Charles Chapman López

Practice Areas

collective bargaining, labor consulting, and labor litigation practices

Career

He served as an Assistant Magistrate in the Labor Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice. He was

Governor of the Labor Bar Association and represented Colombia at several ILO conferences.

He is an active member of the Labor Committee and the Chamber of Legal Services of the National

Association of Enterprises (ANDI by the acronym in Spanish) and the National Association of Human

Resources (ACRIP by the acronym in Spanish). He served as an advisor in the technical commission

discussing the ongoing labor reform and was a member of the 2020 Employment Mission. Also, Mr. Chapman served as an advisor to the Senate of the Republic during the legislative process of the 2025 labor reform, representing the business sector. In

academic, Charles Chapman is a professor at the Universidad Javeriana, Universidad del Norte, and

the Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana.

Professional Memberships

Labor Law Bar Association

Publications

Director of the book Theoretical-Practical Compendium of Labor Law, Individual and Collective Part, and author of the chapter on trade union immunity in the collective part. Published by Legis and the Bar Association of Colombia.

The Right to Strike: A Comparative View, edited by Bernd Waas. Author of the chapter The Right to Strike in Colombia. Kluwer Law International.

The Abuse of the Right of Association in the Creation of Trade Unions. Issue No. 22 of the Universidad del Norte Journal.

Critical Analysis of the Declaration of an Illegal Work Stoppage by the Labor Jurisdiction. Labor and Social Security News Journal, published by Legis Bogotá.

Social Security – Selected Topics. Co-author of the chapter Special Pensions for High-Risk Activities, published by Ibáñez.

Work Highlights

Designed and implemented strategic workforce management and labor relations plans for corporate clients.

Led complex collective bargaining processes and resolved high-impact union conflicts.

Represented clients in complex labor litigation and provided specialized legal consultancy.

Delivered in-depth legal analysis with practical, business-oriented solutions.

Clients

Public Sector: Legal advisory and representation for governmental and district entities, including municipal legal offices, public transportation companies, oversight agencies, urban development funds, and infrastructure projects.

Commercial Sector: Counsel to national and multinational companies in retail, logistics, publishing, food service, real estate development, and consumer goods.

Industrial Sector: Legal support for major players in food and beverage manufacturing, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, construction materials, and industrial equipment.

Automotive Sector: Advisory to automotive distributors, dealerships, and related service providers.

Financial Sector: Experience with leading banks, financial corporations, and export credit institutions.

Fluvial Transport Sector: Counsel to companies in river navigation and freight transport.

Textile & Fashion Sector: Support for clothing manufacturers, textile producers, and fashion retail brands.

Goods & Services Sector: Legal advisory to healthcare providers, insurance companies, architectural firms, engineering companies, media outlets, NGOs, religious organizations, and cultural foundations.

Experience

Successfully drafted and presented a constitutional action (acción de tutela) before the Council of State, achieving the revocation of a resolution issued by the Minister of Labor (Ángelino Garzón) that prevented companies from appealing against the registration of unions — setting a precedent that paved the way for nationwide administrative actions against abusive uses of the right of association.

Advised and represented Bavaria S.A. in proceedings and appeals that led to the revocation of the registration of “USITAC,” “UTB,” and other unions created under the “carrusel sindical” scheme, preventing abuse of union registration rights.

Designed and executed the legal strategy for Cholera Colombia Ltda. (film production company) in a dispute involving over 400 service providers engaged through a worker cooperative, achieving a favorable settlement that allowed the completion of Love in the Time of Cholera, cleared the company’s reputation, and corrected false media reports.

Provided advisory and legal structuring for legitimate worker cooperatives servicing Monómeros Colombo Venezolanos, which became a national model for compliance with the legal framework, objectives, and nature of such organizations.

Represented Coolechera in a high-stakes collective bargaining conflict, securing the convening of an Arbitration Tribunal by the Ministry of Social Protection based on constitutional principles, despite the legal challenge of dealing with a majority union opposed to arbitration.

Advised and represented Coolechera before the Ministry of Social Protection in obtaining authorization for the collective dismissal of over 80 workers, navigating the legal and procedural requirements successfully.

Industry Sector Expertise

Public Sector

Commercial Sector

Industrial Sector

Automotive Sector

Financial Sector

Fluvial Transport Sector

Textile Sector

Goods & Services Sector

Languages Spoken

Spanish

Education