Castro Leiva Rendón

Managing Partner: Marcela Castro
Senior Partners: Jose Ignacio Leiva and Juan Mario Rendón
Number of other lawyers: 20

Contacts
Infrastructure & Project Structuring: Marcela Castro, José Ignacio Leiva
M&A: José Ignacio Leiva, Marcela Castro, Juan Mario Rendón
Corporate: Juan Mario Rendón
Privatisation: Marcela Castro, José Ignacio Leiva
Energy: Juan Mario Rendón
Project Finance: Marcela Castro
Banking & Finance: Marcela Castro
IP/Entertainment: Juan Mario Rendón

Firm Overview:
Castro Leiva Rendón was founded in 2011 by a group of highly trained and experienced lawyers. The partners of the firm are recognised for their commitment to the projects of their clients and for providing innovative solutions as well as tailor made responses. Since its establishment the firm has and continues to represent local and foreign clients and has top tier infrastructure and project structuring practices. The firm has a team with broad experience in highly complex and sophisticated transactions as well as day to day legal advice. Castro Leiva Rendón has gained a very strong reputation amongst the most important investment banking firms in the market and local and foreign engineering companies, and advise them in complex deals, financing, equity-funding, and asset purchase agreements. The team is also recognised for its work within corporate, energy and tax law, including privatisations, mergers, spin-offs, acquisitions and incorporation of companies.

Main Areas of Practice:

Projects & Infrastructure:
With the large number of new infrastructure projects initiated in Colombia by the government and under the figure of public-private partnerships PPPs, the firm continues positioning itself as one of the preferred legal advisors for both local and foreign constructors and developers. The firm has a well-deserved reputation due to its expertise in the legal structuring of infrastructure projects, privatisation, and structuring of private bids for concession processes. Among the infrastructure activities that the firm has participated in are those related to construction of infrastructure, transportation law, operation of transport systems, incorporation and operation of ports and airports, development of electrical power projects, and those relating to public utilities. In the past year, the firm has advised both, sponsors and concessionaries, in the financing process (previously advised same parties in the structuring of the projects). In addition, the firm has given continuous advice throughout the execution of concession agreements and public works, and in the structuring of public-private partnerships. It has recently experienced significant growth in project finance.

Public Law:
The firm has focused its practice on public bids, supervision of infrastructure and infrastructure contracts, public procurement, and client defense in sanction proceedings advanced by contracting authorities. The main industry sector expertise the firm focuses on regarding public law matters is: i) BTR – Bus Rapid Transport Systems; ii) Roads; iii) Engineering companies; and iv) Education.

M&A:
The firm has vast experience advising both parts of the transactions in all aspects of mergers, spin-offs, acquisitions, and the integration and restructuring of companies from the private sector. Due to its members’ depth of experience, the firm has actively participated in issues regarding: the acquisition of integration authorisations from the government entities responsible for controlling restrictive commercial practices; abuse of the dominant position; and unfair competition.

Dispute Resolution:
The firm has a team of expert lawyers in dispute resolution matters, including arbitration and ordinary litigation. The firm’s practice focuses on the prevention and solution of disputes and, when required, in the design of litigious strategies for the representation of its clients before the different instances of controversy solution. The firm has a special knowledge in arbitration and litigation related to construction and infrastructure. In that sense the firm is renowned in the market for being highly active in administrative and public litigation regarding some of the most important infrastructure projects in Colombia nowadays.

Corporate:
The firm has a highly qualified team with broad experience in corporate incorporation and transformations, foreign investment, operational and commercial contracts, as well as assisting foreign companies establishing operations in Colombia.

Energy:
The firm has a well-established practice in the field of energy that goes from generation to commercialisation including specialised tailor-made cogeneration plants projects, and contracting. The firm helps its clientele managing diverse types of regulatory issues and in the preparation and negotiation of diverse types of contracts, including leasing agreements, operation and maintenance contracts, construction (EPC), BOMTs, and PPAs, as well as in the structuring of related guaranties.

Taxes & Foreign Trade:
The firm provides fundamental assistance regarding tax issues, from the design of and advice on commercial transactions, preparation of tax planning models, and consultancy for the solution of tax problems at a national and international level, to litigations before the country’s tax authorities and the contentious administrative courts.

Entertainment Law:
For several years, the firm has advised foreign and local companies involved in different areas of the entertainment industry. The firm has indepth knowledge in legal aspects related to exhibition, distribution and production services, which has led to strong and long-term relationships with companies belonging to this industry. International Work: Due to the type of transactions the firm’s is involved, the firm constantly deals with international, cross-border transactions. In the last year CLRC advised a joint venture formed by local and international companies which was awarded three generation toll road PPPs with an aggregate value above USD1600 million, and it is now finalising the structuring of the project financing.

Languages:
Spanish, English.

Clients:
The firm’s clients are Colombian and foreign companies, several of them leading players on their respective fields. The firm advises over 150 clients in different industry and service sectors including infrastructure, transport, energy and utilities, oil and gas, telecommunications, software, pharmaceutical, retail, entertainment, education, production foods, equity funds and investment bankers. A list of representative international and local clients could be provided upon request.