Chambers Latin America evaluates and evaluates law firms and lawyers in the region, providing much-needed market information for those who want to find the most appropriate legal service providers when it really matters. For the 2023 edition, the Latin Lawyer features 250 leading Latin American law firms (and visible international law firms in the region) in three distinct categories, building on our decades of research and understanding of the markets we write about: Elite, Highly Recommended and Recommended. Within each category, law firms are listed alphabetically by name. To win mandates, companies must find new ways to stand out from the rest of the pack. LACCA`s research on companies that represent the largest companies in the region shows that the most popular companies are those that go beyond simple legal advice. It is a holistic and enterprising approach that makes a good law firm a great firm, and this is reflected in the list of the most popular companies among these clients in the countries of the region. Law firms that fundamentally understand their clients` business needs can help them overcome the economic, political, and social barriers facing businesses in Latin America today. In practice, this means that CCs want to work with external lawyers who have a proven track record of delivering results in a particular area. “The partnership between the client and the lawyer always makes the difference, but I believe that the main decision factors are the expertise of the professional who will handle the file and the consistency of the results delivered by the mandated law firm,” explains Alexandre Bertoldi, Managing Partner of Pinheiro Neto Advogados. The results of our survey show that the most popular companies in Mexico are different from those that dominated previous editions of the survey. Basham, Ringe y Correa retains its title in first place, advising 15 companies, while Galicia Abogados has climbed to second place thanks to its representation of 11 companies.
Mijares, Angoitia, Cortés y Fuentes SC ranks third and works with 10 companies, and González Calvillo, SC has been recruited by nine companies. Clients typically turn to international law firms for cross-border work that requires an overview as well as any business with an international legal component such as New York law or English law. Cleary Gottlieb is the most popular international law firm, representing 41 of the region`s top 100 companies. According to partner Nick Grabar, an increasing share of the firm`s work in the region has focused on Latin American clients` environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) advisory concerns. “More and more public clients in Latin America have some sort of ESG reporting, and they are increasingly concerned about the sustainability of their business,” he says. “That`s why we`ve seen an increase in work on green bonds, particularly in Brazil and Chile. All of this brings more investment banks onto the scene, and traditional banks need to learn quickly to keep up with these new players. Our research shows that Marval, O`Farrell & Mairal continues to rank first among Argentine companies. He advises 35 of the largest companies, up from 27 the year before. Santiago Carregal, Managing Partner of the firm, highlights the importance of external advice for Argentinian clients in recent months.
“Sometimes a satisfactory resolution [of litigation and restructuring] is critical to the survival of our clients, so in-house legal teams need greater efficiency and experienced lawyers to deal with these complex issues,” he says. Carregal predicts that 2020 will involve more transactional work than the previous year. “We expect local acquisitions to take place during or after restructuring and turnarounds.” The 2022 list, the ninth annual ranking of Latin America`s top law firms, is based on a combination of factors, including value, awareness and scope of work, as well as client and peer references. Covington & Burling LLP stands out for its focus on private equity deals in Latin America. The core M&A team for Latin America also leverages the firm`s highly valued regulatory and policy expertise on numerous transactions in the region. In addition, the company has extensive experience in corporate transactions and mergers and acquisitions, particularly in the technology, financial services and energy sectors. Gabriel Mesa is an experienced figure in private equity and strategic acquisitions in Latin America, as is Rubén Kraiem, an experienced senior lawyer responsible for the Latin America-focused transaction practice, who brings approximately 30 years of experience. Gustavo Akkerman, focused on mergers and acquisitions, was promoted to special advisor in 2021, while Laura Bleier (Colombia/New York) and Barbara Asiain (Mexico/New York) – hired by Winston & Strawn LLP in July 2022 – are both notable climbers. All are based in New York.
