Kennedys increases footprint in Chile with six-strong team

We are very pleased to announce that we have boosted our offering in Chile by welcoming Chilean law firm Peralta & Gutiérrez into our Santiago office. The move consolidates our leading advisory and litigation teams locally.

Headed by Ricardo Peralta and José Antonio Gutierrez, who join us as Of Counsel and Partner respectively, the team comprises two lawyers (Jorge Canales, Senior Associate and Salvador Gutiérrez, Junior Associate) and two support staff. 

The team acts for Chile’s largest insurers and reinsurers, as well as international insurers, reinsurers and corporates. Their arrival will complement our existing team in Santiago, which specialises in litigation and arbitration, with a particular focus on insurance claims and coverage advice; and takes the total headcount of the office to 18.

Our Santiago-based office regularly handles cases involving directors’ and officers’ liability, errors and omissions, life and health, property and public liability claims. It also provides e-commerce and consumer law, real estate and corporate finance advice.

José Antonio is a Chilean lawyer with 37 years of experience specialising in insurance law, corporate law, arbitration and contractual issues. He is also chairman of the legal committee for general insurance at the Insurance Companies Association of Chile. In previous roles, he was counsel for the Insurance Commission, as well as a lecturer on various postgraduate courses run by the Insurance Companies Association of Chile.

Ricardo, a local eminence in insurance and commercial arbitration for the last 50 years, is vice-president of the self-regulation committee for the Insurance Companies Association of Chile, and has served as Board member for a major American international carrier.

Both José Antonio and Ricardo are accredited arbitrators of the Santiago Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Arbitration.

Alex Guillamont, Head of our Latin America and the Caribbean practice, says: “We have worked with José Antonio and Ricardo for some time and they have proven that their clients are being advised by an excellent team of specialists. Our partners Mario Diemoz (advisory) Rado Depolo (corporate) and Gian Carlo Lorenzini (litigation) will be complemented by both José Antonio and Ricardo, and their team, which will prove hugely beneficial to our clients.”

Mario Diemoz, a partner in our Santiago office, adds: “Chile has one of the most developed insurance markets in Latin America and, with the arrival of José Antonio, Ricardo and team, we are strengthening our capabilities to continue providing our clients with the local and international legal advice that they have come to expect from us since becoming part of Kennedys’ global network in 2016.”

In March, we extended our footprint to ten territories in Latin America and the Caribbean, by forming three associations in the Dominican Republic, Guatemala and Panama, and we now have the largest reach of any insurance law firm for the region. In doing so, we became the first international law firm to establish a presence in these jurisdictions – complementing our existing network in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Puerto Rico and our regional hub in Miami, which opened in 2010.

This latest growth follows our announcement on Monday noting the arrival of a 12-strong market-leading team from Norton Rose Fulbright which strengthened our marine and energy capabilities; and last month’s addition of Maurice Pesso and Greg Steinberg as partners to our New Jersey and New York offices, respectively, who have strengthened our global financial lines practice.