Medina Garnes Abogados > Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic > Firm Profile

Medina Garnes Abogados Offices

Medina Garnes Abogados
GUSTAVO MEJIA RICART 102, ESQ. ABRAHAM LINCOLN
EDIFICIO CORPORATIVO 20/10, SUITE 904
PIANTINI, SANTO DOMINGO
Dominican Republic
Visit website 1 809 683 4422 1809 547 5122

Medina Garnes Abogados > The Legal 500 Rankings

Dominican Republic > Dispute resolution Tier 1

Medina Garnes Abogados is hailed for providing ‘excellent recommendations in addition to positive results in court‘. The team, which has been involved in a number of precedent-setting cases in the Dominican Republic, covers the gamut of administrative, civil, commercial and constitutional litigation and also has strong suits in white-collar criminal cases and arbitration. Firm founder Fabiola Medina Garnes, who is especially proficient in arbitration and in tax, administrative and civil litigation, oversees with team with Jesús Francos, who is well regarded for his specialism in administrative disputes. The pair are well supported by senior associates Jansy Castro, whose past experience as a public defender puts her in a strong position to handle criminal cases, and Víctor León Morel, who joined from Headrick Rizik Alvarez & Fernández in January 2022.

Practice head(s):

Fabiola Medina Garnes; Jesús Francos

Testimonials

‘The team of lawyers at Medina Garnes have high-quality talent and experience. We can attest to the excellent results we have had in the cases that they have handled. Billing is competitive in the market, and the use of advanced technology is excellent.‘

‘The follow-up is good. They provide excellent recommendations in addition to positive results in court. Jesús Francos is a quintessential professional with great knowledge of the subject.‘

‘We feel very confident when Medina Garnes represent us. They are forward-thinking and capable, and we always approve their recommendations in order to prevent litigation. They are very organised as a firm.‘

‘Jesús Francos is always available and his advice is accurate. He is very knowledgeable and stays up to date in his field.‘

‘It is a very organised firm and has lawyers with prestigious reputations who, above all, provide their services in a very personalised way.‘

‘Both Jesús Francos and Fabiola Medina are well-prepared lawyers with exceptional skills. They are very kind and have exceptional empathy for their clients. They always look for new solutions to problems.‘

‘The team is excellent: they work in a comprehensive and unified way, and share the same vision.‘

‘This team, especially Fabiola Medina and Jesús Francos, always gives 300%.‘

Key clients

Agua Clara/Inkia Energy

Autopista del Nordeste (ADN)

Compañía Dominicana de Teléfonos

Corporación Minera Dominicana (CORMIDOM)

Women’s Link Worldwide

García Tejera y Asociados

Constructora del País (CODELPA)

Worldwide Seguros

Familia Bonelly Ricart (La Isabelita)

Reid & Compañía

Imca

Work highlights

  • Acting for Agua Clara, which was granted a licence to operate one of the biggest renewable energy electric parks in the Dominican Republic, in a lawsuit initiated by companies claiming that they are the owners of the electric park.
  • Representing Corporación Minera de la República Dominicana (CORMIDOM) in a contentious appeal against a Decree of the President of the Dominican Republic which declared land that is part of CORMIDOM’s concession agreement as a national park/protected area.
  • Representing Garcia Tejera Asociados in a challenge to its exclusion from a public tender conducted by the Ministry of Education for the import and distribution of computers and other devices for distance learning as a result of Covid-19.

Dominican Republic > Tax Tier 1

Fabiola Medina Garnes and Jesús Francos head up the team at Medina Garnes Abogados, which stands out for its prowess in tax litigation, particularly administrative disputes. The team also advises on non-contentious matters such as the tax issues surrounding setting up new businesses and investments, designing tax structures as part of its estate planning work, and regulatory matters. Its client base includes both local and international clients; among the many sector strengths for the group are banking, energy, mining, infrastructure and telecoms. Medina Garnes and Francos both have strong reputations for tax litigation, while Patricia Álvarez – who was promoted to partner in June 2023 – is skilled in transactional tax matters.

Practice head(s):

Fabiola Medina Garnes; Jesús Francos

Key clients

Cerveceria Nacional Dominicana (CND)

Phillip Morris Dominicana

Corporación Minera Dominicana (Cormidom)

Autopista del Nordeste (ADN)/Boulevard Turístico del Atlántico (BTA)

Hacienda Agroindustrial Luisita

Compañía Dominicana de Teléfonos

Work highlights

  • Represented Cervecería Nacional Dominicana (CND) in a dispute regarding the resolutions of the tax administration that established the payment of an alleged excise tax on the price of beer bottles for a global amount of approximately $30m.
  • Assisting Corporación Minera Dominicana (CORMIDOM) in an action for the execution of an agreement and determination of tax obligations against the City Council of Maimón.
  • Represented CND in two appeals before the Administrative Court against a resolution by the tax administration.

