Countries in LatAm your company operates in/ your role covers: Argentina, Bolivia, Brasil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, México, Nicaragua, Panamá, Perú, Rep Dominicana, Uruguay.

What are the most significant cases and/or transactions in the LatAm region that you or your legal team has recently been involved in? 

Amongst others, the acquisition of K2 in Colombia (provider of environmental consulting and monitoring and water and power engineering), several litigation and regulatory issues in Costa Rica and start-up of business in Mexico both related to the automotive inspection services.

What do you predict to be the biggest change to the LatAm legal market, over the next few years? 

One of the biggest changes to come will be linked to digitalisation in the widest sense, including litigation before courts. This will face challenges in terms of access (e.g. citizens) and mindset. Another driver of change, currently live, is the consolidation of the market through local firms becoming part of regional or global networks.

What are your organisations plans in the LATAM region over the next 12 months and how will your legal expertise help to achieve these plans?

Latin America is a region representing 11% of the Group revenues (2021) with over 5.800 people employed locally. It is therefore a very relevant market for Applus+. The main drivers for the short term will be consolidation of our strong position in the markets we are already present and develop & expand to other business areas, in line with our Strategic Plan (eg. renewables is a key market, certain projects for the automotive inspection business too). The team working for the region (including an in-house at HQ plus 8 local in-house lawyers based in Chile, Colombia, Argentina, Brasil, Costa Rica) work closely with the business teams to support growth whilst managing risks