DAC forms alliance with Chilean firm

Earlier this month, DAC pledged to put Latin ­America at the heart of its strategy. This move comes after the firm signed a formal association with São Paolo boutique insurance outfit JBO Advocacia (The Lawyer, 6 September).

DAC senior partner Danny Gowan said: “If this works well we’ll look to make it a DAC office. We’ll be ­sending people out from time to time, but our strategy is to find local lawyers who know the local market.

“It’s a strategy that’s been successful in Mexico and Madrid.”

Seguros Lex, formed by a group of insurance lawyers, is Chile’s first specialist insurance law firm. Gowan said DAC already had a relationship with Seguros Lex lawyers.

The Santiago-based firm is led by Sergio Arellano Iturriaga, a former chairman of the Insurance Law Association of Chile.

Gowan said the country’s economy was forecast to grow by 8 per cent in the next year, so its insurance sector is booming.

The firm is looking for further openings across Latin America, said Gowan, adding: “Colombia’s ­somewhere we’re keeping an eye on.”