Latin America

Our Latin America practice is supplemented by our team’s substantial litigation and investigations expertise, particularly in relation to international investment and commercial arbitration proceedings involving Latin American entities and governments. Members of our team have represented the Republic of Argentina, the Republic of Guatemala, the Republic of El Salvador, the Federated Republic of Brazil, the Republic of Chile, the Republic of Ecuador, the Dominican Republic and The Supreme Court of Venezuela in investor-state arbitrations, as well as having represented various commercial parties in high-stakes arbitrations against other commercial parties or Sovereign States throughout the region.

“A major force in investor-state and international commercial arbitration [and] noted for cross-border litigation involving Latin American entities.”

Legal 500 2025, Latin America: International Firms

Our team also have significant experience in providing legal advice to international clients on day-to-day Latin American labor law matters, including preparation of employment agreements and analysis and assessment of employer liability on benefits and severance obligations.

Our Latin America practice’s recent litigation and investigations experience includes the following:

• Acting as lead counsel for a multinational manufacturer of consumer pharmaceutical and cleaning products, in a high-stakes US$2.7 billion ICSID arbitration against the Republic of Mexico. This is currently one of the top five investor-state cases globally by value under dispute.
• Represented a financial sector investor in both UNCITRAL and ICSID rules arbitration against the Republic of Colombia, concerning the expropriation of a bank, under the Colombia-US Trade Promotion Agreement.
• Represented a gaming software multinational in high-profile and high-stakes concurrent arbitration and litigation proceedings governed by Mexican law against its Mexican commercial business partner and other group companies, which included multiple proceedings in the Mexican courts.
• Represented a major Latin American pension fund in connection with fraud and racketeering claims against various individuals following a multimillion-dollar embezzlement scheme. This included tracing the respondents, obtaining urgent search orders and freezing injunctions, a US$80 million+ judgement in our clients’ favor, and work in connection with extradition proceedings to a Latin American country with respect to related criminal proceedings.
• Advised a major international insurance company in respect of losses arising from a major dam tunnel collapse in South America.

Our team includes lawyers located across our international offices who have wide-ranging expertise in assisting clients with their business dealings in Latin America, as well as in relation to Latin American partners and customers. This includes mergers and acquisitions, strategic investments, raising capital and investing in global markets, franchise issues involving entities and activities in Latin America, contract negotiations with Latin American public and private entities, as well as regulatory, customs and international trade matters.

Our Latin America Practice’s recent commercial and finance transactions experience includes the following:

• Advised Anheuser-Busch in connection with its US$1 billion+ investment in Grupo Modelo of Mexico and its US$300 million+ investment in CCU of Chile.

Over the years, our Latin American practice has developed a strong reputation in real estate site acquisition for resort, commercial and industrial development, including all aspects of its financing, land use and entitlements, as well as construction and development agreements. Our team have represented a number of leading real estate developers, manufacturers and lending institutions, as well as hotel and resort companies, on some of their largest projects.

Our Latin America practice’s recent real estate and construction experience includes the following:

• Advised a global manufacturer on the development of a 1.5 million sq ft manufacturing campus in Central Mexico, with a projected cost of US$510 million. We advised on lead contractor due diligence and interviews at outset of the project and prepared and conducted in-person negotiations of an EPC contract and ancillary project agreements.
• Advised a Fortune 500 company regarding design and construction matters for a manufacturing, distribution and office project in Mexico. We prepared a library of form design and construction contracts, as well as project-specific general contracts, design-build agreements, design-services agreements and build-to-suit leases.
• Advised a leading manufacturer of animal feed products regarding procurement of design and construction services on a design-build basis for a new manufacturing and processing facility in Central Mexico.
• Advised both American and Latin American clients in all legal and regulatory aspects of developing and financing luxury mixed-use (residential, hotel, timeshare and commercial) master-planned communities, resorts and other real estate investments located in Mexico.

Given the close connection many of our lawyers have with the region, a number of our Latin America practice team members are highly active in undertaking pro bono matters for the benefit of the local community. In particular, our team are widely recognized as global leader’s in rescuing internationally abducted children and have helped reunite children abducted from countries ranging from Mexico to Venezuela, Chile and Argentina.  

Our Latin America practice’s recent pro bono experience includes the following:

• As part of our long-standing participation in the Hague Convention Attorney Network, we successfully argued in the United States District Court for the District of Kansas on behalf of our client, a Mexican mother, for the return to Mexico of four of her children who were wrongfully removed from her custody and taken without her consent to Kansas City. The court ruled in our client’s favor and, after 10 months apart, she was reunited with her children and they returned together to Mexico.
• Following a referral from Sanctuary Families, we successfully represented a Peruvian woman seeking asylum in the United States. Our client fled her home in Peru as she feared that her husband would kill her, whilst the Peruvian justice system would not protect our client nor prosecute her husband. Due to short notice received from the Department of Homeland Security, our team had approximately 2 weeks to draft the asylum petition, together with other ancillary documents, and prepare our client for her asylum interview. Our client was subsequently granted asylum to the United States.