The two firms merging are currently on best friend terms with Uría and they are both leading practices in their national markets. The combined entity will be called Philippi, Prietocarrizosa & Uría and will have 220 lawyers in Santiago, Bogota and Barranquilla. Uría has 530 lawyers. The merger between the Colombian firm Prietocarrizosa with Chilean firm Philippi is the first merger between two leading Latin American law firms in their countries. It will service countries in the Pacific Alliance which include Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru. Martin Carrizosa, a member of Prietocarrizosa's executive committee, said of the move: 'Entrepreneurs and many multinationals view Latin America in general and the countries of the Pacific Alliance in particular, as a new and distinct legal market where added-value legal advice is required.'