Meythaler & Zambrano

Firm Details:
Managing Partner: José Meythaler, J.D.
Senior Partners: Margarita Zambrano, J.D.
Partners: Karina Loza, Daniela Bedoya and Fabian Alban 
Number of lawyers: 32

Contacts: 
Regulatory & Market Access: Karina Loza
Litigation: José Meythaler
Tax: Gabriel Pinto
Arbitration & Mediation: José Meythaler
Legal Consultancy, Research & Contractual Law: Daniela Bedoya
Competition Law: Carlos Trujillo
Corporate: Diana Heredia
Intellectual Property: José Meythaler, Margarita Zambrano
Labour: Fabián Albán
Migration & Real Estate: Edith Muriel

Firm Overview:
Meythaler & Zambrano Abogados is one of the most prestigious independent law firms in the Ecuadorian market. Founded in 1995, the firm specialises in national and international legal-counseling and litigation for international and domestic corporations. The firm easily understands legal and economic law issues related to the performance and operations of companies under Ecuadorian law — including Ecuadorian and international law — these achievements have enabled the firm to be recognised as one of the largest and most important law firms in the country, despite being a young firm. The firm’s main clients are significant operators from Pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical devices, tourism, food – beverages, cosmetics and energy companies, from public, private, local and foreign sectors.

The firm’s highly qualified team focusses on regulatory counsel (pharmaceutical, medical, food and cosmetic sector), intellectual property, competition and antitrust, arbitration and mediation, corporate and commercial affairs, dispute resolution, taxes, public procurement and public law, labour, criminal, constitutional and legal research. The firm’s comprehensive legal advice has provided greater efficiency in the rendering of legal services and a process simplification in the way it handles claims, cases, counselling and any other inquiries.

The firm has offices in the main cities of Ecuador: Quito and Guayaquil. These offices work throughout Ecuador and belong to a wide network of correspondents throughout America, Europe and Asia. The firm is part of the International Bar Association (IBA), International Trademark Association (INTA); Intellectual Property Association (ASIPI), Ecuadorian Association of Mediation and Ecuadorian Association of Taxation Law.

Main Areas of Practice:
Meythaler & Zambrano Abogados offers a comprehensive portfolio of legal-advice in the following areas:

Regulatory Counsel:
The firm provides strategic-counsel and skillful advocacy in regulated industries. The practice covers all aspects of clients who oversee product development, manufacturing and marketing activities. The firm is specialised in pharmaceutical, medical device, food, cosmetic, dietary supplement, agrochemical products, among others. In addition, the firm is involved in its clients’ market strategies and its implementation, including product development, clinical investigations, expedited review and approval pathways, dispute resolution, label negotiations, inspection down-raids, assessment of exclusivity protection, advising on labeling, advertising and promotion, adverse event reporting, product recalls, good manufacturing practices, counterclaims to agency enforcement actions, patent term extension and others.

Intellectual Property:
The firm is one of the most recognised Ecuadorian firms in this area. The firm is a national leader regarding Compulsory licenses. The firm’s legal advice focusses on helping individuals and businesses protect, manage and enforce their intellectual property rights and handle complex prosecution, enforcement and dispute resolution mandates. Likewise, the firm has broad expertise in anti-counterfeiting and reviewing licensing agreements. Also, patents and trademarks remain a key area for the team, this area represents a broad array of domestic and international clients from various sectors, in which stands out pharmaceutical companies, retail and entertainment companies.

Competition & Antitrust:
The firm provides expert council in complex legal issues in the area of competition law: Abuse of Dominant Position, Concerted and Prohibited Practices, Mergers, Acquisitions and, Disloyal Practices. The firm specialises in the pharmaceutical and agrochemical sectors, distribution networks, food and beverages, cosmetics, being able to address any matter related to competition law.

Corporate & Commercial Affairs:
The firm mainly advises clients in aspects related with the planning and structuring of their operations in the country, the establishment of partnerships in various sectors of the economy such as pharmaceutical, agrochemical sectors, major due diligence processes, among others. The firm also participates in the designing of business structures, preparation and negotiation of agreements from a corporate perspective and the development of its clients’ interests.

Dispute Resolution:
The firm runs multiple cases of considerable legal complexity in arbitration & mediation, civil litigation (generally corporate and commercial) administrative litigation (tax, customs, regulatory, intellectual property, criminal and competition law) and criminal litigation, most of them related to commercial, corporate, financial, investment, and technical disputes. The firm is well known as a creator of judicial precedents in favour of the clients, always in coordination with the other departments.

Tax:
The firm has an exceptional tax department highly skilled in representing clients in litigation proceedings before authorities such as Internal Revenue Service, the Constitutional-Court, Customs; providing tax advice related to all corporate and financial activities, loan structures and corporate finance projects in Ecuador.

Public Procurement & Public Law:
The firm offers public law practice advising on both constitutional and administrative matters before State Authorities. The firm is well regarded for assisting clients with competitive tendering and public procurement processes, as well as on public audit and regulation-control matters.

Labour:
The firm offers comprehensive labour consultancy; including the drafting of employee contracts, social security registration and administration, presentation of company obligations before authorities, negotiation, business reorganisation, litigation, labour inspections, and other crucial decisions which require legal advice for business operations.