The Legal 500

Within Corporate and M&A, Pérez Bustamante & Ponce is a first tier firm,

Full-service firm Pérez Bustamante & Ponce has a formidable reputation across the board in Ecuador and is a clear market leader. The largest firm in the country, it has an impressive client roster of international clients and the team has experienced a substantial upturn in activity over the last year. The firm covers the spectrum of corporate and commercial matters and is particularly active in transactional work. Corporate specialist Diego Pérez-Ordoñez leads a team that was strengthened recently by the promotion of Bruno Pineda, who focuses upon corporate law, banking and insurance. The team's recent work includes advising Fresenius Medical Care on the acquisition of a local business; Pérez was joined on the matter by senior associate Juan Manuel Marchán. The firm maintains a strong network of contacts with international firms in Latin America and beyond, and it recently worked with Central American firm Arias & Muñoz on advice to Regal Forest concerning the acquisition of local business Artefacta. Other clients include Motorola, PPG Industries and General Motors del Ecuador.

Within Dispute resolution, Pérez Bustamante & Ponce is a first tier firm,

Full-service firm Pérez Bustamante & Ponce maintains a "litigation unit" that handles a full array of disputes work (barring criminal), including arbitration and mediation. Departmental leader Rodrigo Jijón is an experienced practitioner with a steadily growing profile. He has recently been involved in representing a foreign client in arbitration (and associated litigation) against the Ecuadorian state. In other work, Jijón, in conjunction with corporate partner Diego Pérez-Ordoñez, has been working with a number of major oil & gas clients on an array of litigious matters. The firm has a growing profile as a leading option to act as local counsel in major international arbitration cases. Associate Juan Manuel Marchán is developing his arbitration-focused practice and gaining market recognition.

Within Energy and natural resources, Pérez Bustamante & Ponce is a first tier firm,

Full-service firm Pérez Bustamante & Ponce is highly regarded in the market and represents a number of major international clients on a range of energy-related matters, including in dispute resolution and regulatory issues before the authorities. Sebastián Pérez is a key figure and was involved in the firm's recent representation of Noble Energy and its subsidiary MachalaPower in the negotiation and execution of 11 long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs), with state-owned distribution companies. Francisco Roldán is a senior figure in this area whose experience includes acting as counsel for the World Bank and the National Modernisation Council (CONAM), on the preparation of reforms to the hydrocarbons law and the restructuring of the oil sector (in 1993 and 1998). The firm is also advising a major international oil company in on-going bilateral investment treaty (BIT), arbitration under UNCITRAL rules, and in local litigation issues.

Within Intellectual property , Pérez Bustamante & Ponce is a second tier firm,

Pérez Bustamante & Ponce's full-service offering includes a solid IP practice. The firm advises a number of domestic clients but works predominantly as counsel to major international clients (including Ford and ExxonMobil), in the registration of trade mark portfolios and in the provision of on-going compliance advice. Francisco Pérez is the key partner and associate Rafael González works extensively in the area.

Within Labour and employment , Pérez Bustamante & Ponce is a second tier firm,

Large full-service firm Pérez Bustamante & Ponce's multi-disciplinary approach enables it to provide clients with comprehensive advice across a number of practice areas, including labour and employment matters. The firm advises its extensive client portfolio on labour law compliance and it also provides representation in contentious employment matters. Jorge Cevallos is regarded as a strong practitioner and counts labour expertise among the skill-sets of his broad practice. Key clients include Arca Ecuador, Perenco and Hewlett-Packard.

Within Real estate, Pérez Bustamante & Ponce is a first tier firm,

Pérez Bustamante & Ponce has an excellent reputation across all the key practice areas and real estate is no exception. The firm's work is linked closely to its corporate and project development work. Its impressive client portfolio includes a number of major international companies that have turned to the firm due to the depth and breadth of its experience. Diego Pérez-Ordoñez has developed a good name in the area, as has Sebastián Pérez who oversees the practice. Sandra Reed is rated for her real estate-related projects expertise. In recent work, the firm advised on the construction of the new airport in Quito.

Within Tax, Pérez Bustamante & Ponce is a first tier firm,

Market-leading firm Pérez Bustamante & Ponce has an ‘excellent' tax practice. The firm represents an impressive portfolio of predominantly international clients across a variety of sectors and the strong team of lawyers is supported by the inclusion of a number of financial experts in the firm. Jorge Cevallos is an experienced lawyer with a broad practice, and associate Juan Gabriel Reyes has also developed a good reputation in the market. In recent work the team assisted SAB Miller in the process of structuring and executing the acquisition of shares held by the Santo Domingo Group in Ecuadorian companies through an OPA or public takeover bid. This was the first OPA in the history of the Ecuadorian stock exchange. Other key clients include Arca and Agip.