José Ignacio Escobar

Practice Areas

White Collar Crime, International Criminal Law and International Human Rights Law.

Career

Mr. Escobar has 21 years of litigation experience. He obtained a Master’s degree in Public Law by the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, getting the Alejandro Silva Bascuñán award to the best graduate. He also obtained a Diploma in International Human Rights Law from Oxford University. Mr. Escobar was a Public Prosecutor in Santiago in the Special Unit of Economic and Corruption offences from 2005 to 2009.

From 2016 to 2020, he led the legal defense of one of the most important companies of the fishing industry (Pesquera Camanchaca S.A.), which was under investigation on grounds of irregular financing of political campaigns and alleged bribery of public officials in the CORPESCA-ASIPES Case. He has also been involved (in close collaboration with his other partner, Julián López), in the criminal legal defense of the controllers of the PENTA Group (PENTA Case), and the DOMINGA Case, an investigation for the alleged crime of bribery that also involves the President Sebastian Piñera, in connection with the acquisition of the Dominga mine. On 2021, Mr. Escobar was appointed as defender of Salmones Camanchaca, on the COMAU FJORD Case, regarding water pollution on the south part of the country. Finally, this year, along with his partner Julián López, he has an important role on the investigation triggered on Municipalidad de Vitacura, regarding crimes of embezzlement of public funds and bribery.

He is also a member of the Ethics Tribunal of the Chilean Bar Association and is an International Criminal Law Professor at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile University, for more than 12 years.

Professional Memberships

Libertades Públicas, Colegio de Abogados de Chile.