The new office will not practise local law but aims to support clients who operate across the region
McCarthy Tétrault will launch a Latin American office to better support clients who operate across the region, the firm has announced.
The Santiago, Chile office will strengthen the firm’s “ability to support clients on complex cross-border matters while continuing to partner with local counsel for jurisdiction-specific legal advice,” Karl Tabbakh, McCarthy’s national leader of markets and international business, told Canadian Lawyer on Monday.
Tabbakh said the new office will not practise local law in Chile or elsewhere in the region.
The firm has not yet chosen an exact location for the office, but it aims to finalize its plans in the coming weeks.
Tabbakh compared the planned Santiago outpost to McCarthy’s offices in New York City and London, which he described as representative offices with small teams. Shawn Doyle, who was previously part of the firm’s Vancouver team but has been based in Santiago for the past three years, has been appointed managing partner of the office.
McCarthy selected Santiago as the base for its Latin American outpost due to its status as a “leading regional hub for many of the sectors most important to our clients, including mining, critical minerals, infrastructure, power and energy,” Tabbakh explained.
For more than five years, the firm has advised clients with operations across Latin America and has worked with local firms, particularly through its global metals and mining practice. Tabbakh said the firm established a presence in the region via cross-border transactions, disputes, and strategic advisory work.
A physical office would formalize that presence, Tabbakh said.
“As client activity and investment flows in Latin America continue to grow, a permanent office provides a stronger platform to support clients operating across borders and deepens relationships throughout the region,” he added.
Tabbakh said the development reflects “the increasingly international nature of clients’ businesses and legal needs.” Many of the firm’s clients require advisers who can coordinate matters that span multiple jurisdictions, industries, and markets.
In a press release, McCarthy noted that Latin America is a “natural link” for Latin America-based resources companies and issuers looking to access Canadian capital markets.
“Our clients continue to see significant opportunities across the region, but they also face increasingly complex legal, commercial and geopolitical considerations,” Doyle said in a statement.
