Morales & Besa

Senior Partners: Guillermo Morales E., Eugenio Besa J-H.
Managing Partner: Macarena Laso A.
Number of partners: 11
Number of lawyers: 65

Firm Overview:
Morales & Besa was established in 1992 by a group of leading legal professionals in corporate and M&A, finance, capital markets, dispute resolution, projects and infrastructure, energy, administrative law, intellectual property and tax. The firm is recognised for its execution and teamwork capabilities, and its ability to provide comprehensive legal services to clients with varied interests, both at local and international level. The firm promotes talent and diversity to offer its clients innovative perspectives and creative solutions, rooted in the legal system and the demands of their businesses.

Main Practice Areas:
Banking & Finance
Corporate and M&A
Capital Markets
Projects
Energy & Infrastructure
Regulation, Environment and Natural Resources
Mining
Real Estate & Urbanism
Taxation
Dispute Resolution
Competition and Antitrust
Compliance
Restructuring & Insolvency
Labour
IP & Data Protection

International Outlook:
More than a third part of the firm's lawyers hold or are pursuing an LL.M. degree. Of these, over 80% obtained it from international universities, from the US and Europe, and the remaining part, from the most prestigious Chilean law schools. The ample majority of those who study abroad participate in a foreign associate program in some of the most prestigious law firms, supported by our policy of collaboration with leading law firms around the world, which opens doors for the exchange of ideas, approaches, knowledge and experience, resulting in innovative solutions.

The firm is among the 10 Chilean firms included in the “International and Cross-Border Capabilities” section of Chambers and Partners Global Guide, which recognises those firms that offer the best experience in transactions with international components.

Recognising Excellence:
The firm and team have been recognised by some of the most prestigious legal directories and publications, both by its technical and organisation performance. Practices such as Projects and Infrastructure, Banking and Finance, Corporate and M&A, and Capital Markets are among the top tiers and leading positions of Chambers and Partners and Legal 500, among others. Environment, Energy, Competition/Antitrust, Dispute Resolution, Insolvency and Reorganisation, Tax and Intellectual Property and Data Protection, among others, are also highly positioned in these and other specialty rankings, and so are the firm's most experienced members.

The firm's work is often awarded or shortlisted as deal of the year by relevant publications such as Latin Lawyer, Latin Finance, IFLR, and IJGlobal, among others.

Diversity:
Morales & Besa do not only believe that diversity matters, as its almost 30 years of experience have shown, but also that it is one of the keys to a better working environment, where people can learn from the differences among them, which, at the end, helps to provide for a better service and to achieve success.

Diversity and meritocracy are part of the firm's foundational principles and, from the beginning of the firm, it has recruited considering only the excellence of the applicants, their professional credentials, integrity and work ethic, regardless of their family, social, political or religious affiliations, or gender or sexual orientation, which, as consequence, has helped it to create a diverse environment, where lawyers come from different backgrounds, have different ways of thinking and provide diverse perspectives.

Historically, the firm has had a high number of women among its members, including female partners from early on. The firm has a Diversity Committee, formed by partners, counsel, director and senior associates, which is in charge of its diversity and inclusion activities and challenges.

Sustainability:
From Morales & Besa it has been promoting several initiatives that allow it to contribute to a more sustainable day-to-day. During the last years, the firm has been deepening its waste management processes, which resulted in the consolidation of its collection and recycling system. Likewise, the firm fosters several initiatives for the reconditioning and reuse of materials.

In addition, because of its involvement and commitment to environmental care, the firm contributes through pro bono work to different initiatives for the conservation and protection of the environment.

Languages:
English, Portuguese, Spanish.