ALLY: New Regional Initiative Seeks to Promote LGBTQ+ Inclusion and Visibility in the Latin American Legal Sector

A new regional organisation aimed at promoting inclusion policies and greater LGBTQ+ visibility within the Latin American legal sector was introduced during the International Bar Association’s (IBA) Latin American regional forum, held in Punta del Este in March 2026. Under the name ALLY, the initiative seeks to address the low representation, limited visibility and lack of effective diversity policies within the regional legal market, while also providing law firms and legal professionals with tools to promote meaningful inclusion.

The low representation of LGBTQ+ professionals in law firms and corporate legal departments continues to be one of the outstanding gaps within the Latin American legal sector. Although many firms and companies have adopted diversity and inclusion discourse and policies in recent years, industry specialists warn that barriers related to retention, promotion and access to leadership positions for LGBTQ+ professionals continue to persist, particularly within law firms.

ALLY emerged from an initiative that LGBTQ+ professionals had been developing through various IBA meetings, creating spaces for discussion and debate. Its formal launch took place during the event "Beyond the Closet: Policies and Best Practices for Inclusion in the Workplace," which brought together representatives from law firms, companies and organisations linked to diversity and inclusion.

During the event, representatives from firms such as Mattos Filho (Brazil) and Galicia (Mexico), both recognised for their good practices in this area, shared their experiences, alongside representatives from companies such as Coca-Cola FEMSA.

The organisation was created with a clear objective: moving from discourse to the implementation of concrete measures. ALLY also aims to bring together LGBTQ+ professionals willing to actively collaborate so that law firms and companies can go a step further in terms of inclusion, promoting truly welcoming environments and greater leadership opportunities for new generations of professionals.

According to its founders, the initiative seeks to raise awareness and support LGBTQ+ professionals so they can develop professionally while being themselves, without their sexual orientation or gender identity becoming an obstacle or limiting factor in their careers.

ALLY is promoted by Jorge Bárcenas, Director of Positioning and Business Development at Benites, Vargas & Ugaz (BVU) in Peru; Ignacio Meggiolaro, partner at Martínez de Hoz & Rueda (MHR) in Argentina; and Jaime Chávez Alor, Co-Executive Director of the Cyrus R. Vance Center for International Justice in New York.

The organisation aims to function as a platform connecting law firms, legal departments and other sector stakeholders, with a focus on creating safe spaces, promoting visible leadership and developing better workplace practices. In this regard, ALLY has planned various activities and initiatives that it will be rolling out throughout the year.

As part of its first actions, the organisation launched a regional survey on diversity and inclusion within the Latin American legal sector, targeting professionals from different countries in order to identify gaps and specific needs. In addition, based on the results, ALLY is coordinating and preparing a best practices guide intended to serve as a reference for law firms and legal departments across the region.

Its promoters explain that the goal is for LGBTQ+ inclusion to stop depending on isolated initiatives and instead become a sustained policy within the Latin American legal business environment.