Global law firm Kennedys has launched associate offices in Bolivia and Ecuador to strengthen its presence in Latin America as it continues to expand around the world.
In Bolivia, Kennedys has linked with López del Solar, a decades-old firm that services insurance companies, while in Ecuador it has associated with Tobar ZVS, a firm with a highly regarded insurance unit.
The associations bring Kennedys’ total coverage in Latin America and the Caribbean to a dozen countries. The global firm has offices in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru plus additional associate relationships in the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Panama and Puerto Rico.
“We continue our expansion in the region with these two new associate offices, with whom we have built a solid relationship serving mutual clients and have a proven record of success after working together for several years,” Alex Guillamont, who leads the Latin America and Caribbean practice at Kennedys from the firm’s regional hub in Miami, said in a statement.
Kennedys inaugurated its Miami office in 2010.
The latest associations in Latin America come on the heels of Kennedys’ March opening of an office in Delaware, its eighth office in the U.S. and 43rd globally. Additional office openings around the world in recent years respond to the evolving hybrid work preferences of lawyers and clients, the firm said.
“We do not waver from our strategic commitment to be where our clients are,” Nick Thomas, senior partner for Kennedys, said in a statement. “Our new associations in Bolivia and Ecuador strengthen our presence across Latin America and allow us to provide our clients with a more complete and global service.”
The Bolivian firm, López del Solar, has a staff of 15 and counts many of the region’s insurance and reinsurance companies as clients, Kennedys said. It provides corporate law, risk management and claims handling services, and acts as a strategic partner to many insurers’ claims departments.
Firm leader Alfonso López del Solar, who is an insurance specialist, said Bolivia has a growing insurance market.
The Ecuadorian firm, Tobar ZVS, has eight partners and 30 lawyers working across several corporate areas. Kennedys said the firm offers the full range of insurance services, including following major disasters in Ecuador and other countries in Latin America, and that it also has experience in corporate services, such as M&A with insurance companies.
Tobar ZVS managing partner Bernardo Tobar said that forming an association with Kennedys strengthens the firm’s insurance practice and its ability to service its international client base.
