Morales & Besa

Senior Partners: Guillermo Morales, Eugenio Besa
Managing Partner: José Miguel Carvajal
Number of partners: 11
Number of lawyers: 71

Firm Overview:
Established in 1992, Morales & Besa is a premier fullservice Chilean law firm with leading market practices, a global outlook and strong Latin American ties across multiple industries. The firm delivers effective and creative results for its clients’ most important legal challenges, applying clear commercial judgement and a distinctively collaborative approach. The team offers in-depth expertise in complex legal matters and unrivalled execution capabilities, and adheres to the highest professional standards.

Core Values:
From the very beginning ethics, integrity, and confidentiality have been the foundation of Morales & Besa. With its strong emphasis on teamwork, Morales & Besa expect its employees to maintain the highest ethical standards in everything they do. The firm is committed to achieving effective results for its clients, who can be assured that the firm's approach in everything it undertakes is grounded in professionalism & client service. Morales & Besa are at the forefront of international transactions and legal development in Chile for a reason — the firm's global outlook. Morales & Besa's perspective requires its lawyers to think innovatively and consider the impact on the domestic and international legal landscape when delivering unique solutions for its clients.

Main Areas of Practice:

Antitrust:
The firm has a strong antitrust/competition practice. Morales & Besa combines knowledgeable and agile antitrust lawyers, who are experienced advising companies in pre-merger review and in complex investigations and litigation before Chilean Competition Agencies.

Banking & Finance:
The firm is a leader in all areas of commercial and investment banking, including corporate lending, leveraged buyouts, structured finance, project finance, derivatives, distressed debt and restructuring, commercial lending and syndicated loans.

Capital Markets:
The firm regularly advises all major investment banks, securities firms and issuers in the structuring and execution of debt and equity offerings, securitisation of assets, listing of companies, domestically and internationally, capital markets regulation and related compliance matters.

Corporate & M&A:
The firm has in-depth knowledge of the development of sophisticated corporate structures, business combinations, joint ventures and shareholder arrangements, especially in the context of foreign direct investments. It advises international and domestic buyers and sellers in acquisitions and takeover processes of private and listed companies across all industry sectors. Its privatisation practice group has represented international buyers and the government of Chile in all major transfers of Chilean state-owned assets and enterprises.

Criminal Law & Compliance:
The firm has a multidisciplinary team specialised in highly complex litigation for white-collar, tax crime, cybercrime, anticorruption, criminal antitrust, antimoney laundering and breaches of industrial and intellectual property regulation.

Energy, Public Utilities & Infrastructure:
Morales & Besa plays an active role in the continuing development and deregulation of the Chilean energy, utilities and infrastructure sectors. The firm has experience in the regulatory framework of infrastructure, public works, concessions, power generation, transmission and distribution, fuel transportation and distribution, water and sewage and public works.

 IP & Data Protection:
The firm advises on all kinds of IP issues, infringement disputes and all other aspects of IP law. The firm also advises in issues related to data privacy and IT.

Labour:
The team has experience in leading collective bargaining processes, advising international corporations with their employees in Chile and defending the interest of their clients before the labour courts.

Litigation, Arbitration & ADR:
The firm represents clients in a variety of civil, commercial, tax, antitrust and other specialised court litigation, including experience in domestic and international arbitration proceedings and the enforcement of foreign awards. In the area of alternative dispute resolution its attorneys are active in large infrastructure projects and engineering contracts.

 Mining:
Morales & Besa's team has advised numerous domestic and international companies in all stages of their mining projects, from the establishment of mining property rights (concessions), to the construction and operation of their projects.

Pro Bono:
Pro bono is an integral part of the firm's practice — just as Morales & Besa has a duty to represent its clients, the firm believes it also has an obligation to represent those without a voice. Morales & Besa is passionate about sharing our skills and expertise to enable change for good.

Projects & Infrastructure:
Every project has a unique set of circumstances and characteristics, which is why we keep flexibility in our approach while being diligent and meticulous. Morales & Besa know that all projects require not only expert attention to detail, to ensure regulations are met, but also innovative thinking to ensure the project is fully finished and functioning.

Real Estate & Construction:
The real estate practice has advised major projects such as the tallest building in South America and has extensive experience with real estate investment companies.

Regulation & Environment:
Morales & Besa has a comprehensive experience in environmental and regulatory matters related to all types of investment projects. Taxation: The firm's tax specialists have extensive experience devising and implementing creative tax solutions to address the particular needs of complex business structures, especially in the context of foreign direct investments and cross-border financings.

International Work:
The firm acts for leading international financial and investment bank companies including Bank of America Merrill Lynch, BNP Paribas, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, SMBC, The Bank of China, Banco Santander and Banco Itaú— to name but a few. It also advises leading multinational companies including Acciona Energía, Accel-KKR, Koch Industries, Hitachi, EIG Global Energy Partners, Meridiam Infrastructure, Ferrovial and Iron Mountain, among others. All of the firm’s lawyers speak fluent English; many of them have undertaken secondments or postgraduate studies in the United States, Europe or Australia.

Languages: English, Portuguese and Spanish.