ECIJA Colombia > Bogotá, Colombia > Firm Profile

ECIJA Colombia Offices

ECIJA Colombia
CARRERA 11A, Nº97A-19, OF 401
BOGOTÁ
Colombia
Visit website 0057 3108168169

ECIJA Colombia > The Legal 500 Rankings

Colombia > Competition and antitrust Tier 2

The competition and antitrust practice at ECIJA Colombia is ‘characterised by the technical knowledge of its partners and associates’, according to satisfied clients. A particularly strong performer in the behavioural space, the team has recently advised on administrative investigations on behalf of Bavaria and DIMAYOR (the major division of Colombian football). It also has strong experience in contentious matters and, less frequently, handles merger-review cases. Competition expert Pablo Márquez stands out for his ‘extensive academic and professional career’ and co-heads the group together with Julio Castañeda, who is a force in both the antitrust and telecoms spheres. The team additionally draws on increasingly prominent counsel Pablo Onofre, who co-ordinates the competition and merger control unit, and associate Jorge Mario González.

Practice head(s):

Pablo Márquez; Julio Castañeda

Testimonials

‘The team is exceptional! Its impeccable technical knowledge, added to its understanding of the participants and context in which the authorities make their decisions, allows the ECIJA team to provide the best advice in the market.’

‘The team’s comprehensive vision of the challenges and opportunities of its clients allows it to add value to its work in competition and antitrust. The decisions of the authorities are made to some extent considering the national and international context. ECIJA understands this dynamic like nobody else.’

‘ECIJA’s competition and antitrust law practice is characterised by the technical knowledge of its partners and associates, derived from its extensive experience in the public sector and competition authority of the country.’

‘We recommend the team for its networking abilities and the personalised attention from the partner in charge.’

‘Pablo Márquez stands out from other lawyers in competition matters due to his extensive academic and professional career. He is an absolutely respected person in both the public and private sectors.’

‘ECIJA’s practice is phenomenal, inclusive and innovative. Its work team is young and has the support of senior partners for guidance, presentation of cases, strategy analysis and work tables since they carry out their internships, they always seek to stay motivated and updated.’

‘The trajectory of the partners is faultless: pioneers in the work of the SIC, in academia and in private litigation. Notably, Julio Castañeda and Pablo Márquez have been visionaries in the practice area from their participation in public office, through their extensive career in academia and private professional practice.’

‘Julio Castañeda has a supernatural level of commitment to his clients and to his juniors and paralegals (both personally and professionally), which distinguishes him and makes him stand out from other professionals. Pablo Márquez has no comparison in his managerial skills.’

Key clients

Bavaria (AB InBev)

División Mayor del Fútbol Colombiano (DIMAYOR)

Organizacion Terpel

Cementos Argos

Westlake Chemical

Talma

Calidra/Calco

OPP Graneles

Dipresco/ UT Antioquia

Work highlights

  • Advised Bavaria on the merger between SABMiller and Anheuser-Busch InBev, as well as on the investigation by the SIC into Bavaria for potentially restricting the access of competitors to the beer market.
  • Represented the División Mayor del Fútbol Colombiano (DIMAYOR) in an administrative investigation opened by the SIC for alleged anti-competitive practices in the players’ transfer rights market.
  • Advised Talma in the filing of the pre-evaluation application for the business integration between acquirer LASA, a subsidiary of Talma, and Servicios Aéreos Integrados (SAI), a subsidiary of the Avianca Group.

Colombia > TMT Tier 3

ECIJA Colombia’s group ‘proposes innovative solutions’, according to sources. With solid offerings in media and entertainment, telecoms, and internet and e-commerce (including fintech), the team is arguably best known for its relationships with film and television production companies, including CMO Producciones, MediaPro and Dynamo Producciones. Regulatory specialist Pablo Márquez is noted for his broad practice, which spans competition, telecoms regulation and internet governance; he co-heads the team alongside IP and audio-vision partner Patricia Renjifo. The group also draws on litigator Julio Castañeda  and senior associate Paula Gutiérrez de Piñeres.

Practice head(s):

Pablo Márquez; Patricia Renjifo

Testimonials

‘We recommend the firm for its willingness and timely responses to the requirements made by our company.’

‘The team is comprised of experts in technology regulatory advice, particularly on issues such as 5G and advisory cases to deal with consumer and competition-related matters.’

‘The Ecija team is always available for our requirements, has extensive experience in the issues, prepares meetings rigorously and in advance, and very importantly, proposes innovative solutions in procedures and in obtaining information.’

‘Pablo Márquez has extensive experience, and combines it in the best way with his analytical skills, so that he makes it easy to see the complex in his recommendations. Julio Castañeda masters the procedures and his knowledge saves the clients’ time.’

Key clients

Mercado Libre

Airbnb

Samsung Electronics Colombia

Tiktok

Infinito Studios

Dynamo Producciones

Miracol Media

CMO Producciones

Mediapro-Televideo

Rhayuela

Work highlights

  • Advising Mercado Libre on e-commerce regulation, consumer law and privacy law, among other issues.
  • Advising Airbnb on regulatory matters and on the impact of such regulation (and other public policies in the TMT area), on its business model in Colombia.
  • Advising Dynamo Producciones on all contractual matters, including on the production of Brotherhood, produced by Dynamo Producciones and Mandarin for Amazon Prime Video.

