DLA Piper Martínez Beltrán

Managing Partner: Camilo Martínez Beltrán

Number of partners: 20

Number of lawyers: 85

Firm Overview:

DLA Piper Martínez Beltrán was founded in 1996 and since then is a prominent and leading law firm in Colombia. We have extensive experience representing public and private entities with their legal needs in any industry and regardless of their location. We have global reach with the best local team.

The professional careers and extensive experience of the lawyers within the Firm allow us to have a very qualified team of renowned individuals capable of providing a unique representation to clients. Our team works globally and seamlessly to assist our clients with deals through the DLA Piper international network. We handle matters in virtually every country in the region, spanning every industry sector in which our clients operate. As the demand for legal assistance throughout Latin America grows, DLA Piper continues to expand its presence in the region with a truly multi-disciplinary practice.

Main Areas of Practice:

Banking & Finance:

The Firm advises over 30% of the banking institution that have presence in Colombia, on an ongoing basis in regulatory matters and transactions. The Firm is also permanently involved in advising foreign financial institutions on how to do business in Colombia, as well as representing international clients before governmental authorities.

Corporate / M&A:

The Firm is one of the top-tier law firms in Colombia in mergers and acquisitions, both local and international, transfer of assets, joint ventures and strategic alliances, due diligence, corporate reorganizations, leverage buyouts, privatizations, shareholders’ agreements, and business integration processes. Client portfolio includes the main and most sophisticated private equity funds undertaking deals in Latin America, as well as some of the most representative economic groups of the country and multinational companies.

Tax:

The Firm provides advice to Colombian and foreign parties on both domestic and international tax issues, for purposes such as transaction structuring, foreign investment (both inbound and outbound), corporate taxation and estate planning for high-net-worth individuals. Further, the Firm has considerable experience regarding tax litigation, both at administrative and judicial stages.

Dispute Resolution:

The Dispute Resolution team has consistently represented local and international clients in complex conflicts in all areas of business law, including corporate, commercial, tax, insurance, torts, antitrust and administrative matters, among other issues. The Firm represents clients in more than 300 lawsuits in national and international disputes. The firm is also a pioneer in corporate dispute resolution. Its experience in this area, going back for more than 20 years, has recently been put to the service of creating a highly specialized division focused on shareholder litigation.

In fact, the Firm set up what is perhaps the first successful practice area in Colombia engaging in shareholder activism through the enforcement of minority investor rights across a wide range of companies, from family- owned enterprises to listed firms.

Capital Markets:

The Firm provides comprehensive advice in securities and is a recognized leader in the area. The firm has broad experience financings in the local and international debt capital markets, including high-yield bonds, medium-term notes, private placements, asset-backed securities, project bonds and euro-commercial paper programs.

Competition & Consumer, Compliance and Data Protection:

The Firm provides legal advice on competition law, including merger and acquisition clearance, restrictive business practices, unfair competition, and consumer protection. The team has extensive experience in the implementation of corporate governance systems, prevention of legal risks, control of regulatory compliance and crisis management. DLA Piper Martínez Beltrán has also broad experience advising clients across all industries in the creation and implementation of their data protection policies and best practices. The Personal Data Protection team is aware of the value of data for each of our clients, which is why they not only create, but also advise on the implementation of personal data compliance policies. Additionally, the Firm offers corporate training to the clients regarding data protection and their constant changes and regulatory updates.

Infrastructure, Projects & Public Law:

The Firm provides comprehensive advise to private and public partnerships as well as project finance Infrastructure transactions and thorough knowledge of several market sectors, including power (thermal and renewable), transportation (roads, airports, and shipping), oil, gas, commodities, and water systems. The Firm also has experience in advising all types of infrastructure finance, including project finance and other secured, structured financings, and other financings solutions tailored for the current market.

Restructuring & Insolvency:

The Firm Restructuring & Insolvency practice starts from an essentially economic and financial perspective to represent debtors or creditors. The Firm’s goal is to find efficient and creative solutions that add value to companies in a situation of financial crisis, through corporate operations, of instruments deprived of restructuring of liabilities, and of the recovery or liquidation processes.

Torts & Damages:

The Firm offers a unique representation to their clients in matters related to torts and damages. This is a multidisciplinary expertise that covers different economic sectors and strengthens the practice in general. The firm focuses on preventive actions but also gives advice on issues that have arisen over bad practices of big corporations.

Insurance:

The Firm has one of the strongest insurance law practice in Colombia. Some of its clients are AON, CARDIF, AIG, Seguros del Estado.

Labour Law:

The Labour team focuses on individual and collective labour law, labour law litigation, social security law, labour administrative proceedings before labour authorities and immigration law. The Firm’s clients range from startups to emerging multinationals and some of the biggest and best-known brands in the world.

Energy & Natural Resources:

DLA Piper Martínez Beltrán is a leading Firm in the Energy & Natural Resources sector. The team has vast experience in energy, renewable energy, oil and gas, water treatment plants, among others. The firm advises clients on the development of supply agreements, access to the distribution networks and transport systems, tax strategies, mergers and acquisitions transaction and advice in the day to day of its operations. Likewise, the firm represents industry clients in proceedings before the competent authorities and provide advice on regulatory matters, obtaining environmental licenses, prior consultations, project structuring, and negotiating power purchase agreements (PPA) and structuring public and private partnerships (PPP).

Environmental & Sustainable Development:

The Firm specializes in providing legal advice to the clients on environmental regulatory matters, sustainable use and exploitation of natural resources and structuring projects of various types, with special emphasis on the energy, chemical, pharmaceutical, agro-industrial, manufacturing, transportation and infrastructure sectors.

International Arbitration:

DLA Piper's International Arbitration practice is one of the world's leading teams, recognized as a truly global practice. The wide geographic presence of the practice allows the firm to offer an integrated team that works in multiple jurisdictions. This provides their clients with both ongoing responsiveness and relevant local knowledge, two key points for successfully resolving international disputes. At DLA Piper Martínez Beltrán they offer a unique service in Colombia: the expertise of a leading global practice in the industry, with a strong local presence.

Languages:

English, Spanish, French.

Clients:

The Firm’s clients are the largest companies in Colombia as well as international enterprises doing business in Colombia. A list of representative local and international clients is provided upon request.