Pérez-llorca and Gómez-Pinzón agree historic merger to enter Colombian market

Pérez-llorca merges with Gómez-Pinzón, forming a powerhouse in Colombia and Latin America

Spanish law firm Pérez-Llorca has announced a landmark merger with Colombian firm Gómez-Pinzón, marking the first merger between two leading legal practices from the Iberian Peninsula and Colombia. This deal represents a significant step in Pérez-Llorca’s ongoing expansion across Latin America.

Gómez-Pinzón will bring its 120-strong team from Bogotá and Medellín into the fold, with all its partners set to become Pérez-Llorca partners. This strategic union will give Pérez-Llorca an established on-the-ground presence in Colombia, enabling it to provide legal services related to investments flowing into the country from the US, Europe, Mexico, Asia, and other South American markets. The merger will also strengthen the combined firm’s capacity in transactional matters, financing, and transnational litigation.

The merger is expected to be finalised within weeks, pending approval by the governing bodies of both firms.

Pedro Pérez-Llorca, senior partner of the Spanish firm, said the merger would allow Pérez-Llorca to compete for leadership in Colombia and reinforce its position in Latin America. He emphasised the aim to create a firm that is the natural choice for major clients handling complex transactions, litigation, and regulatory challenges. “Together with Gómez-Pinzón, we intend to make a positive contribution to the development of the Colombian legal market,” he added.

Mauricio Piñeros, senior partner at Gómez-Pinzón, welcomed the merger, highlighting the synergy between Pérez-Llorca’s international experience and Gómez-Pinzón’s deep knowledge of the local market. He noted the firm’s ability to better support clients on cross-border matters and provide international career opportunities for its lawyers. Piñeros called the deal “a significant milestone in the evolution of legal practice in the region.”

This merger follows Pérez-Llorca’s recent growth initiatives, including last year’s merger with Mexican firm González Calvillo, which added around 100 lawyers across offices in Mexico City and Monterrey. The Spanish firm has also expanded its footprint with an office in Lisbon at the end of 2023, and bolstered its presence in London, New York, Brussels, and Singapore. These moves helped raise Pérez-Llorca’s global turnover by one-third in 2024, reaching €165.4 million.

Iván Delgado, Pérez-Llorca’s international executive partner, said the merger with Gómez-Pinzón furthers the firm’s ambition to build a solid regional model offering distinctive value in the Iberian and Latin American markets, with a focus on South America. He stressed that both firms share values, ambition, and vision, and aspire to become the local firm of choice for international investors in the region.

Other international firms have also recently expanded into Latin America. In March, Womble Bond Dickinson formed an alliance with Brazilian firm Schmidt Valois Miranda Ferreira & Agel. In July last year, Pérez-Llorca’s Spanish rival Garrigues merged with Mexican firm Sánchez Devanny.

This merger between Pérez-Llorca and Gómez-Pinzón underscores the growing importance of Latin America within the global legal market and highlights the trend of strategic regional consolidations aimed at better serving increasingly globalised client needs.