Global law firm Clyde & Co is pleased to announce the expansion of its Latin American presence with the opening of its first office in Mexico, via a merger with Mexican law firm Garza Tello & Asociados.
Based in Mexico City, four-partner and 23-lawyer Garza Tello is the pre-eminent insurance, marine and energy law firm in Mexico.
The merger, which is pending regulatory approval, provides Clyde & Co and its clients with market-leading Mexican capabilities across a number of complementary sectors, as well as wider Latin American expertise. It also further enhances Clyde & Co’s already preeminent disputes practice in the region, and will work closely with the disputes team in other offices including Miami, London, Madrid and New York.
The office builds on Clyde & Co’s more than 25-year presence in Latin America and growing footprint across the Americas, where it now has 13 offices overall including in Brazil, Venezuela, Canada and the US. Including associated offices, Clyde & Co now has 48 offices worldwide.
Simon Konsta, Clyde & Co Senior Partner, says: “Garza Tello is a firm we’ve worked with for many years. Its sector focus complements our own and having a presence on the ground in Mexico is important as the market continues to liberalise and provides new opportunities for both our local and international clients.”
The four partners joining from Garza Tello are:
Enrique Garza is Senior Partner and founder of Garza Tello and is recognised as one of the leading lawyers in the offshore oil and gas market in Mexico.
Arturo Arista leads Garza Tello’s insurance and reinsurance practice, and is recognised as one of the leading insurance lawyers in Mexico, ranked band 1 by Chambers for insurance in Latin America.
Arturo Bello is a partner of Garza Tello and leads its litigation department and is a civil and commercial trial lawyer assisting across all of the firm’s sectors.
Fernando Escamilla is head of Garza Tello’s shipping team with particular experience in the P&I and marine industries.
Enrique Garza, Senior Partner of the firm, says: “It was a very natural decision to combine with Clyde & Co, having worked with them for over ten years. We are very excited to be joining an international firm with the size and reach of Clyde & Co as it will enable us to broaden our offering to existing clients while serving the ever-increasing number of international businesses doing business and investing in Mexico and the wider Latin American region.”
Lee Bacon, London-based International Arbitration partner and co-chair of Clyde & Co’s Latin America Strategy group says: “I am delighted to welcome our friends at Garza Tello to Clyde & Co. Latin America is an important region for us and opening in Mexico is another key milestone in achieving our ambition to serve our clients wherever they need us in the region. Mexico is an important country and economy in its own right and serves as a gateway to the wider Spanish speaking region. It has long been an aspiration to have an on the ground presence there and in combining with Garza Tello we have the pre-eminent firm in our core sectors of insurance and energy. As well as welcoming Garza Tello into Clyde & Co, we also look forward to continuing our long standing relationships with other leading law firms across the region.”
Garza Tello’s energy team is the firm of choice for many international clients looking to expand into the newly deregulated energy market in Mexico. Its insurance team covers a wide range of work across all business lines, including general liability, product liability, D&O, E&O and professional liability. It also has strong corporate, commercial, regulatory and trial capabilities across its core sectors. The firm is used by its clients as counsel for the wider Central American region and has well-established links with energy, marine and insurance firms in Latin America.
The merged firm in Mexico, which includes a satellite presence in the Gulf of Mexico port city of Ciudad del Carmen, will be fully integrated into Clyde & Co’s single global partnership. The deal is subject to approval from the Foreign National Investment Commission.
Clyde & Co was named ‘Latin American Law Firm of the Year’ at this year’s Reactions Latin American Insurance and Reinsurance Awards.
Source: www.clydeco.com
