Iberian law firm Cuatrecasas has continued its Latin American expansion with the launch of a new office in Chile, adding to recent openings in Colombia and Peru.

The Santiago office will be headed by partner Cristian Conejero, who returns to the firm after a seven-year spell at Philippi Prietocarrizosa Ferrero DU & Uria in Chile. Conejero had previously worked for Cuatrecasas between 2007 and 2013 in Paris, Madrid and Sao Paulo.

The Chilean expansion takes Cuatrecasas’ Latin American office count up to five, having launched in Bogota in January and Lima last year. The firm already had a presence in Brazil and Mexico.

“The firm bases part of its business strategy on becoming a leading law firm in Latin America, capable of offering expert advice on its clients’ most complex matters in the main Latin American markets,” Cuatrecasas said in a statement.

Its new office will enhance the advisory services it provides to Spanish companies operating in Chile, as well as providing local expertise for its strategic partnership firms in Europe and the rest of the world.

Conejero said: “This is the Ibero-American country that has received the highest foreign investment in the last decade. Spanish investment in the country covers a wide range of industries, including banking, construction, energy, infrastructures, telecommunications and tourism. And what is more important, Cuatrecasas has many clients with interests in the country and the region.”

Conejero is a dispute resolution specialist and will also help manage the firm’s international arbitration practice, having previously worked at the International Court of Arbitration in Paris. He is being joined in the new Santiago office by partner Gianfranco Lotito, a litigation and corporate restructuring expert who also arrives from Philippi Prietocarrizosa, where he had spent three years as a senior associate.

Earlier this year, Clyde & Co formed an alliance with Chilean firm Grasty Quintana Majlis as part of a wider push into Latin America.

Chile has been marred by political unrest since October last year as government protestors clashed over inequality and the high cost of living, despite the country being one of the region’s stand-out economic success stories over the past decade. 

Earlier this month, it emerged that Cuatrecasas had raised around €20m in additional capital from its partners to help it through the financial crisis.

Further reading

LatAm round-up: Kennedys grows in Peru and McDemott hires private client team from DLA Piper — Polsinelli and Herbert Smith Freehills also make Latin America-focused appointments, in Miami and London respectively