‘Tax and labour reforms in Chile will provide more opportunities for law firms’

New Year’s Resolutions, a conversation with… Juan Francisco Gutierrez, co-chair, Philippi Prietocarrizosa & Uría

Chile in 2016

“Despite the overall economic outlook remaining challenging, with new regulations coming into effect which will generate plenty of legal work, the market is set to remain stable.”

The legal market in 2016

“In a market such as Chile’s, the key challenge for law firms is to simultaneously grow in the area of corporate work and be agile enough to respond to increasing client demands in other areas. For example, there is more demand of regulatory work linked to the government’s current aggressive enforcement in a number of fields, including environment, electricity, capital markets and competition. However, you can’t really do this kind of business if you don’t have strong teams within your law firm capable of challenging the regulators.
For 2016, we also predict an increase in work rising from the labour and tax reforms in the county – factors that have an impact on the capabilities of the law firm. The challenge therefore is to adapt, and meet the demand from the clients.”

Philippi Prietocarrizosa & Uría in 2016

“As the first Iberian American law firm, we not only face challenges in the countries where we operate so far but also across the region. That’s why we focus on working towards strengthening our common culture across the law firm, building up career plans for our lawyers, consolidating our core strengths and regional groups around sectors or industries. Most important of all, we are always striving to provide a best possible service for our clients.
2016 will bring more challenges and opportunities for our law firm. It will also be the year where we expand outside our home markets of Chile and Colombia, with Peru being definitely the first on the agenda. “