The Legal 500 > Latin America > Dominican Republic > Dispute resolution

Noted for handling a broad spectrum of contentious work, Biaggi Abogados' 'very professional' practice spans criminal, real estate, constitutional, environmental, administrative and judicial litigation; medical malpractice, competition and insolvency litigation are growing areas of instruction for the team. Gustavo Biaggi, well known for his expertise in real estate litigation, jointly heads the practice with Edward Veras-Vargas, who counts criminal law-related disputes as a core strength, and arbitrator Wanda Perdomo, noted for her 'pragmatic solutions'. Biaggi successfully represented the Dominican state in long-running litigation to recover more than 372 million square feet of land in Jaragua National Park; the Supreme Court annulled over 1,000 deeds of alleged fraudulent owners, marking the state as the absolute owner of the land. He and Perdomo are also acting for the Steel Importers Association of the Dominican Republic in an antitrust investigation into alleged abuse of dominance by the local steel bar manufacturing company. Other clients include Grupo Cirsa, Cemex Dominicana and Bigstar. Associates Heidy Guerrero and Nelys Rivas are also active in this sector.

Headrick Rizik Alvarez & Fernández’s 'excellent' department houses lawyers with 'deep expertise' across a broad spectrum of dispute resolution; banking and labour litigation are core strengths of the practice, with bank fraud-related criminal cases keeping the team busy. Well-regarded litigator Francisco Alvarez and Tomás Hernández, who has 'a strategic mind' and counts labour litigation as a key strength, jointly head the practice together with Julio Camejo, who is noted for his expertise in environmental and white-collar criminal law matters. Recent work includes Alvarez and Camejo representing the Dominican General Tax Agency in criminal proceedings against the Tremols Group in a $186m tax fraud case. Manuel Madera and Jaime Senior are both active commercial litigators. Other clients include Pfizer, Banco BHD Léon and Citibank.

Counting criminal defamation, labour litigation, commercial litigation, contentious insurance claims and arbitration among its areas of expertise, Jiménez Cruz Peña handles mandates for international and domestic state-owned and private companies, and counts telecoms, real estate, energy and telecoms as key sector strengths. Marcos Peña Rodríguez, highly regarded for his litigation and arbitration expertise, and Rosa Díaz, who is well known for handling labour litigation, jointly head the practice, in which José Cruz Campillo is another key contact. Clients include American Airlines and Quala Dominicana.

Medina Garrigó Abogados' contentious practice is led by Fabiola Medina, 'one of the most intelligent lawyers in the country' and an expert arbitrator. The department is highly regarded for its strength in white-collar criminal law, administrative, constitutional and antitrust litigation, and international and domestic arbitration. Medina and the 'dedicated' Jesús Francos, who is well known for his administrative law expertise, are representing ARS Universal in an antitrust investigation launched by competition authority ProCompetencia regarding alleged abuse of dominance. Luz Díaz is a key contact for white-collar crime cases. Other clients include Worldwide Seguros, Corporación Minera, Grupo Ramos and César Iglesias.

Pellerano & Herrera handles a wide range of dispute resolution, especially for foreign investors. Sports and aviation law are core strengths of the practice group, although the department is also recognised for its excellent capabilities in customs disputes; real estate, tax and labour litigation; consumer litigation; and distribution cases (under Law 173). With almost 40 years' litigation experience, Vitelio Mejía Ortiz heads the team in conjunction with Lucy Objío (recently appointed as an arbitrator for the Centro de Resolución de Conflictos de la Cámara de Comercio y Producción of Santiago), and newly promoted partner Felix Fernandez. Recent matters saw Mejía Ortiz successfully defended Dominican company Faro del Este in a $110m dispute that reached the Supreme Court regarding land ownership in Punta Cana. The team also handles contentious matters for six Dominican baseball teams as well as the Dominican Baseball League.

Well-regarded international arbitrator Luis Miguel Pereyra heads Pereyra & Asociados' department, which is active in labour, commercial, civil, administrative, constitutional and criminal litigation for multi-jurisdictional and domestic clients; banking, real estate and energy have been particularly busy sectors. Pereyra and Gregorio García are representing Superintendenciade Bancos de la República Dominicana in criminal proceedings regarding the liquidation of Dominican bank Banco Peravia as part of a $35m fraud allegedly committed by the directors of the bank, some of whom were Venezuelan nationals who fled to Venezuela. Other clients include Esso República Dominicana, Bank of Nova Scotia, Embraer and 3M Dominicana.

