Kennedys incorporates Chilean firm Peralta & Gutiérrez
Kennedys Law has boosted its offering in Chile by welcoming Chilean firm Peralta & Gutiérrez into its Santiago office, consolidating its local advisory and litigation teams.
Headed by Ricardo Peralta (pictured, left) and José Antonio Gutiérrez (pictured, below), who join Kennedys as of counsel and partner respectively, the team comprises two lawyers, senior associate Jorge Canales and junior associate Salvador Gutiérrez, in addition to 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 Kennedys’ 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.
The 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 Gutiérrez is a Chilean lawyer with 37 years’ 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 Peralta has been 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 US-based international carrier.
Both lawyers are accredited arbitrators of the Santiago Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Arbitration.
Kennedys Law has 2,000 staff worldwide, in 37 offices, and is present in Latin America in Bogotá, Buenos Aires, Lima, Mexico City, Santiago and São Paulo, and has a network of associate offices, in Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Panama, Puerto Rico and Rio de Janeiro.
