Cross-Cultural Relationship Building

According to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, U.S. goods and services trade with Central and South America, Mexico, and the Caribbean totaled 1.8 trillion in 2014. Recognizing that Latin America represents one of the largest developing markets in the world, Kilpatrick Townsend integrated 10 teams across seven U.S. offices to help clients — both U.S.- and non-U.S.-based clients with interests in Latin America, as well as Latin American clients doing business in the U.S. — explore emerging opportunities.

Our Latin America Team brings the knowledge and skills necessary to support a myriad of legal and business endeavors, including patent and trademark filings and opposition/cancellation proceedings; tax; special investigations and white collar crime; cybersecurity and data privacy; M&As; along with corporate counseling and formation, cross-border transactions, licensing, franchising and distribution, and FDA regulation. Our team includes members who speak fluent Spanish and Portuguese, and recognizes the importance of understanding diverse Latin American cultures and local business environments. Moreover, not having a physical office in Latin America allows us to build strong relationships with local counsel and consulting firms, who seek a collaborative partner rather than a competitive opponent.

To best leverage our clients’ legal interests, the Latin America Team also actively presents, sponsors, and attends conferences and events hosted and/or broadcasted in the U.S. and Latin America. Our proactive involvement allows us to not only spotlight and promote our legal services, but also further build and strengthen our Latin American relationships. For example, through our participation in the Inter-American Association of Intellectual Property (ASIPI), we strengthened our existing relationship with one of our trusted local Mexican law firms, who referred its client, Chocolate Ibarra, to us for corporate and tax counsel on potentially forming a U.S. subsidiary to further its expansion into the U.S. Consequently, we provided advice on various corporate structuring and tax consequences, as well as on several employment matters, to help facilitate an informed decision.