UK insurance specialist DAC Beachcroft has built out its litigation bench in Mexico with the hire of a team from local boutique Márquez & Castelazo (MCGC).  

The team includes all three partners from MCGC – Elisa Márquez, Beatriz Castelazo and Alberto García Cárdenas – alongside nine associates and paralegals. MCGC will cease trading.  

The partner trio brings extensive experience in civil, commercial and international arbitration, including complex litigation and bankruptcy matters.  

They previously worked together at White & Case and bring experience at other Mexican law firms, businesses such as Citigroup-owned Banco Nacional de Mexico and IFECOM, Mexico’s institute for bankruptcy specialists, which DAC Beachcroft said enhanced their understanding of the challenges in providing services for international financial institution and insurance clients.

The firm added that the team’s hire would significantly enhance its knowledge of the Mexican market and meant it would be “better placed to help clients navigate the complexities of Mexican legal proceedings”.  

Andrés Amunátegui, partner and head of Latin America at DAC Beachcroft, said: “We are excited to welcome Elisa, Beatriz, Alberto and their wider team to the firm. They are an ambitious team, very much at the top of their game, and with their experience and expertise, they are extremely well placed to help us take our litigation offering in Mexico – and across LatAm – to the next level.”

Márquez added: “We are all very pleased to be joining DAC Beachcroft. The firm is very well respected across Latin America, and we are looking forward to working with Miguel and the whole team in Mexico to provide our clients with the best possible service and advice.”

The group’s arrival marks a significant expansion of DAC Beachcroft’s Mexico City team, which currently includes claims management and regulatory partner Miguel Ángel de la Fuente alongside a small team of associates, according to its website.  

The firm also opened an office in Buenos Aires last summer after hiring prominent insurance partner Martín Argañaraz from Argentinian law firm Allende & Brea alongside former Allende lawyer María José Sánchez. The move handed DAC Beachcroft a presence in its fourth Latin American country after Mexico, Colombia and Chile.

Earlier in the year the firm had also opened offices in Milan and Rome staffed with an eight-strong insurance team hired from Italian firm Advant Nctm.