Two Brazilian law firms and a U.S. founded-firm that has a cooperation agreement with a large Brazilian firm stand atop Law.com International’s inaugural Latin America Top 30, which ranks the biggest law firms in Latin America by headcount.
Starting this year, the annual list ranks law firms by their Latin America headcounts, established with Law.com Compass data collected in June 2024 and adjusted based on updates provided by most of the firms.
The headcounts include qualified associates, counsel and partners for international and local law firms operating across the region, including in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean.
Siqueira Castro Advogados, which has 18 offices in Brazil and is part of the ADVOC law firm network, reported 986 lawyers on its payroll, making it the largest by headcount in Latin America.
The second-largest was Brazilian full-service firm Mattos Filho, with 747 lawyers, followed by U.S.-founded Baker McKenzie, which has 677 lawyers spread across seven Latin American countries, including an association agreement with Brazilian firm Trench Rossi Watanabe.
“I’m shocked at how big some of the law firms have gotten in Brazil,” said Monica Machado, head of legal recruitment for Latin America at Laurence Simons.
“They’re starting to look more like U.S. and U.K. law firms. For the region, they’re quite developed.”
Size Matters
Pedro Whitaker de Souza Dias, managing partner at Mattos Filho, told Law.com International that he believes Brazilian law firms lead the region by headcount due to the size of Brazil and also steady demand for legal services in the country.
Brazil is Latin America’s largest economy, with annual economic output topping $2.3 trillion. And its territory is roughly the size of the continental U.S. and home to 215 million inhabitants.
“The fact that Brazil currently has the highest number of lawyers among all countries worldwide reflects the large supply of professionals to meet this demand,” said Dias.
“The Brazilian legal sector has also seen significant development in recent years, with more sophisticated services on offer in general. Moreover, the overall complexity of Brazil’s legal system and the need for regulatory compliance in a dynamic business environment have also contributed to local law firms’ expansion and growth,” he continued.
Brazilian regulations forbid international law firms from providing advice on local legal matters, which is why firms like Baker McKenzie have association agreements with Brazilian law firms.
More than a dozen other international law firms have offices in Brazil with U.S.-barred and U.K.-barred attorneys who advise only on cross-border matters.
Tito Andrade, CEO of Machado Meyer Advogados, noted that Brazil holds strategic positions in core global industries like agribusiness that demand a lot of legal services and that the country was the second-largest recipient of foreign direct investment in the world in 2023, after the U.S. Machado Meyer employs around 500 lawyers.
“A large and specialized team allows [Brazilian] law firms to offer agile and personalized service, ensuring that each client has access to high-quality legal advice tailored to their needs,” said Andrade.
“In addition, having a robust team allows the firm to maintain continuous, quality service, even during periods of high demand.”
Fernando Meira, managing partner at Pinheiro Neto, a highly respected Brazilian firm that employs 478 lawyers, ticked off the many reasons why Brazil garners so much attention within the region.
“Brazil is a very large and complex country, with a very strong and diversified economy. We are one of the largest producers of soft and hard commodities. We manufacture cars, planes, electronics, pharmaceuticals, employ different technologies and have a very sophisticated financial industry,” he noted.
Meira also pointed to the country’s complex and litigious legal system. “Because of that, corporate clients need to navigate a business environment that requires proper legal advice to avoid potentially very large contingent liabilities and risks to their businesses, especially in the tax, consumer liability and environmental areas.”
The transactional side is also demanding, with a high volume of M&A and capital markets deals along with substantial investments from foreign players, “which tend to be more demanding due to cultural aspects and informational gap,” Meira said.
All in all, this helps to explain why this is a very competitive legal market,” he concluded.
Global Presence
Most of the global law firms with large headcounts in Latin America also have a significant presence in Brazil, via alliances.
Baker McKenzie’s cooperation agreement with Brazilian firm Trench Rossi Watanabe, for instance, brings 201 lawyers to the firm’s global network.
Baker McKenzie’s large Latin America footprint also includes a sizable cohort in Mexico, as well as lawyers stationed in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Peru and Venezuela.
Gustavo Boruchowicz, Baker McKenzie’s regional chair for Latin America, told Law.com International that Latin America “plays a pivotal role in Baker McKenzie’s global strategy.”
“We were the first global law firm to open an office in Latin America, and with over 70 years of experience in the region, we have developed a deep understanding of local markets and cultural fluency, enabling us to help our clients navigate the region’s complex regulatory and political landscapes effectively,” added Boruchowicz.
Baker McKenzie opened its first office outside of the U.S., and its first in Latin America, when it put boots on the ground in Venezuela in 1955.
Another international firm that has built out a significant presence in Latin America is Spain’s ECIJA, which reported 548 lawyers positioned across 15 countries and Puerto Rico.
ECIJA was founded in 1997 as a boutique specializing in new technologies, media and intellectual property. Nearly half the firm’s €91.75 million in revenue for the 2023 fiscal year came from outside of Spain, meaning Portugal and Latin America.
Managing partner Alejandro Touriño described Latin America as “a key region” for the firm, offering both economic dynamism and significant opportunities for growth and collaboration.
“As the Spanish firm with the largest presence in the continent, our focus here reflects the importance of being close to our clients in strategic markets, where demand for specialized legal services continues to rise,” said Touriño.
In October, ECIJA launched an office in Peru in combination with a local law firm.
Dentons also has an extensive presence in the region. The firm has around 500 lawyers across 28 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, including 90 employed by a full-service Brazilian firm with which it has a strategic alliance: Vella Pugliese Buosi e Guidoni Advogados.
Growing Importance
Paloma Gómez, Dentons CEO for Latin America and the Caribbean, said the region is “of growing importance to the world economy, abound with opportunity for our clients.”
Dentons’ headcount includes lawyers employed at multiple offices across the English-speaking Caribbean.
Another global firm with a large footprint in Latin America is DLA Piper, which had 376 lawyers spread across offices in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Peru and Puerto Rico as of November 2024.
“Latin America is a key part of our broader Americas strategy, and we are proud of the presence and reputation we’ve built in this region,” said Rick Chesley, global managing partner of DLA Piper.
“Our strategic relationships on the ground, coupled with our cross-border capabilities, enable us to provide our clients practical, meaningful legal advice whether they are based in Latin America or wish to invest in this dynamic region.”
The firm has been building out its cross-border capabilities in recent years with key hires based in New York, and via the opening of a foreign legal consultancy office in São Paulo.
DLA Piper’s total headcount within Latin America, though, has contracted during 2024 as some local lawyers shunned exclusivity in favor of collaborating with more international law firms.
The firm’s affiliate in Colombia broke away from DLA Piper’s global network in April 2024, taking more than 120 lawyers with it.
And in November 2024, more than two dozen lawyers left
Campos Mello Advogados, a Brazilian firm with which DLA Piper has a cooperation agreement for local law matters, to form their own firm.
Mayer Brown has also shrunk its presence in Latin America during 2024.
The U.S. headquartered firm shuttered its Mexico City office in October 2024, sending more than a dozen lawyers in search of new homes.
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Publish date : 2024-12-05 08:48:00
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