Big Law in Latin America and Spain : Globalization and Adjustments in the Provision of High-End Legal Services

This book, part of the Stanford Law School research project on the future of the legal profession, thoroughly examines the future of “big law,” defined as the large and mid-size multiservice highly specialized law firms that provide sophisticated, complex and generally costly legal work to multinationals, large and mid-size domestic corporations, and other business clients. By systematically gathering, assessing, and analyzing the best available quantitative and qualitative data on the first tier of the corporate legal services market of Latin America and Spain, and interviewing a broadly representative sample of corporate legal officers, law firm partners, and other stakeholders in each of the countries covered, this book provides a nuanced perspective on changes in “big law” during the last two decades until the present. It also explores the factors that are driving these changes, and the implications for the future of legal profession, legal education and its relationship with the corporate sector and society in general. Acknowledgments 5 Contents 6 List of Figures 9 List of Tables 10 Part I: Introduction 13 Chapter 1: Corporate Lawyers and Multinational Corporations in Latin America and Spain: 1990–2015 14 Legal Profession: Growth and Diversification 17 The Growth of Multiservice Business Law Firms 23 Internationalization of Business Lawyering in Latin America and Beyond 28 References 33 Part II: Big Law in Latin America and Spain 35 Chapter 2: Law Firms in Argentina: Challenges and Responses to a Crisis 36 Introduction 36 Decades of Change in Argentina 37 The Nineties: Democratic Consolidation and Economic Openness 37 The 2001 Crisis 38 The Kirchner Administrations 39 Large Law Firms in the Nineties 41 Specialization Fields and Internal Organization 43 The Impact on the Profession in General 44 Facing the Crisis 45 Law Firms Under the Kirchner Administrations 47 Structure of the Firms 47 Specialization Fields 49 Professionals in Business Firms 50 Relations with the State 53 Compensation and Fees 54 Internal Organization 56 Concluding Remarks 61 Appendix 62 References 67 Chapter 3: Big Law in Brazil: Rise and Current Challenges 72 Introduction 72 A Growing Number of Lawyers 73 The Closed World of the Legal Profession in Brazil 73 The Limited Presence of Foreign Lawyers 74 The Big Law Segment in Brazil 75 The Role of the Industrialization and Modernization of Brazil on the Rise of Big Law 76 The Golden Years and Their Impact on Big Law in Brazil 78 A Closer Look at the Features and Challenges of Big Law 80 Turning Point of the Nineties 80 Mass Litigation 81 Current Status: Fragmentation 82 Specialized Firms and Boutiques 83 Individual Professionals 84 In-House Legal Team 86 Foreign Firms 86 Lateral Hiring and Spin-Offs 87 Conclusion: Current Challenges and Possible Trends 88 References 89 Chapter 4: Big Law in Chile: A Glance at the Law Firms 91 Introduction 91 Individual and Associative Practice, a Century Apart 92 1905 92 Supply and Demand for Legal Services 92 The Lawyers’ Practice 93 2013 94 The Supply of Legal Services 94 The Demand for Legal Services 95 The Law Firm as an Associative Practice 97 Chilean Law Firms: A Radiography 99 Some Methodological Questions 99 Law Firms, Lawyers, Clients and Competitors 100 Law Firms 100 Lawyers 109 Clients 113 A Conclusion: Law Firms and the Big Law Future in Chile 115 Appendix 1 119 Appendix 2 121 References 126 Chapter 5: Big Law in Central America, Panama and the Dominican Republic: Growth Strategies in Small Economies 130 Introduction 131 Costa Rica 134 El Salvador 140 Guatemala 143 Honduras 146 Nicaragua 148 Panama 150 Dominican Republic 155 Conclusion: The Regional Outlook 157 References 160 Chapter 6: The Rise of Big Law in Colombia 161 Introduction 161 The Legal Profession in Colombia 163 Mapping Big Law in Colombia: The Big Five 168 The Early 1990s: The Economic Opening 172 Local and Global Legal Education 176 Challenges and Opportunities: Mergers, International Law Firms, and Pro Bono Work 178 Chapter 7: Global and Traditional: A Profile of Corporate Lawyers in Mexico 183 Introduction 183 A Profile of Lawyers in Mexico 184 Forming Lawyers in Mexico 184 Lawyers in México (2004–2014) 187 The Regulation of the Legal Profession in Mexico 188 Globalization and the Legal Profession in Mexico 190 The Free Trade Agreement and the Globalization of the Mexican Lawyer 191 The New Normative Configuration of Law in Mexico 193 Size and Organization of Law Firms in Mexico 194 Specialization and Stratification in the Legal Services Market 196 Conclusion 196 References 200 Chapter 8: Lawyers and Globalization in Peru (1990–2014): Challenges in the Shadows 202 Introduction 202 The Legal Profession and Globalization as a Complex and