CMS has signed a cooperation agreement with Brazilian independent firm Focaccia, Amaral e Lamonica Advogados (FAS) to expand its coverage in Latin America.

São Paulo-based FAS has 11 partners and more than 120 professionals, covering a full range of services including M&A, tax, banking and corporate law. It is also active in sectors with cross-border advisory and transaction work opportunities with CMS, including renewables, infrastructure, technology, consumer products, life sciences and healthcare, manufacturing, automotive and agribusiness.

Pierre Sébastien Thill, CMS chairman, said: “FAS has been working actively with CMS in Brazil and other jurisdictions for more than four years. Their strong position within the Brazilian legal and business communities as well as their international mindset make them a good strategic fit for CMS as we strengthen our foothold in key markets around the world.”

FAS is led by managing partner Paulo Mertz Focaccia, who has been with the firm since it was founded in 2003. He was previously a trainee at Linklaters.

Focaccia said: “This is a great opportunity to cooperate with CMS. FAS is one of Brazil’s fastest growing law firms with offices in São Paulo, the biggest city in Latin America, and Rio de Janeiro. We operate as a full-service firm locally, developing legal strategies for our clients’ transactions and helping them assess their challenges.”

CMS’s Brazilian alliance extends its Latin American footprint to five of the region’s six largest economies, including Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru. Through its network, CMS now has more than 5,800 lawyers spread across 74 cities and 44 countries worldwide.

Earlier this month it emerged that CMS has started a redundancy consultation in its London corporate practice amid a broader slowdown in global dealmaking activity. Revenue growth also slowed to 6.2% for the 2022 financial year, down from 18% growth in 2021.

Other firms expanding in Latin America this year include Holland & Knight, which in May absorbed 28-lawyer Colombian boutique Cuberos Cortés Gutiérrez and in April added a 17-lawyer team from Sánchez DeVanny in Mexico. And in January, Spanish firm Cuatrecasas onboarded four-partner Mexican boutique Rico Robles y Libenson.