Ugarte & Correa

Firm Name: Ugarte & Correa  

Website: www.ugartecorrea.com

Tel: +56 2 2405 5380  

Head Office: Isidora Goyenechea 2800, floor 41, Of 4102, Las Condes, Santiago de Chile

Number of partners: 4  

Managing Partners: José Joaquín Ugarte.  

Number of lawyers: 7  

Languages: English, Spanish  

Firm Overview

Ugarte & Correa is a prominent Chilean boutique specializing on arbitration, litigation and antitrust. Our Firm has extensive experience in cases against private and public entities, and has achieved remarkable outcomes for its clients on their most complex cases, including groundbreaking victories in some of the most relevant cases handled in Chile.

In addition to having a strong presence in the Chilean market, Ugarte & Correa has a clear international vocation, serving transnational clients mostly coming from North America, Europe, and Asia (historically, 85% of our work devoted to transnational clients). We advise our clients in a broad range of sectors, such as construction, mining, retail, telecommunication, energy, insurance, banking and agroindustry, among others.

Our clients choose Ugarte & Correa for our clear and strategic approach, the excellence of our work, advocacy skills, and for our obsession to create tailor made solutions to solve their disputes which are both effective and efficient. Ugarte & Correa’s partners are deeply involved throughout the dispute, devoting all their passion and experience and encouraging the collaboration and exchange of ideas within their specialized teams to build the client’s strongest position.

All the partners of the firm have postgraduate studies at prominent Universities in the US, Europe, and the Americas and previously worked for major transnational law firms.

Main Areas of Practice

DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION 

Ugarte & Correa is a leading law firm in Chile in both, domestic and international arbitration. All their partners are well known, and experienced counsels having represented major clients in arbitrations administered by some of the most relevant arbitration institutions, including ICC, ICSID, UNICTRAL, CAM Santiago, CCL Lima, and in ad hoc arbitrations as well.

The team has particular expertise handling energy, mining, and construction cases, and extensive knowledge of other industries, such as financial sectors, shareholders disputes, M&A, infrastructure and technological disputes.

LITIGATION 

Ugarte & Correa’s litigation practice is active and vibrant. Over the years, it has reached outstanding results litigating in lower Courts, Courts of Appeals and the Supreme Court, and various administrative bodies.

Our attorneys have handled disputes concerning a broad range of topics and activities, from commercial litigation (i.e., mining, construction, shareholder disputes, torts, energy, concessions, infrastructure, and property), enforcement of arbitration awards, requests to administrative bodies, antitrust disputes, insolvency, among others.

ANTITRUST 

Ugarte & Correa covers all areas of antitrust law, including litigation, merger control, advice on investigations by the authority, negotiation of agreements with this agency, compliance and internal audits.

The team has proudly represented domestic and transnational clients in many of the most relevant antitrust matters that have been handled in Chile, obtaining important litigation victories, and securing clearance of complex mergers and acquisitions for its clients.

Remarkably, the firm has handled the largest case ever submitted to the Chilean antitrust court, and likewise has succeeded in the most groundbreaking antitrust case in the history of Chile, a cartel case in which Ugarte & Correa was able to demonstrate that its client participated in a cartel under coercion, an element that led the Chilean Supreme Court to overturn the exemption of fines that the antitrust authority previously awarded the other company engaged in the cartel and confirm the benefits that the firm obtained for its client through a leniency program application.

Our expertise in antitrust law includes companies from several industries, such as mining, telecommunication, healthcare, agriculture, energy, pharmaceutical, technology development, among others.

Recent work highlights

- Antitrust litigation: We successfully represented SCA (Essity) in the most groundbreaking cartel case in the history of Chile. Ugarte & Correa obtained the first decision in morethan 10 years, in which the FNE was defeated in acartel case.​

- International arbitration against State: We are representing the lithium giant producer Albemarle (US and Chilean branch) in an International arbitration (ICC) against the Chilean State entity that is in charge of administrating lithium in the country.

- Commercial arbitration: Ad hoc arbitration between one of the largest services providers for the mining industry and the largest coper producer worldwide.

- International M&A arbitration: International arbitration between an international company in a conflict arising from an M&A process.

- Cartel litigation: We are representing Brink’s in the largest cartel case ever submitted to the Chilean antitrust court.

- High courts litigation: We successfully represented one of the largest fishing companies in Chile. Ugarte & Correa defeated theFNEin a proceeding inwhich we challenged a down raid executed by theFNEand obtained a decision forcing the authority to return ourclient evidence seized in that raid.​