Dominican Republic > Corporate and M&A Tier 2

Medina Garnes Abogados‘ corporate team is well versed in multi-jurisdictional M&A and corporate restructurings, as well as day-to-day corporate and commercial issues. The firm’s recent caseload reflects its growing strength in the technology sector, where it is active in advising clients on launching, expanding and restructuring their operations in the Dominican Republic. Founding partner Fabiola Medina Garnes leads the team alongside Melissa Silié, who is noted for her advice to both local and international clients on M&A, antitrust issues and distribution agreements. The team can now draw on the expertise of three partners, following the promotion of Patricia Álvarez in June 2023.

Practice head(s):

Melissa Silié; Fabiola Medina Garnes

Testimonials

‘The team is excellent. They work with a sense of urgency, adjust to the client’s needs, and always defend the client’s interests with solid arguments.’

‘Fabiola Medina and Patricia Álvarez are always accessible, which is impressive. They are always willing to give their best and dedicate themselves to their client completely.’

‘The MGA team has supported us with several cross border transactions and with particular issues in the Dominican Republic. They have always been diligent and knowledgeable about the relevant issues.‘

‘Melissa Silié is always willing to help and explain to clients how to proceed with matters in the Dominican Republic.‘

‘Melissa Silié is an excellent lawyer and an expert in multiple fields, which allows her to support any multinational company that decides to invest in the Dominican market.‘

Key clients

Inkia Energy

Moody’s

Kyndryl

Packet Fabric

Spoon

Fin Technologies

Ocean Spray

Moran Mining Group

Banco Sabadell Miami Branch

Concentrix

Corporación Minera Dominicana (CORMIDOM)

Komatsu

Work highlights

  • Advised Inkia Energy on the sale of its local subsidiaries, which operate Parque Agua Clara, one of the biggest wind energy projects in the Dominican Republic, as well as the Peravia Solar I and Peravia Solar II projects, to Energy Group AES Dominicana.
  • Acting as local counsel to Moody’s on the acquisition of SCRiesgo, a leading group of local credit rating agencies serving domestic financial markets in Central America and the Dominican Republic.
  • Assisted technology company Kyndryl with the process of restructuring its distribution chain in the Dominican Republic.

Medina Garnes Abogados > Firm Profile

Medina Garnes Abogados (MGA) is a boutique law firm founded in the Dominican Republic by Fabiola Medina in 2004, under the name Medina Garnes Asociados. Since then, the firm has gained extensive experience assisting clients in legal matters in the areas of telecommunications, administrative law, tax law, litigation and alternative dispute resolution. Additionally, in recent years, and following a careful and sustainable growth strategy, MGA has managed to expand its practice into new areas of law including all corporate and financial matters, mergers & acquisitions, contracts, regulated markets, real estate, employment, economic and criminal law and energy, developing a broader and more comprehensive legal practice, with an emphasis on providing services with the highest quality standards, efficiently, and focused on solutions.

MGA has the distinction of having become one of the most outstanding law firms in the Dominican Republic, a recognition that has resulted from an extraordinary professional practice, marked by great achievements in many relevant cases, for clients from the private and public sectors. The firm has also stood out for its constant and exceptional participation in recent and important legislative processes tending to the creation and reform of key regulations, which has provided its lawyers with a unique perspective on the functioning of the Dominican regulatory system and its effects on business activities and transactions. However, the most significant accolade for MGA is the continued trust of its clients.

The firm offers a wide range of legal teams made up of specialists in different areas of law. The experience gained by our lawyers enables MGA to handle complex matters through a comprehensive and multidisciplinary approach that draws from all relevant sources within MGA which, while minimizing costs, provides its clients with efficient legal solutions designed to maximize the identification and management of all potential risks in national and multijurisdictional transactions.

What sets MGA apart from other firms in the Dominican Republic is its fundamental principle: getting to know the client deeply and becoming part of their business in a proactive way, always adding value. During their years of practice, our lawyers have learned that an essential part of their work is taking the time to know, identify and understand clients’ needs, as the only way to truly add value to them in the provision of legal services, whether in the context of an operation, or giving them constructive advice in the form of “preventive medicine”, or sometimes simply keeping them up to date with relevant information on local aspects of their industries. The firm has sophisticated clients ranging from local and international financial entities, telecoms, companies from all manufacturing industries, as well as fintech’s and family businesses.

Main Contacts

Department Name Email Telephone
Tax, Dispute Resolution, Arbitration, Administrative and Regulatory, Telecommunications Founding Partnert- Fabiola Medina Garnes fmedina@mga.com.do 809-683-4422
Administrative and Regulatory, Dispute Resolution, Civil and Labor Law, Telecommunications Jesus Francos Rodriguez-Partner jfrancos@mga.com.do 809-683-4422
Corporate and M&A, Capital Markets, Banking and Finance, Competition Law, Melissa Silié Ruiz-Partner msilie@mga.com.do 809-683-4422
Corporate and M&A, Tax, Banking and Finance, Real Estate, Intellectual Property, Energy Law Patricia Alvarez Sosa-Partner palvarez@mga.com.do 809-683-4422

Meet The Team(s)

Staff Figures

Total staff : 20
Partners : 4
Associates : 8

Languages

Spanish
English
French