Noah Mamet had never been to Argentina before President Barack Obama named him ambassador to the country in 2013. Thanks to political opposition, it took him nearly 18 months to be confirmed by the Senate and start his appointment. But another 18 months after stepping down, he’s now splitting time between Buenos Aires and Los Angeles.

Mamet, a longtime Democratic Party operative, is leveraging his close ties with Argentina President Mauricio Macri and the nation’s business community as a strategic adviser to DLA Piper. The firm also announced in August that it had reached an affiliation agreement with Argentine firm Cabanellas Etchebarne Kelly to round out its expansion efforts in Latin America.