DLA Piper has opened an office in San Juan, a move the firm claims makes it the first full-service Am Law 100 firm to establish a physical base in Puerto Rico.

Four local partners who specialise in corporate and securities, public finance and corporate reorganisations are joining DLA to launch the office. Nikos Buxeda, who joins from San Juan firm Adsuar Muniz Goyco Seda & Perez-Ochoa, will serve as managing partner of the new outpost, while the other new partners are Miriam de Lourdes Figueroa, Jose Alberto Sosa-Llorens and Manuel Lopez-Zambrana, all of whom are joining from local firms.

DLA Piper has been handling municipal finance work in Puerto Rico for a number of years, according to Roger Meltzer, global co-chairman and co-chairman of the firm's Americas group. Meltzer said that with an office in the country, DLA Piper sought to gain a competitive advantage in fielding restructuring work and other matters "required for Puerto Rico to put itself on a more solid financial footing".

Buried under more than $70bn (£53bn) of debt, Puerto Rico is not poised to emerge from its financial crisis any time soon. Some lawyers in the country hope that will translate into steady work during the years to come.

While Meltzer said DLA Piper is not interested in taking work away from local firms, he said it would compete for matters "going to other global firms like Allen & Overy and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton".

Back in 2014, Puerto Rico's Government Bank hired restructuring lawyers from Cleary to assist on matters related to the Commonwealth's financial crisis.

Consultant Peter Zeughauser of the Zeughauser Group said that Puerto Rico, with its dearth of multinationals, was hardly a priority for most international firms. But he added: "I think for firms who have significant restructuring practices, in particular related to credit that may have been extended in Puerto Rico, [those] who may own Puerto Rican debt or clients that are impacted by what's happening in Puerto Rico, it could well make sense to go into Puerto Rico."

And, he noted, "history indicates that first movers have an advantage".

DLA Piper's office in San Juan has been in the works for about a year, according to Meltzer, who said no legal consultants or recruiters were involved. All four of the new hires have worked with DLA Piper in the past, he said.

"We've made a commitment to Puerto Rico," said Meltzer. "The work there may have been … created by the financial crisis in Puerto Rico but we don't intend for this to be anything but a long-term placement."