Intricate Process 203 Legal Culture and Legal Practice as Precursors of Globalization 204 Legal Culture and the Authoritarian Globalization of the 1990s 206 The Legal Labor Market in a Context of Democratization 210 The Legal Profession: Economic Growth and the Expansion of the Legal Market 211 Variables and Actors in a Stratified Legal Context 215 A Professional Context with Asymmetries and Inequality 215 Actors of the Legal Field 217 Globalized Lawyers: Features and Nuances 217 The Globalization of Lawyers “From Below” 222 The Increased Demand and Specialization Requirements in a Context of Economic Growth 223 The Organization of Law Firms in a Globalized Context 228 The Case of Boutique Firms 230 3. The Legal Practice in a Globalized World and the Public Interest 231 Globalization and the Public Meaning of the Legal Profession 231 Big Law Firms Face Corruption: Globalization in the shadows 233 Conclusion 235 References 239 Websites 241 Interviews 243 Chapter 9: Big Law in Spain: A Dynamic Ecosystem 245 Business Law and Lawyers in Spain 245 The World of Spanish Big Law 249 The Old Boys’ Club and the Birth of Big Law 257 The Old Boy’s Club 258 On the Road to Democracy 262 The Transformation (1982–1996) 264 From the Golden Years (1996–2008) to the Crisis (2009–2014) 268 Crisis and Challenges 276 Conclusion 281 Appendix 1: Total number of lawyers in Spain 1998–2013 282 Appendix 2: Business Generated by the Largest Law Firms in Continental Europe 283 References 288 Books, Articles and Papers 288 Case Studies 289 Other References 289 Chapter 10: Big Law in Venezuela: From Globalization to Revolution 290 Lawyering, Oil and Politics in Contemporary Venezuela 290 The Impact of the Oil Opening on Venezuelan Business Lawyers 298 Big Law and the Political Maneuvering of the Venezuelan Oil Sector 298 The Arrival of the Foreign Competitors, and the “Americanization” of the Local Law Firms 302 Big Law During the Chavista Revolution 306 “Radioactive” Lawyers and the Boom of the New Players 309 The Rise of International Arbitration and Labor Law 311 The Globalization of Venezuelan Lawyers 313 Split-ups, Mergers and Hiring Practices 313 Subsidiaries, Networks, “Best Friends” and Lawyers Without Borders 315 Conclusion 318 References 321 Part III: The Bigger Picture 323 Chapter 11: Reconstructing Big Law: The Big Picture 324 References 329 Chapter 12: Big Law Today and Tomorrow 331 Reference 340 Part IV: Looking Ahead 341 Chapter 13: Conclusion 342 References 347 Index 348 Front Matter ....Pages i-xv Front Matter ....Pages 1-1 Corporate Lawyers and Multinational Corporations in Latin America and Spain: 1990–2015 (Manuel Gómez, Rogelio Pérez-Perdomo)....Pages 3-23 Front Matter ....Pages 25-25 Law Firms in Argentina: Challenges and Responses to a Crisis (Maria Inés Bergoglio)....Pages 27-62 Big Law in Brazil: Rise and Current Challenges (Mariana Conti Craveiro, Manuel Gómez)....Pages 63-81 Big Law in Chile: A Glance at the Law Firms (Iñigo de la Maza Gazmuri, Rafael Mery Nieto, Juan Enrique Vargas Viancos)....Pages 83-121 Big Law in Central America, Panama and the Dominican Republic: Growth Strategies in Small Economies (Carlos Taboada, Manuel Gómez)....Pages 123-153 The Rise of Big Law in Colombia (Everaldo Lamprea, Mariana Díaz Chalela)....Pages 155-176 Global and Traditional: A Profile of Corporate Lawyers in Mexico (Rodrigo Meneses-Reyes, José Antonio Caballero)....Pages 177-195 Lawyers and Globalization in Peru (1990–2014): Challenges in the Shadows (Gorki Gonzales Mantilla)....Pages 197-239 Big Law in Spain: A Dynamic Ecosystem (Marisa Méndez Sordo)....Pages 241-285 Big Law in Venezuela: From Globalization to Revolution (Manuel Gómez, Rogelio Pérez-Perdomo)....Pages 287-319 Front Matter ....Pages 321-321 Reconstructing Big Law: The Big Picture (Deborah R. Hensler)....Pages 323-329 Big Law Today and Tomorrow (Lawrence M. Friedman)....Pages 331-340 Front Matter ....Pages 341-341 Conclusion (Manuel Gómez, Rogelio Pérez-Perdomo)....Pages 343-348 Back Matter ....Pages 349-350 This volume, part of the Stanford Law School research project on the future of the legal profession, thoroughly examines the future of 'big law', defined as the large and mid-size multiservice highly specialised law firms that provide sophisticated, complex and generally costly legal work to multinationals, large and mid-size domestic corporations, and other business clients. By systematically gathering, assessing, and analysing the best available quantitative and qualitative data on the first tier of the corporate legal services market of Latin America and Spain, and interviewing a broadly representative sample of corporate legal officers, law firm partners, and other stakeholders in each of the countries covered, this book provides a nuanced perspective on changes in 'big law' during the last two decades until the present