demand for legal
services.
Mariano Batalla, managing
partner at Costa Rican law
firm Batalla, expects his firm’s
revenue to grow by 1 to 5 per
cent, with tourism, real estate
and infrastructure being the key
drivers. However, he believes
law firms face the significant
challenge of trying to differentiate
themselves in the market, though
he adds that, in general, law firms
now have a higher profile.
Across Central America, assets
in the retail, TMT (technology,
media and telecommunications)
hospitality sectors. Meanwhile,
according to Tomás Nassar,
founding partner at Nassar
Abogados in Costa Rica, data
protection, telecommunications
and technology are growth areas
for law firms. In Guatemala,
the largest market in Central
America, antitrust, compliance
and tax-related mandates are
generating significant work for
law firms, according to Rodolfo
Alegría, partner at Carrillo &
Asociados. However, the outlook
in Nicaragua is bleaker, with
few investment opportunities in
the country, according to survey
respondents.
EU trade
Elsewhere in the region, there
are investment opportunities
in the tourism, call centres
26 • THE LATIN AMERICAN LAWYER • September 2018
and manufacturing sectors,
particularly in the Dominican
Republic and Honduras, according
to Beatriz Mejía, associate at
Honduras firm Bufete Mejía &
Asociados. She adds that, while
business ties with the US are
strong in Honduras and Central
America, there is also a growing
trend of direct investment from,
and trade with, countries in
the European Union as well as
Colombia and Mexico. That said,
52 per cent of survey participants
said the US will contribute the
most growth to their business in
the coming year.
Yet law firms across Central
America face major challenges.
Determining what the best
strategy is for meeting the
demands of international clients
operating locally is a massive
undertaking, says María Alejandra
Tulipano, partner in the El
Salvador office of Consortium
Legal. “The best law firms in the
Central America region will not
only differentiate themselves
through their quality of service,
but also through their ability to
provide comprehensive solutions
for clients seeking to diversify
their investments across assets
and borders.” Meanwhile, Luis
Ruiz, partner at BLP Abogados in
Guatemala, expects local law firms
to push for more gender equality
and diversity in their workforce
as this will help them to retain the
best young talent.
Diego Martín, Consortium Legal
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