The corporate team at Aguilar Castillo Love leverages the bench strength of nine offices throughout the region to advise major multinationals such as Bayer, Johnson & Johnson, Mondelez and AstraZeneca on high-value, multi-jurisdictional transactions. With a client base spanning sectors ranging from tech, financial services, manufacturing and healthcare to food and beverages, hospitality and consumer goods, the multidisciplinary team’s comprehensive service extends to complex negotiations, antitrust matters, labour matters, tax issues and the detection of criminal risks. Foreign investment authority and senior partner John Aguilar Quesada leads the team, bringing expertise to complex M&A. Other key figures include Esteban Agüero Guier, the former head of the Costa Rican government’s international investment and trade disputes department; Tatiana Rojas Hernández, who brings expertise to corporate compliance and investigations; Marco Solano Gómez, who has over 20 years’ experience managing major cross-border deals and day-to-day operations; free trade zone regime expert Andrea Sáenz; and senior associate Stephanie Howard Peña. Laura Rodríguez Amador was promoted to partner in September 2022. Since publication, the firm has appointed Mary Ann Drake -formerly the firm's regional manager- as both a partner and the firm's General Counsel - effective as of December 2023.

The powerhouse team at BLP remains a market leader, employing the full bench strength of offices in San José, Puntarenas and Guanacaste (with a new fourth location in Marina Flamingo which opened in January 2023), in addition to branches across Latin America and Europe, to provide day-to-day advice and assistance with complex, high-value, cross-border M&A to national and global corporates across sectors ranging from building materials, life sciences, software and aviation to pharmaceuticals, fintech, telecoms and hospitality. The practice is headed by David Gutiérrez, who divides his time between the San José and Madrid offices, and who brings expertise to corporate structuring and infrastructure financing. Other key figures include Eduardo Calderón and Adriana Castro, both of whom are specialist in telecoms and media industry matters; Adelina Villalobos, who advises on free trade zone matters; and directors Adriana Acuña, who manages files involving corporate governance, and Elia Naranjo, who brings experience to contractual negotiations. José María Pacheco, a newly appointed special counsel experienced in cross-border M&A, joined the team from Sfera Legal in August 2022.

The corporate team at Consortium Legal remains a leader in the market, utilising the deep bench strength of offices in Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua to advise major multinationals (including Cemex, Walmart and APM Terminals) involved in high-value, cross-border transactions across sectors ranging from building materials, retail, pharmaceuticals and healthcare to shipping, hospitality, aviation, tech and food. The team’s comprehensive services cover real estate acquisitions and sales, M&A, asset purchases, bulk sale processes, specialised drafting and regulatory compliance. The team is led by Rolando Laclé Zuñiga, who draws on over 30 years of cross-border M&A and foreign investment experience; Juan Manuel Godoy, who brings expertise in the energy sector and green projects, David Reuben, who specialises in deals involving private equity and highly regulated sectors; and real estate development expert Juan Manuel Cordero.

The experienced corporate team at regional firm Arias brings strength to advising major multinationals (including Telefónica and Mondelez) across such sectors as telecoms, pharmaceuticals, sports, food and beverages, professional services, chemicals and energy on day-to-day matters and complex, cross-border transactions. The team is headed by due diligence and contract negotiation specialist Andrey Dorado; energy sector expert Melania Dittel; Vicente Lines, who assists telecoms infrastructure and service providers with establishment in the Costa Rican market; Víctor Manuel Garita, who brings expertise to multi-jurisdictional M&A; and international trade authority (and former consul for the Costa Rican Consulate General in New York) Carlos Camacho. Diego Gallegos employs a project and asset finance skill set and provides support with political risk mitigation. Senior counsel Tracy Valera advises on shareholders’, stock purchase and asset purchase agreements and senior associate Sebastián Solano also provides key support.

Leveraging the bench strength of offices in 17 countries spanning Central America, Europe and Asia, and working relationships with Magic Circle firms such as Clifford Chance LLP, and bolstered by the firm’s March 2023 alliance with Taylor Wessing, the corporate and M&A team at ECIJA advises major multinationals (including Sanofi) on day-to-day matters and high-value, cross-border transactions. The practice’s services cover matters ranging from M&A, due diligence and corporate governance to commercial contracts and foreign investments. The group’s active client base spans the pharmaceuticals, energy, financial services, consumer goods, e-commerce, tourism, automotive and agrochemicals industries. The team is headed by corporate structure expert Guillermo Zúñiga, who has led the practice for over 20 years, and who brings strength to managing complex distribution schemes and matters involving the real estate and energy sectors. Other key figures include real estate specialist Mercedes Sancho, who brings expertise to advising NGOs and foundations seeking to establish a presence in Costa Rica, and experienced associate Monserrat Soto Roig. Since publication, the firm has also strengthened it global hallmark practice of TMT with the hire of former vice minister Edwin Estrada; previously at the country’s Ministry of Science, Technology and Telecommunication, he joined the firm as of counsel in March 2024.

The multidisciplinary corporate and M&A group at regional firm EY Law Central America leverages the bench strength of eight offices in seven countries (including the March 2022 opening of a Pacific Coast office in the Guanacaste province) and coordinates with its real estate and finance teams to advise local and multinational corporates involved in complex, cross-border transactions. The team’s comprehensive service includes distribution and franchise agreements, joint ventures and restructuring. The practice is led by corporate law authority Hernán Pacheco, free trade zone specialist Fernando Vargas and senior manager Ana Sáenz, an experienced economist. Other key figures include real estate practice co-head Alejandro Antillón, who brings his expertise to assisting hospitality chains and developers.

Utilising the bench strength of its regional network of seven offices in six countries, the corporate team at Dentons advises national and multinational corporates across industries ranging from food and beverages, pharmaceuticals, financial services and energy to e-commerce, telecoms, tech, media and real estate on day-to-day operations and complex, cross-border transactions. The practice’s comprehensive service includes assistance with tax matters, compliance, M&A, business unit spinoffs, tender and exchange offers, leveraged buyouts, joint ventures, strategic alliances and divestitures. The team is led by Eduardo Zúñiga, who specialises in the hospitality and real estate sectors, and Tatiana Reuben, who brings over 20 years of in-house experience to the practice, and whose focus lies on the design and implementation of compliance programmes. Senior associate Montserrat Ortega joined in January 2022 from an in-house role.

Bolstered by the March 2023 opening of two new offices in Puntarenas and Guanacaste, the corporate team at Facio & Cañas provides a one-stop shop to advise major multinational corporates, including Oracle and GSK, on day-to-day matters and complex, high-value, multi-jurisdictional transactions. With a client portfolio spanning such sectors as tech, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, consumer goods, medical devices and retail, the team’s comprehensive service ranges from regulatory compliance, corporate governance, due diligence and the negotiation of local and regional M&A to company incorporation and franchising, agency and distribution matters. The practice is led by Federico Rucavado, who brings expertise in business structuring and free trade zone regime matters; seasoned litigator and arbitrator Carlos Oreamuno; Roberto Leiva, who brings over 30 years of experience and assists with contract negotiation, general corporate matters, financial operations, real estate deals and M&A; managing partner Sergio Solera; and foreign investment expert Edgar Odio, who specialises in the structuring of commercialisation arrangements for the avoidance of competition risks. Key support is provided by senior associate Mariela Solano, whose background includes work on corporate transactions in the energy and fintech sectors.