Formed in August 2014, Berkeley LatAm is a joint venture between Berkeley Law, the leading London-based boutique law firm specialising in wealth advice for HNWI in the UK and overseas, and Colin Maltby, a UK qualified lawyer and private banker. Maltby discusses unique client needs and opportunities and threats in the LatAm wealth landscape
Based in Buenos Aires in Argentina and Montevideo in Uruguay, Berkeley LatAm advises South American and international high and ultra-high net worth individuals and families, their advisors, and the institutions who work for them, including their family offices.
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Berkeley LatAm specialises in succession planning, international investment structuring and commercial work for family offices.
Through a joint venture, Berkeley Law is the only UK firm to truly offer South America-based and international clients the relevant expertise and depth of resource they require, reinforced by a local presence.
Buenos Aires has a large UK ex-pat market, to a great extent linked to the polo set but also stemming from the historically close business and trade connections between Argentina and England. For example, the British built the Argentine railway network and stations. There are also many Argentines with interests in England, whether commercial or private.
Berkeley LatAm sees fantastic opportunities in one of the largest untapped markets for UK legal services in the world. The firm has identified a real need for a local presence in Latin America.
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By GlobalDataMost business is conducted on a face-to-face basis and by local-to-local cell phone dialogue. This may explain why only international corporate firms (principally those targeting M&A work, such as Clifford Chance and CMS Cameron McKenna in Brazil) have so far explored the continent in any meaningful way.
Berkeley LatAm is looking to target private clients in Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Peru and Uruguay. This geographical area represents an enormous catchment area. For example, it takes six hours to fly from Buenos Aires to Bogota; this is only slightly less distance than from the north to the south of Argentina.
Berkeley LatAm is also looking towards Brazil; however, market research to date suggests that Brazil still represents a difficult market to break into. It has historically been a "closed market" to external legal advisers and it is difficult to penetrate its business community. Sao Paolo and Rio do not overtly encourage international advisers working within the community.
It is generally acknowledged that Mexico is very tied to the US but advisers are witnessing a general move away from the US as the epicentre of planning for Mexican clients. This is mainly because of international regulation, which is perceived as only being beneficial to the US.
A lot of people in Latin America are beginning to understand the benefits of structuring trusts based on English law, which can be run out of many different jurisdictions. English law has a long history of jurisprudence going back to the Crusades, which fills clients with confidence, especially those with a cultural disinclination to divest themselves of their own assets.
Businesses in Latin America are traditionally privately owned unlike Europe and North America where many more businesses are listed or owned by institutional investors. The need for strategic governance and succession planning is paramount, especially considering that most civil law jurisdictions have forced-heirship legislation. The Trust, though a common law concept, has a recognised place in such jurisdictions.
In this market, advisory firms tend to be smaller than European firms. For example in Colombia there are often firms with just three to four partners yet they will advise very large commercial enterprises.
The largest firms in Buenos Aires have perhaps 300 fee earners in total, including partners. Often offices are in unbranded buildings unlike some of the goliath European and US law firms (with opulent, marble clad receptions, which can be intimidating to clients).
Berkeley LatAm’s business model mirrors that of Berkeley Law in London. The Mayfair-based boutique law firm, is relatively small in size (33 employees, 21 of whom are lawyers) provides market-leading client care and innovative legal and wealth advisory services.
Like Berkeley LatAm it is housed in a building with other companies, and has a personal approach to business. This model is a good cultural fit when doing business in Latin America.
Recently the Berkeley Law Group of Companies was acquired by leading legal services group Irwin Mitchell; however it will retain its independence in managing its private clients’ business, while benefitting from the resources, scope and general expertise of Mitchell from a corporate perspective which further enables the firm to target the international business interests of wealthy families in Latin America.
There are key behavioural trends of Latin American clients, which advisers need to note:
o Trust can be built very quickly if the right personality communicates with clients.
o Clients tend to want to do things very quickly. The Latin American business community is highly dynamic.
As an interesting cultural aside, Argentines were persuaded to essentially reject their Spanish roots around 100 or so years ago as the ruling elite wanted to embrace more French, European and Western traits.
That can still be seen in the culture, which currently is predominantly Italian in feel with a distinctly Parisian architectural influence in Buenos Aires.
A key threat to the development of the business would be a lack of fee earners (business developers in particular) physically present in the region as face to face contact is so important.
Another threat would be having the ability to resource the work cost-effectively. Latin America does not have tolerance for London fee rates, which are vastly in excess of the rates charged by the top local lawyers.
Work will either need to be done in a low cost centre in the UK or by fee earners physically relocated here. One of the main reasons of Berkeley Law joining forces with Irwin Mitchell Group was the ability to offer many legal and wealth advisory services at highly competitive prices.
Berkeley LatAm feels that meeting all these requirements will provide a huge potential for growth in the region.
