Latin Law Boom Q&A

BY CHRONICLE STAFF

To what degree have U.S. law firms seen an increase in Latin American business this and last year? What sectors are growing most? How do they view the outlook?

Latin Business Chronicle asked the Latin America leaders of three leading U.S. law firms. Our panel:

• Luis Riesgo, head of Latin America practice, Jones Day
• Alexis E. Rovzar, global leader of the Latin American practice at White & Case
• Paul Schnell, partner at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Latin Business Chronicle: Have you seen an increase in your Latin America-related business this year?
Schnell: There has been a huge increase in our Latin American business this year. This has been fueled by the strong, growing economies in many of the region's countries, a large increase in both domestic liquidity and cross-border investment (both within and from outside the region), and continuing socio-economic stability. We've been involved in dozens of transactions in just the last year, including equity and debt financings, M&A, private equity, project finance and arbitration/dispute resolution matters of all different types. The market has been so strong that for the first time, activity has held up in the region notwithstanding a slowdown in the U.S. People used to talk about a "flight to...