Our practice areas
WE SERVE OUR CLIENTS IN A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT PRACTICE AREAS.
Antitrust and Competition
We consistently assist our clients in evaluating antitrust issues and how to deal with them. This includes acting as legal advisors in proceedings related to anticompetitive practices.
In terms of competition law, given our corporate focus, we have a premier team that regularly works on merger control matters, doing so in one single country or regionally in Central America when merger review and/or clearance is required in several jurisdictions.
Corporate M&A
This is our core practice and from where most of the other practices derive and relate.
We serve clients of all sectors in mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, splits, spin-offs or any kind of business combination, arrangement or restructuring. Our experience is complete as it covers the entire spectrum of a deal: going from the very early stages and working with Legal Departments, with other law firms, both local and international, with management and/or with investment bankers on the strategy for identifying targets and formulating and implementing non-binding and binding documents, but also in assisting with the definition of the deal structure, the preparation of the agreements and related transaction documents, the closing, and the handling of all required post-closing items.
From a one-country transaction, to a cross-border deal on a consolidated basis, we serve our clients directly in those countries in which we operate and through leading law firms in other Latin American countries. We also regularly work with the very top American, UK and mainland European law firms, in the global transactions, supporting their leading role and working as their extension in our jurisdictions.
We also regularly serve our clients on corporate governance matters.
Our Corporate M&A has extensive experience in assisting with start-ups and general foreign investment and greenfield projects, as well as general business law support when it comes to commercial contracts, including for example, agency, distribution, franchising, outsourcing, supply and sponsorship.
We regularly serve private equity clients, who sometimes need legal solutions tailored to their project and to areas of special interest. We have strong experience in addressing structure, financial, equity, management, compliance and exit issues, typical in many private equity deals.
Dispute Resolution
We have strong experience in litigation and arbitration. Our teams are tailored to the circumstances and needs of the cases and when required, we have the capacity and flexibility to build and lead special purpose teams in collaboration with other lawyers or law firms; we have been doing this for years, as we put efficency and results first.
Most of the disputes in which we participate are corporate and business related, or with an impact on our client’s business interests, yet different in nature and many of them also connected to our other practice areas.
Employment
Our Employment practice is centered in employer representation and has a concentration on preventive and pro-active measures. The scope of work goes from compensation and benefits, to maintenance and day-to-day support for our corporate and institutional clients, ranging from small operations, to some of the largest private employers in the Central American region.
Finance
Among other areas, we do banking, capital markets, derivatives, structured products, insurance and project finance. We regularly work for global and local banks, as well as for leading financial, insurance and reinsurance institutions, including multilaterals, in a varied universe of matters that range from complex and innovative products and services, to working on the financing for important regional and local projects.
Infrastructure, Energy and Natural Resources
Linked to our Public Law practice, our Infrastructure, Energy and Natural Resources practice is directed at servicing the legal needs of our clients in the legal aspects pertaining to regulated opportunities, sectors and industries. We have significant experience in transport related projects, in hydroelectric power, electricity, and renewable energies projects, as well as in mining.
Intellectual Property and Media Law
Our comprehensive Intellectual Property and Media Law practice is focused on corporate and institutional clients, representing them in a wide array of industries. With respect to intellectual property, we do filing, creation, registration, exploitation and enforcement work, that could go from a patent or trademark registration, to advising on an IP related licensing agreement, or from checking the IP local implications of an innovative global web service, to structuring an IP based acquisition, or supporting in a judicial dispute related to the termination of a franchise agreement.
In terms of media law we have experience serving motion picture, television, Internet, digital media and publishing global clients.
International Trade and Investment
We have a team with vast experience in international trade related matters, including the negotiation and application of WTO Agreements, Free Trade Agreements, Bilateral Investment Treaties, special customs regimes and other similar international trade instruments.
We can handle complex dispute investigations including antidumping and countervailing measures cases, and we have experience in presenting international trade application situations to governments, as well as handling State-to-State commercial arbitration cases. With respect to investor-state disputes, our group of lawyers accumulates more experience supporting ICSID cases than any other law firm in the Central America.
Our knowledge on customs’ regimes and free trade zones provide profound counsel to investors that seek to take advantage of special regimes allowed by the WTO to invest in foreign countries in order to enhance their international trade capabilities.
Investigations, Corporate Criminal Law and Defense
We have built an efficient team that works on Criminal Defense with a focus on serving multinational companies, and that also serves as a key part in our Investigations practice. We are experts in criminal law for corporate and institutional clients.
Public Law
We regularly handle constitutional and administrative law matters. Our experience includes, among others, important public service concession contracts, government procurement, public procurement contracts, and other complex public contracts. Aside from providing the legal support for the actual project or contract, our role in many cases includes helping our client’s team dealing with government contracts to understand the processes and to train them on compliance, integrity and anti-corruption rules.
Our public law lawyers regularly also represent clients in litigation brought before administrative courts and regulatory bodies.
Real Estate
We consistently play an active role in major real estate transactions, derived from our Corporate M&A work, or because we are hired to support a particular project in the sale or purchase of real estate, or simply because we are called to provide an opinion on a particular issue. We are capable of helping our clients navigate the negotiation stage, with a clear understanding of the substantive law issues, and with business intelligence. We can conduct a standard or a complex due diligence for the acquisition of a commercial or manufacturing facility, as well as helping structure a multimillion-dollar real estate swap agreement, if needed.
Regulatory and Compliance
Our Regulatory practice is aimed at helping our clients achieve compliance, as well as to assist them in understanding and addressing the specific rules that apply to their industries and activities. Our work includes among other areas, privacy and data protection, consumer rights and protection, import-export, permits, licenses, public procurement, product registration and distribution, representation and mandates, notarial practice and Apostille requirements, financial and banking products and services, health and sanitary rules, energy and telecommunications.
In terms of compliance, we mostly work with Legal departments conducting internal assessments, providing training and in general supporting the local implementation of compliance, integrity and anti-corruption programs.
Tax
Our Tax practice focuses on general corporate tax law, and in helping our clients, to identify, understand and address in simple terms, the key aspects of their projects and transactions, including mergers, acquisitions, restructurings, separations, dissolutions, and combinations, all with a mindset on the essential points: business goals, sustainability and compliance.
Part of our Tax practice also involves international trade and the fiscal aspects of import and export activities.
We also focus our Tax practice on incentive systems, including for example, duty-free areas and free trade zones, supporting our clients to understand the opportunities, and assisting them through the entire application process, as needed.