Chambers Latin America 2027: Who Leads the Region

Chambers & Partners released the Chambers Latin America 2027 guide on 20 August, covering 19 jurisdictions across Latin America. A review of the new rankings in several major transactional practices reveals a market where leading domestic independent firms continue to occupy a substantial share of the highest positions, while Ibero-American and international platforms are gaining greater visibility in selected markets and practice areas.

Corporate/M&A: domestic firms retain a powerful position

In Argentina, Corporate/M&A Band 1 comprises Beccar Varela, Bruchou & Funes de Rioja, Mitrani Caballero and Marval O’Farrell Mairal. Band 2 includes Allende & Brea, Baker McKenzie, Bomchil and Tavarone Rovelli Salim Miani, while Band 3 features Martinez de Hoz & Rueda, Naveira, Truffat, Martínez, Ferrari & Mallo Abogados, Nicholson y Cano Abogados and Salaverri, Burgio & Wetzler Malbrán.

Chile operates a separate Corporate/M&A: The Elite ranking. Barros & Errázuriz, Carey and Claro & Cía occupy Band 1; Bofill Mir, Cariola Díez Pérez-Cotapos and Philippi Prietocarrizosa Ferrero DU & Uría (PPU) are in Band 2; and CMS Carey & Allende, Cuatrecasas, Garrigues, Morales & Besa and Prieto Abogados make up Band 3.

Chile’s separate Corporate/M&A: Highly Regarded ranking substantially broadens the field. It includes Baker McKenzie Chile, Barros, Silva, Varela & Vigil, CEPD Abogados, DLA Piper Chile and Guerrero Olivos in Band 1; ACU Abogados, Larrain y Asociados and NLD Abogados in Band 2; and firms including Arteaga | Gorziglia, Lembeye Abogados, Russi & Eguiguren | Quadrant and Urenda, Rencoret, Orrego & Dörr in Band 3.

In Colombia, Corporate/M&A Band 1 comprises Brigard Urrutia, Martínez Quintero Mendoza González Laguado & De La Rosa, Pérez-Llorca, PPU and Posse Herrera Ruiz. Baker McKenzie and Dentons Cardenas & Cardenas are ranked Band 2, while Cuatrecasas, Garrigues and Lloreda Camacho & Co occupy Band 3. Pérez-Llorca’s promotion to Band 1 is now reflected in Chambers’ public ranking table.

In Mexico, Corporate/M&A: The Elite has five Band 1 firms: Creel, García-Cuéllar, Aiza y Enríquez; Galicia Abogados; Mijares, Angoitia, Cortés y Fuentes; Nader Hayaux & Goebel; and Ritch Mueller. Band 2 comprises Baker McKenzie, Greenberg Traurig, Pérez-Llorca, Santamarina y Steta, Von Wobeser y Sierra and White & Case.

Mexico also has a separate Corporate/M&A: Highly Regarded category, reflecting the depth of its corporate market. Firms appearing there include Bufete Robles Miaja, Creel Abogados, Kavanagh Gorozpe and Santos Elizondo, among others.

In Peru, the top Corporate/M&A band consists of Payet, Rey, Cauvi, Pérez; Pérez-Llorca; Rebaza, Alcázar & De Las Casas; and RODRIGO. Band 2 includes Cuatrecasas, Echecopar, Garrigues, Hernández & Cía., Muñiz, Olaya, Meléndez, Castro, Ono & Herrera and PPU.

Across these selected rankings, Argentina, Chile and Mexico continue to show particularly strong domestic-firm representation at the top of Corporate/M&A, while Colombia and Peru display a greater mix of domestic firms and Ibero-American platforms, notably following Pérez-Llorca’s regional expansion.

Banking & Finance: a stronger cross-border presence

Banking & Finance produces a different picture. In Argentina, Bruchou & Funes de Rioja is the sole Band 1 firm. Band 2 includes Beccar Varela, Martinez de Hoz & Rueda, Salaverri, Burgio & Wetzler Malbrán, Tavarone Rovelli Salim Miani and Marval O’Farrell Mairal, while Allende & Brea, Bomchil, DLA Piper Argentina and TCA Tanoira Cassagne appear in Band 3.

In Chile, Band 1 consists of Carey, Claro & Cía, Garrigues and Morales & Besa. Barros & Errázuriz is Band 2, while Cariola Díez Pérez-Cotapos, Guerrero Olivos, Larrain y Asociados and PPU are Band 3.

In Colombia, Brigard Urrutia, Garrigues and Pérez-Llorca make up Band 1. Band 2 comprises Cuatrecasas, Dentons Cardenas & Cardenas, PPU and Posse Herrera Ruiz, while Baker McKenzie, Holland & Knight and Martínez Quintero Mendoza González Laguado & De La Rosa appear in Band 3.

Mexico has one of the broadest Band 1 groups in the markets reviewed: Creel, Galicia, Nader Hayaux Goebel, Ritch Mueller and White & Case. Greenberg Traurig and Mijares, Angoitia, Cortés y Fuentes are Band 2, while Band 3 includes Bufete Robles Miaja, Jones Day, Kuri Breña, Sánchez Ugarte y Aznar, Pérez-Llorca and Santamarina y Steta, among other ranked firms.

