Spain’s Cuatrecasas did not need much time to establish itself as a go-to law firm in Latin America.
The firm opened its first office in 2016 in Mexico and then followed with offices in Chile, Colombia and Peru. The expansion strategy was not random, but part of a plan to establish a base in these four countries, which had formed the Pacific Alliance, an innovative free-trade initiative, earlier in the decade.
Antonio Baena, a managing partner, says that unlike other firms, Cuatrecasas set up a regional platform and not individual company offices. It also built each office from the ground up, carefully choosing each lawyer instead of absorbing existing firms.
“Our bet was on a platform. Leading banks always asked why Latin America did not have a regional firm. We decided to solve that problem. We are breaking down geographical and area boundaries, because we are not an amalgam of offices, but an organic structure that looks at the region as a whole,” he says.
The strategy paid off for Cuatrecasas. The firm now has more than 250 professionals in the four counties that are linked to offices in Spain, Portugal and the United States. It is increasingly involved in the region’s most iconic deals, winning it two awards, one for Andean Law Firm and the other for Sustainable Law Firm of the Year.
“Our expertise spans numerous sectors, with our professionals in Chile, Colombia, Mexico, New York, Peru and Spain working together to provide cross-border services,” says Manuel Quinche, head of the Bogotá, Colombia office.
Quinche says Cuatrecasas draws on the strengths of its attorneys and the countries where it operates, building on niches and then drilling down on specific points. In the area of energy transition, for example, he cites the firm’s expertise on taxes and the issue of benefits related to unconventional power and e-mobility.
He says the team also benefits from experience in Spain. Latin America today is abuzz with the possibility of green hydrogen as an opportunity to accelerate the energy transition and substantially beef up revenue through export earnings. Quinche said Cuatrecasas’ experience with green hydrogen in Spain gives it a leg up when working with clients in the region.
The list of projects the firm has worked on over the past year is as dizzying as its quick consolidation as a regional player.
It has worked on key transportation and energy projects in Colombia. It advised on highway and port projects, as well as mass transportation, including the first metro line in Bogotá and financing for the city’s new fleet of electric buses. It helped structure loans for solar energy projects in the country.
It advised on a wide array of projects in Peru, providing its legal prowess in areas including energy, healthcare, mining, sanitation and transportation.
The firm is now working on a new phase as it moves toward its second decade in the region.
“We will continue to strengthen the areas in which we work and start complementing them with specialties based on the characteristics of each country to bring the platform to the next level,” says Baena.