Dispute resolution > Arbitration Tier 4

According to sources, ECIJA Colombia’s team ‘provides a series of innovative services that generate value for clients’. Particularly experienced in arbitral proceedings related to public utilities, economic regulation and competition, the group acts for a diverse mix of domestic and multinational corporations, as well as public sector entities. Competition and regulatory specialist Pablo Márquez co-heads the department together with Camilo Ramírez, whose practice has an emphasis on litigation, arbitration and real estate work.

Practice head(s):

Camilo Ramírez; Pablo Márquez

Testimonials

‘Ecija is a dynamic firm, with professionals who are completely familiar with technology and new trends, and its work team is helpful, profound, and very willing. They break with the credo that lawyers are slow, old-fashioned and not very dynamic.’

‘I believe that Ecija has three outstanding virtues: it is very well prepared; it is empathetic, which allows it to build good work teams; and lawyers are assertive in their opinions.’

‘Ecija Colombia has a diversity of experience and knowledge that allows it to offer the market a series of innovative services that generate value for clients, in aspects such as legal tech, competition, land regulations,   among others. Ecija Colombia offers unique services that sets it apart from the rest.’

‘All Ecija Colombia partners have had exceptional performances in their previous jobs and bring that experience and knowledge to provide value-added services.’

Key clients

Unidad Administrativa Especial de Servicios Públicos (UAESP)

Work highlights

  • The firm acted as co-counsel to Unidad Administrativa Especial de Servicios Públicos (the district entity responsible for ensuring the provision of public utilities in Bogotá) in an arbitration claim initiated by CGR, the operator of the sanitary landfill Doña Juana in Bogotá.

Dispute resolution > Litigation Tier 5

Lawyers at ECIJA Colombia ‘seek to provide assertive and disruptive solutions’, according to sources. The litigation group is closely aligned with  the firm’s prominent competition practice, which sees the team mainly engaged to advise on antitrust-related cases. That being said, it also has experience in civil, commercial, and administrative litigation. Competition and regulatory law experts Pablo Márquez and Julio Castañeda co-head a department that also includes six-year associate Jorge Mario González, who specialises in antitrust and dispute resolution. Associate Nasser Obando left the firm in November 2022.

Practice head(s):

Julio Castañeda; Pablo Márquez

Testimonials

‘The Ecija team knows the business models of its clients. Its professionals maintain a close relationship with their clients, understand business models, and seek to provide assertive and disruptive solutions in administrative and jurisdictional consumer and personal data protection matters.’

‘Lawyers are professionals with solid knowledge and proven experience in dispute resolution, with very good management metrics in line with the organisation’s expectations.’

‘The team’s closeness, personalised and quality attention, and knowledge of our business accredit it as a provider of trustworthy and first-rate legal services.’

Key clients

OPP Graneles

Bavaria

Terpel

Conalvias

ATC

Dimayor

Sured

Argos

Flash Mobile

Mazda de Colombia

Mercado Libre

Mercado Pago Colombia

Class action against Frontera Energy Corp

Work highlights

  • Represented Flash Mobile in a $40m litigation related to unfair and anticompetitive acts.
  • Successfully represented Organización Terpel in a $3m litigation case concerning an alleged environmental infraction generating competitive advantages in the wholesale fuel distribution market.
  • Acted for Conalvías Construcciones in one of the largest unfair competition lawsuits ever filed in Colombia, worth approximately $65m.

ECIJA Colombia > Firm Profile

ECIJA is a European law firm with headquarters in Spain and offices in Portugal, Chile, Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, and El Salvador. ECIJA has a multidisciplinary team of over 800 professionals with exceptional experience in their fields of practice, working in different jurisdictions, with extensive knowledge of the various industries and international markets. ECIJA is a client-focused law firm with the agility and personal service of a high-end boutique firm and the multidisciplinary experience of a large firm. ECIJA is a full-service firm with significant experience and specialized in the practice areas required by international clients to invest and operate globally.

ECIJA’s international capacity is outstanding, and the firm offers integrated cross-border advice. Since 2019, ECIJA has merged with 16 law firms and has become the largest Spanish law firm in Latin America. Nowadays ECIJA has 29 offices in 16 countries. Furthermore, in 2019 ECIJA signed the most significant strategic joint venture agreement with the 4th largest Chinese law firm (Grandall Law). The agreement brought together 3,500 lawyers and 54 offices in Iberia, Latin America, and Asia.

“To put that in perspective, that is comparable with CMS and Norton Rose Fulbright, some of the biggest firms in the world by headcount.” Law.com.

 ECIJA Colombia and various of its partners are recognized as leaders in their fields of practice by the most prestigious international legal ranking platforms such as Chambers and Partners, The Legal 500, Best Lawyers, Who’s Who Legal, among others. ECIJA Colombia has a team of over 20 capable lawyers in Bogotá, with wide experience in various legal fields.

