Kennedys has signed an association with Puerto Rican boutique firm Colon & Colon.

The deal means the firm has extended its reach to seven new territories in Latin America and the Caribbean in just 18 months.

The San Juan-based insurance firm has four lawyers including two partners. They are named partner Francisco Colon Pagan and Francisco Mercado Olivero. It also has two senior associates, Johanna Rivera Cruz and Margarita Rosado Toledo.

Kennedys senior partner Nick Thomas said: "We have many clients in common with Colon & Colon and they have highlighted both the value of a presence in Puerto Rico and the quality of work Francisco and his team deliver. This confirms the experience of our own lawyers' dealings with Colon & Colon."

Head of Kennedys' Latin America and the Caribbean practice Alex Guillamont added: "The aftermath of the hurricane has raised a lot of issues for insurers and reinsurers they will benefit from the combination of Colon & Colon's expertise and Kennedys' international reach and experience."

Colon & Colon was founded in 2002 by Colon Pagan and acts for insurers, with a focus on areas including property and casualty, aviation and marine and cargo.

Kennedys has been on a Latin American expansion drive over the last 18 months with office openings in Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Brazil, Peru and Argentina.

The firm has this year launched further offices in Paris, Bangkok, Melbourne, Mexico City and Bermuda, as well as signing a formal association with Italian boutique Studio Legale Rinaldi Associati.

It also completed a merger with US boutique insurance firm Carroll McNulty & Kull and, in the UK, united with Manchester commercial litigation specialists Berg, following unsuccessful merger talks with UK insurance firm Plexus.

In 2016-17, the firm's revenue stood at £149.9m – an 8% increase on the previous year.