Interview to Pedro Freyre | Chair of Akerman’s International Practice

The growth of the legal market in Latin America [3]

How is developing the legal market in Miami and in New York?

I think that the growth of the legal market in Miami is really driven by the fact that Miami has always been considered as the capital of Latin America but, until now, this was more like a dream than a reality. However, today we can see, for example, that South Florida is the headquarters of 200 US multinationals that give services to Latin America. You also have the growth of Latin American investors in the Real Estate market or Fuel industry that has made more and more relevant the legal services in Miami. So, these issues along with others as the mini boom of Cuba in the past 2 years have made the legal market in Miami grow a lot.

Does Akerman usually work with Latin American firms? What is the selection criteria?

Yes, we do work with Latin American and Spanish firms and, in terms of the criteria followed for selecting one, the first issue we always consider is how do you best fix the needs of the client, this is, who can provide the service to the client in the best way. We belong to a series of networks. The main one is Lex Mundi, which is an excellent firm, and we also belong to Inter Law and Macro. And, of course according to the personal relationship that we have built over the years, we also belong to Chambers.

And, in terms of Spain, we do have excellent working relationships with all the significant Spanish legal firms.

What are the main industries seeking to make investments from EEUU to Latin America?

I think, for example, electronic and telecommunicating companies such as Google, eBay or Airbnb are seeking for new market opportunities in Latin America. You also find Oil companies or Hotel companies, more focused on traditional businesses, that are very interested in investing in Latin America. Lastly, you have, of course, Infrastructure companies and trade transactions and financial transactions made between US and Latin America.

What do you like most and least about the legal profession in Spain?

I think that when relating with Spanish firms, I have always been impressed by the level of professionalism of Spanish trainees. I think they function at the same level that US trainees and I have seen that development growing.

I enjoy working with Spanish lawyers, I worked for a Spanish Company for 10 years and lived there for a short time. I can tell from my experience that the human aspect of my relationships was exceptional. Whenever you develop the relationship with the Spanish lawyer you know you can count on them.

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