 Main areas of practice
 Antitrust: ECIJA Colombia advises large companies at a national and international level in antitrust, merger control and unfair competition cases. Our clients come from a wide spectrum of economic sectors, including finance, oil and gas, energy, retail, telecommunications and media, healthcare, agriculture, among others. ECIJA’s practice in antitrust has been consistently ranked as a leading firm in Colombia, by Chambers & Partners, The Legal 500 and Who is Who Legal. Moreover, its leading partners, Pablo Márquez and Julio Castañeda, have been ranked as some of the best antitrust lawyers in the country.

Corporate: ECIJA Colombia provides corporate and M&A services for both local and international clients. The firm’s practice in M&A, led by Carlos Hugo Ramírez, is multijurisdictional, focused on transactions with a regional component in Latin-American markets.

Dispute resolution: ECIJA Colombia has a strong practice for dispute resolution both in local and arbitration courts, including commercial, civil, investment and public law cases. As for arbitration, the firm has a regional practice of several partners with strong experience and skills in international arbitration, using the ICC, AAA and UNCITRAL rules.

 Labor law: ECIJA Colombia has a specialist team led by Carlos Hugo Ramirez, with extensive experience in providing labor law advice on all aspects related to the company, management, and employees, both at a national and international level. The firm has a strong practice on employment matters form the employer perspective. The practice includes litigation, technology issues related to employment, company’s restructuring, compliance, among others.

 Media and intellectual property: ECIJA Colombia is one of the leading firms in Colombia in the media and entertainment law field. The team, led by Patricia Renjifo, advises national and international participants of the entertainment industry on a daily basis, especially regarding audiovisual productions. The lawyers of this team have acquired specialized practice and knowledge in copyright, business affairs, government incentives and clearance for productions held in Colombia. Our clients vary from international production companies and distributors to local and arising talent, which has allowed the team to get to know the entertainment industry from all perspectives. In addition, the team has broad experience in IP matters and the prosecution of trademarks and other distinctive signs in Colombia.

 Real estate: ECIJA Colombia is a well-known player in the Latin-American real estate market. The firm has a specialized legal practice in urban real estate law, arbitration and dispute resolution led by Camilo Ramirez, professor at Pontificia Universidad Javeriana of Bogotá and a renowned lawyer in arbitration, acting as attorney, arbitrator and secretary of Tribunals. Clients include the construction, industrial, extractive and services sectors, tourism and investment funds.

 Telecommunications: ECIJA Colombia has a strong practice in telecommunications and information technologies, led by partners Pablo Márquez and Julio Castañeda. The firm has specialized knowledge in radioelectric spectrum matters. The firm’s ongoing activity in this market and close relationship with regulatory entities enables it to offer the best possible solution for each case.

 Technology and data privacy: ECIJA Colombia is one of the leading firms in LatAm for technology and data privacy practices. The team, led by Pablo Márquez, focuses on complex transactions pertaining to the technology industry, including M&A and software developments.

 Regulatory and government affairs: The public and regulatory law department provides its services under the guarantee of consolidated experience, giving advice on matters such as the processing of licenses and permits in regulated sectors, attainment of grants and subsidies, due diligence, protection of fundamental rights, administrative sanctions and infringements, tenders and contracting committees, relations with public administrations and other bodies. More specifically, the firm has been directly involved with the national government in the design of public policies and regulations associated with land-use planning that are currently being implemented.

Agrarian law: ECIJA Colombia has a specialized legal practice and reputable knowledge in agrarian law (or rural real estate law), including regulation on the financing of investments in rural areas. The leading partner in this area is Lorena Garnica de la Espriella who, due to her expertise, is a consultant for the design of rural public policies and regulations for government entities and multilateral banks. Clients include the financial sector, agribusiness, extractive sector, tourism, and investment funds.

Main Contacts

Department Name Email Telephone
Managing Partner- Antitrust, Information Technology, Dispute Resolution: Litigation & Arbitration, Regulatory and Government Affairs Pablo Márquez pmarquez@ecija.com + 57 310 816 8169
Partner – Corporate / M&A, Advisory and Labour Law at ECIJA Colombia Carlos Hugo Ramírez chramirez@ecija.com + 57 1 7551352
Partner- Antitrust, Litigation and Telecommunications Julio Castañeda jcastaneda@ecija.com + 57 1 7551352
Partner of Media, Intellectual & Industrial property; Entertainment Law; Startups, innovation and entrepreneurship Patricia Renjifo prenjifo@ecija.com + 57 1 7551352
Partner Agrarian law, Real State, Public policy, Public and Regulatory, Human Rights Lorena Garnica lgarnica@ecija.com +57 1 7551352
Partner - Dispute Resolution:Litigation and Arbitration , Real Estate, Private Client & Trust Camilo Ramírez cramirez@ecija.com + 57 1 7551352

Languages

Spanish
English

Memberships

ABA (American Bar Association)
MCIArb