Chambers & Partners published the 2027 edition of its Latin America guide, the directory that has been ranking the region’s leading law firms and lawyers for nearly two decades. To understand what really changed in the Colombian market from one year to the next, we compared the Band 1 ranking of each of the 17 practice areas that Chambers evaluates in the country against the Band 1 ranking recorded in the 2026 edition. Unlike Peru —where Band 1 barely moved—in Colombia, six areas saw real changes in Band 1, almost all due to organic growth rather than corporate transactions.

Brigard Urrutia and Philippi, tied at the top; Pérez-Llorca steps on their heels

Counting each appearance in Band 1 by practice area, Brigard Urrutia and Philippi Prietocarrizosa Ferrero DU & Uría are tied as the firms with the most presence in the top Colombian band, with six practices each. Brigard Urrutia retains its positions in Banking and Finance, Capital Markets, Corporate/M&A, Projects, and TMT, and adds Competition/Antitrust this year. Philippi maintains its position in Banking and Finance, Corporate/M&A, Dispute Resolution, Energy and Natural Resources, Projects, and Tax.

Right behind them are Pérez-Llorca and Posse Herrera Ruiz, with five practices each. The relevant fact is that Pérez-Llorca reaches that figure with two genuine additions this year: Corporate/M&A, where it joins Brigard Urrutia, Martínez Quintero Mendoza González Laguado & De La Rosa, Philippi and Posse Herrera Ruiz (which last year were only four firms in Band 1), and Energy and Natural Resources, where it enters alongside Philippi and Posse Herrera Ruiz, increasing the number of firms at the top from two to three. This is the same firm that this week was highlighted as the Ibero-American firm with the most Band 1 practices in the entire region according to Chambers Latin America 2027, and Colombia confirms that trend: here it does not arrive through a merger, as happened with its expansion in Peru via Miranda & Amado, but on its own merit in two practices where it did not have a Band 1 position a year ago.

Intellectual Property, from two to five firms at the top

The most dramatic shift of the year is in Intellectual Property. In 2026, only Dentons Cárdenas & Cárdenas and Lloreda Camacho & Co. held Band 1. In 2027, that group more than doubles: Baker McKenzie, Cavelier Abogados, and OlarteMoure join, leaving five firms sharing the top band. This leap completely reshapes the understanding of who leads this practice in Colombia and suggests that the patent and trademark market—driven by pharmaceutical, consumer goods, and anti-counterfeiting mandates—has become more competitive at the top than it was just a year ago.

Ibarra Abogados Rimon Law, the firm that is falling behind on two fronts

Conversely, Ibarra Abogados Rimon Law is the firm that has lost the most ground this year, and in two practice areas simultaneously. In Competition/Antitrust, where in 2016 it shared Band 1 with Esguerra JHR, this year it drops to Band 2 and is replaced at the top by Brigard Urrutia, which moves up alongside Esguerra JHR. In International Trade/WTO, where it also shared Band 1 with Araújo Ibarra Consultores Internacionales, it now stands alone in Band 2—along with Brigard Urrutia, Pérez-Llorca, and Posse Herrera Ruiz—while Araújo Ibarra consolidates its position as the only firm in Band 1 for that practice area.

TMT: Lloreda Camacho loses his shared seat

In TMT (Telecommunications, Media and Technology), Brigard Urrutia and Lloreda Camacho & Co shared Band 1 in 2026. This year, Lloreda Camacho drops to Band 2 – where it is joined by BBGS Abogados and ECIJA – and Brigard Urrutia remains the only firm in the first band, an outcome that is striking considering that it is a firm with a data and regulation practice as consolidated as Lloreda’s in the rest of its areas (Mining, Intellectual Property and Life Sciences, where it does maintain its position in the first band without changes).

Other movements: Insurance, Labor and Projects

Three more practices registered occasional expansions in Band 1. In Insurance, Kennedys—the only firm in Band 1 for years—now shares the lead with Vélez Gutiérrez Abogados. In Labor & Employment, Quintero y Quintero Asesores, recognized for its collective bargaining practice, joins the long-standing trio of Alvarez, Liévano & Laserna, López & Asociados, and Godoy (formerly Godoy Córdoba). And in Projects, Cuatrecasas enters Band 1 alongside Brigard Urrutia, Durán & Osorio, and Philippi, which last year were just three firms at the top.

What remains intact

The rest of the Colombian map remains unchanged: Banking and Finance (Brigard Urrutia, Garrigues, Pérez-Llorca), Capital Markets (Brigard Urrutia, Pérez-Llorca), Dispute Resolution (Philippi, Posse Herrera Ruiz), Mining (Dentons Cárdenas & Cárdenas, Lloreda Camacho & Co), Life Sciences (Lloreda Camacho & Co alone), Public Law (Arrieta Mantilla & Asociados, Durán & Osorio), Real Estate (Pinilla, González & Prieto, Posse Herrera Ruiz) and Tax (Baker McKenzie, Godoy, Martínez Quintero Mendoza, Pérez-Llorca, Philippi, Posse Herrera Ruiz) feature exactly the same firms as a year ago.

What does this mean for law firms and legal departments?

For general counsel seeking advice in Colombia, this year’s analysis differs from that in Peru: here, Band 1 is indeed shifting, primarily due to genuine firm growth rather than mergers. The expansions in Intellectual Property, Corporate/M&A, and Energy suggest a market where competition for the most sophisticated mandates is intensifying at the top, while the declines of Ibarra Abogados Rimon Law and Lloreda Camacho & Co in specific practice areas send a clear signal to those seeking advice specifically in Competition, International Trade, or TMT: Band 1 leadership in these three areas is no longer the same as it was last year.

The 2027 edition of Chambers Latin America ultimately reveals a more dynamic Colombian market in its upper segment than the Peruvian one: eight of the seventeen areas evaluated registered signature changes in Band 1, a pace of movement that confirms that, even in a mature market like Colombia, the first band is not a fixed place.

By Heidi Maldonado