Ms Pilar Castillo > Arias, Fábrega & Fábrega > Panama, Panama > Lawyer Profile

Arias, Fábrega & Fábrega
PH ARIFA, 10TH FLOOR, WEST BOULEVARD
SANTA MARIA BUSINESS DISTRICT
PO BOX 0816-01098, PANAMA
Panama

Work Department

Ms. Pilar Castillo focuses her work on the areas of shipping and aviation.

Position

Pilar Castillo joined the firm in 2010 and became a partner in 2017.

She has a broad range of experience in shipping, aviation and commodities finance, as well as corporations.

Ms. Castillo frequently works with lawyers in other practice areas providing an IBT lawyer’s perspective on M&A transactions, and commodity finance and secured transactions located in Panamanian free zones.

As an active member of ARIFA’s aviation legal team, Ms. Castillo represents leasing companies and investors in the most complex transactions, as the leading Panamanian airline expands its fleet of international transport based in Tocumen International Airport.

Career

Previously, Ms. Castillo worked as legal counsel to the Panama Maritime Authority’s Directorate General of Merchant Marine, assisting in the implementation of efforts in order to reposition Panama in the Paris MOU white list of ship registries.

Languages

Spanish and English

Memberships

Member of the Panama Maritime Organizing Committee (2018-2019)

President (2021-2022), Vice President (2019-2020) and Deputy Secretary (2015-2019) of the Board of Directors of the Panama Maritime Law Association (APADEMAR)

Education

Master of Laws, Fordham University (2009) (concentration on international business and trade law)

Bachelor of Laws (Licenciatura en Derecho y Ciencias Políticas), summa cum laude, Santa Maria la Antigua University (2008)

Lawyer Rankings

Panama > Transport: Shipping

(Next Generation Partners)

Pilar Castillo – Arias, Fábrega & Fábrega

Hailed as ‘the best maritime law firm in Panama’, Arias, Fábrega & Fábrega houses a comprehensive practice with a notable strong suit in shipping finance, frequently drawing on close connections to major international firms to advise ship owners and financial institutions on high-value, cross-border transactions. The team also handles a high volume of vessel registrations (including of mobile offshoring drilling units) under the Panamanian flag, and assists with obtaining operating licences for port services. Shipping litigation forms another key pillar of the practice; the team’s impressive record in this area includes representing clients before the Maritime Courts and Supreme Court of Panama. Jorge Loaiza III, who has three decades’ experience spanning ship finance, registration and disputes, leads the team. The ‘brilliant’ Pilar Castillo and Fernando Aued, who focuses on litigation, are also key names at top level.