In Peru, Echecopar, Garrigues, Pérez-Llorca and RODRIGO occupy Band 1. Payet, Rey, Cauvi, Pérez and Rebaza, Alcázar & De Las Casas are Band 2, while CMS Grau, PPU and Rubio Leguía Normand are ranked in Band 3.

The rankings underline Garrigues’ regional position in Banking & Finance, with Band 1 rankings in Chile, Colombia and Peru. Pérez-Llorca is Band 1 in Colombia and Peru and Band 3 in Mexico. This differs from Corporate/M&A, where the highest bands in Argentina, Chile and Mexico remain more heavily populated by firms originating in those markets.

Capital Markets adds another layer

Adding Capital Markets to the analysis identifies another group of leading firms. In Chile, Barros & Errázuriz, Carey, Claro & Cía and Ried Fabres are Band 1. Morales & Besa and Prieto Abogados occupy Band 2, while Álamos, Álvarez & Aldunate, Alessandri, Cariola Díez Pérez-Cotapos, EDN Abogados, Garrigues and PPU are in Band 3.

In Colombia, only two firms occupy Capital Markets Band 1: Brigard Urrutia and Pérez-Llorca. PPU and Ustáriz & Abogados Estudio Jurídico are Band 2, while Baker McKenzie, Garrigues and Posse Herrera Ruiz sit in Band 3.

In Mexico, Capital Markets Band 1 is made up of Creel, Galicia, Mijares, Nader Hayaux Goebel and Ritch Mueller — exactly the same five firms occupying Band 1 of Corporate/M&A: The Elite. Bufete Robles Miaja, Greenberg Traurig and White & Case are Band 2, while Actio Legal Partners, Basila Abogados, Holland & Knight, Kuri Breña, Pérez-Llorca and Santamarina y Steta appear in Band 3.

In Peru, Echecopar, Garrigues, Payet, Rey, Cauvi, Pérez and Pérez-Llorca form Capital Markets Band 1. Rebaza, Alcázar & De Las Casas is Band 2, with Cuatrecasas, Hernández & Cía. and RODRIGO in Band 3.

International Counsel: leadership changes by practice

The International Counsel rankings demonstrate that there is no single hierarchy among the major international firms.

In Corporate/M&A, Band 1 consists of Cleary Gottlieb, Simpson Thacher, Skadden and Sullivan & Cromwell. Clifford Chance, Debevoise & Plimpton and Latham & Watkins are Band 2, while Greenberg Traurig and Milbank are among the firms appearing in Band 3.

In Banking & Finance, the top tier changes to A&O Shearman, Cleary Gottlieb, Skadden and White & Case. Davis Polk, Mayer Brown and Milbank occupy Band 2; Baker McKenzie, Holland & Knight and Simpson Thacher are Band 3. Firms further down the ranking include Clifford Chance, Latham & Watkins, Linklaters, Norton Rose Fulbright and Sullivan & Cromwell, among others.

Capital Markets produces another configuration. Cleary Gottlieb, Davis Polk and Simpson Thacher are Band 1; Milbank and White & Case are Band 2; and A&O Shearman, Baker McKenzie, Clifford Chance and Paul Hastings are in Band 3. Band 4 includes Arnold & Porter, Latham & Watkins, Linklaters, Skadden, Sullivan & Cromwell and Winston Taylor.

The comparison is revealing: Cleary Gottlieb is the only firm occupying Band 1 across all three International Counsel categories reviewed — Corporate/M&A, Banking & Finance and Capital Markets. Skadden is Band 1 in Corporate/M&A and Banking & Finance but Band 4 in Capital Markets; Simpson Thacher is Band 1 in Corporate/M&A and Capital Markets but Band 3 in Banking & Finance; and White & Case is Band 1 in Banking & Finance and Band 2 in Capital Markets.

A deeper market than Band 1 alone suggests

One conclusion from the 2027 rankings is that focusing exclusively on Band 1 gives an incomplete picture. Firms including Baker McKenzie, Cuatrecasas, Dentons, DLA Piper, Greenberg Traurig, Holland & Knight, PPU, Posse Herrera Ruiz, Von Wobeser y Sierra, CMS, Guerrero Olivos, Hernández & Cía., Prieto Abogados, Rubio Leguía Normand, Santamarina y Steta and Tavarone Rovelli Salim Miani, among many others, sit immediately below the top tier in important markets or practices.

Certain firms also demonstrate a particularly visible ability to achieve high rankings across more than one jurisdiction. Garrigues stands out in Banking & Finance and Capital Markets across several Andean markets and Chile; Pérez-Llorca has achieved top-tier positions in Colombia and Peru while retaining meaningful rankings in Mexico; PPU remains a recurring presence across Chile, Colombia and Peru; and global firms such as Baker McKenzie, White & Case, Greenberg Traurig, Holland & Knight, DLA Piper and Cuatrecasas appear at different levels across multiple markets.

The result is not a regional legal market dominated by a single law-firm model. The rankings reviewed show the coexistence of leading national independents, Ibero-American platforms, multinational networks and major US or global firms. Leadership remains strongly dependent on both jurisdiction and practice area.

That is perhaps the clearest takeaway from Chambers Latin America 2027: assessing the region’s legal elite increasingly requires looking beyond who occupies Band 1 and examining how many markets a firm can compete in, which practices it leads, and whether it can translate strength in one jurisdiction into credible positions elsewhere in Latin America.