Counting white-collar crime, civil, real estate and commercial litigation as key strengths, former dispute resolution boutique - now full-service firm - Guzmán Ariza's litigation practice is led by Fabio Guzmán Ariza. Litigation expert Rhadaisis Espinal and special counsel Melissa Sosa have been defending electricity company Edesur Dominicana in civil and damages claims. In other matters, Sosa and Fabio Guzmán Saladín are representing Colombian construction company Trevi Galante in proceedings against Opret regarding construction work for the Santo Domingo Metro; the pair are also defending the same client against the tax authority regarding a tax debt derived from credit allegedly owed by Opret. In other work, Alberto Reyes acted for Consorcio de Construcciones Planificadas in a $14m arbitration. Of counsel Michel Camacho is an expert in white-collar criminal law.

The 'excellent' team at OMG is led jointly by Tristán Carbuccia, who 'conducts his practice with an excellent balance between strategic intelligence and discipline', and Natachú Domínguez, who has extensive expertise in labour and civil litigation, as well as arbitration. The department has been busy handling instructions from telecoms, construction, banking, energy, and real estate sector clients, among other areas. Founding partner Leonel Melo ('an outstanding lawyer') is representing the heirs of a Saudi Arabian businessman in litigation regarding the liquidation of real estate assets in the Dominican Republic. Other clients include Inicia, Banco Dominicano del Progreso, Vivus, Lajun and Altice. In 2018 Anya Rodríguez left to join financial services company Valora.

Bobadilla Abogados has a solid track record in handling contentious mandates for a client base drawn from the infrastructure, telecoms, energy, and asset and estate planning sectors. The department is recognised for its strength in commercial, administrative and constitutional litigation, and is equally adept at arbitration. Andrés Emilio Bobadilla Fernández leads the practice; María Del Mar Rodríguez, senior associate Ernesto Bournigal and associate Andrés Lopez are key names.

Nelson Jáquez leads the practice at DMK Abogados, which is strong in domestic and international arbitration and commercial litigation. Jáquez recently successfully defended Swiss company Samsic Assistance in a dispute pertaining to the award of a private tender for ground handling services at Santo Domingo and Puerto Plata airports. Other clients include Black & Decker (US), Urbanizaciones e Inversiones, Mercantil Farmacéutica and Esmiralda. Senior associate Samir Mateo Coradín handles labour, commercial and property litigation.

ECIJA DVMS' practice has been especially active in sports litigation and arbitration, and counts real estate, private international law, construction, and hospitality as key sector strengths. Practice head Edward Salcedo defended the Minnesota Twins against a $1m garnishment claim brought against the club by the agents of a former player. In other matters, Salcedo is assisting the Helidosa Aviation Group with the termination of an employee's contract where the employee had union representative immunity; the immunity was lifted by the Labour Court of Appeals. Other clients include Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Punta Cana, Houston Astros, St. Louis Cardinals, Atlanta Braves, Naco Golf & Country Club and the San Diego Padres. Associate Aided Ceballo is a name to note.

2018 saw the entry of Guzmán & Molina, Abogados into the dispute resolution market, which has attracted praise for its 'solid professional knowledge'. Practice head Lucas Guzmán López is 'an excellent lawyer'; 'a fast thinker, studious and precise', with 'great business acumen'; he is representing industrial company Polyplas Dominicana in a number of claims brought against the client following an explosion in its offices. López is also acting for Star Bus in a shareholders' dispute. Other clients include Capital DBG, Cap Cana, Empresa Generadora de Electricidad Haina, and Centro de Otorrinolaringología y Especialidades.

Praised for its 'professionalism and advanced technical knowledge', Mazara Abogados' 'very practical and efficient' practice counts hydrocarbons litigation and high-value, complex tax fraud cases as its forte. Group head and 'amazing litigator' Yurosky Mazara and associate Noé Abreu successfully defended Seguros Sura against a defamation and libel case, involving a defamation media campaign, instigated by hardware company Bellon. The pair are also representing plastic surgery company Cigmed in a number of civil, criminal and fraud claims. Other clients include New Asia Novelty, Banco de Reservas de la República Dominicana, Asociación Nacional de Distribuidores de Gas, Banco Agrícola de la República Dominicana and Cap Cana.

Russin, Vecchi & Heredia Bonetti is noted for its strong capabilities in tax litigation and contractual disputes, although the group is also adept at assisting clients from a broad spectrum of sectors with a wide range of contentious matters. Georges Santoni Recio represents Bayer in a contractual dispute against agricultural company AgroAvance and Rosa Campillo Celado acted for Senosiain Laboratorios in a labour litigation case. José Maldonado Stark and Luis Heredia Valenzuela are key contacts, while senior associate Manuel Conde Cabrera is the litigation department co-ordinator.