Sergio Urias, former co-chair of the private equity practice and a true specialist in Latin America, left the firm in June 2022. Corporate clients in Latin America are increasingly demanding and demanding more and more specialized advice from their law firms. There is perhaps no place in Latin America where this is truer than Brazil. The Brazilian legal market is one of the most competitive in the region and contains several large companies with strong market shares. “Because legal services are expensive, a law firm needs to understand that clients only come to them when it comes to highly relevant and strategic issues. The company must live up to its expectations and give each case the importance it deserves,” Bertoldi adds. It was an election year for Argentina in 2019, a factor that contributed to a challenging business environment – although the country`s economic crisis would likely have caused this with or without elections. President Alberto Fernandez was elected in October and took office in December, with former president and leftist Cristina Kirchner as vice president. After taking office, Fernandez introduced currency controls to stabilize Argentine markets and restricted foreign currency purchases after a further depreciation of the peso. As a result of the country`s weak economy, capital markets and M&A activity have declined, and companies are seeing increased demand for restructuring and litigation costs. Mayer Brown`s M&A practice in Latin America is primarily focused on energy transactions, particularly in the oil and gas sector.
Through Tauil & Chequer Advogados, its subsidiary in Brazil, the Company has closed a number of key oil and gas transactions, including those related to Petrobras` divestment program. She advised the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CPDQ) on the acquisition of the remaining 10% interest in Transportadora Associada de Gás (TAG) from Petrobras and Engie; The initial acquisition of the 90% stake represented a total investment of more than R$34.5 billion – the largest M&A deal in Brazilian history. The Latin America team has also advised on a number of LNG-power and gas-power M&A transactions and continues to be involved in renewable energy transactions in Chile. Houston partners Pablo Ferrante and Jose Valera have extensive experience in mergers and acquisitions in the energy sector; in Brazil, Carlos Motta is a big name in Sao Paulo, as is Alexandre Chequer in Rio de Janeiro; and in Mexico City, Raúl Fernández-Briseño is the most important transactional contact. Vera De Gyarfas moved into the house in July 2021. In the meantime, I want to thank all the law firms and clients who have contributed to the tremendous effort to create this new edition of The Legal 500 Latin America in a year of relentless change and turbulence in the region. While not everyone can appear in a Level 1 position, I hope you all feel that your company has been considered fairly. In order to provide GCs, in-house counsel and other law firm clients with the most detailed analysis of the best law firms in Latin America, our research analysts interview clients/appraisers to gain first-hand experience working with depository firms so that our coverage of these top law firms and lawyers can reflect the market. There are several models that companies can apply to offices located in multiple jurisdictions, whether it is a Swiss association or a fully integrated office where partners share the same profit pool, and for this reason, it is difficult to make direct comparisons between companies with multiple jurisdictions. However, it`s always interesting to see how many of the region`s largest companies are interested in companies looking to offer a one-stop shop in the region`s key markets.
Our research suggests that Philippi Prietocarrizosa Ferrero DU & Uría and Ferrere have been the most successful in providing this service to the largest companies in Latin America. The two regional companies enjoyed a very good reputation in local markets prior to their cross-border expansion. They also recognize the ever-increasing need for specialization. “Brazilian customers are increasingly demanding. In-house legal departments are always better prepared and therefore more demanding than ever when it comes to excellent legal services,” says Bertoldi de Pinheiro Neto. “Today`s clients look for the best professional for every issue when using law firms, as less complex cases are usually handled in-house.” Grupo Terra/Fundación Nasser para el Desarrollo Educativo de Centroamerica Compliance is a very active area of activity for many companies as well as in the tax field due to the ongoing tax reform. “Clients are now focusing on seeking outside legal advice on very complex or strategic issues. and we go to great lengths to get to know our clients` company, culture and employees in order to anticipate their needs,” says Jaime Herrera, Managing Partner of Posse Herrera Ruiz. Latinvex, an online publisher of Latin American economic news and analysis, has named Diaz Reus one of the top 35 international law firms in Latin America for 2013.