Dra María Fernanda Castellanos > Gamboa, García y Cardona Abogados > Bogota, Colombia > Lawyer Profile

Dra María Fernanda Castellanos

mfcastellanos@gclegal.co

Position

Partner

Career

With more than twenty five (25) years of experience, she has acted as strategic legal advisor, to national and international clients, in IP and transactional matters involving protection of intangible assets, trademarks, patents copyrights, licensing, trade-secrets; as well as in civil and administrative litigation in intellectual property (IP), unfair competition and consumer protection. Also, she has led multidisciplinary teams devoted to Life Sciences Regulatory, Food Law and Healthcare.
She started her career as an associate with the lawfirm of Brigard Urrutia for ten years, where she was a member of the TMET, corporate, M&A and Intellectual Property practices. Following, she was an associate, and then, partner at the lawfirm of Brigard Castro, in charge of the Strategic Counseling and IP Litigation Team, life sciences and healthcare.

During the last 14 years, María Fernanda has been ranked as an outstanding professional in international publications, specialized in the legal market (Chambers & Partners, Managing Intellectual Property, Best Lawyer, WTR – World Trademark Review). 

Also, María Fernanda has obtained the following awards, as a result of her professional performance:

• Practitioner of the Year,  International award –  Granted by the specialized publication Managing Intellectual Property, 2020.
• Listed for Colombia in the Ranking 250 Women in IP – Granted by the specialized international publication, Managing Intellectual Property, twice, one in 2013 and then in 2021.
• Member of the Copyright Committee at INTA – International Trademark Association, in 2018 and 2021.

 María Fernanda has acted as international speaker in a number of countries, addressing different matters of interest related to her practice, for international specialized audiences:  

• Life Sciences and IP Committee – Lex Mundi – Zurich, 2019 – “Alternative Dispute Resolution Clauses in Commercial Contracts” – Speaker. 
• Healthcare Committee – Lex Mundi – Miami, 2019– “LATAM Regulatory Environment” – Speaker.
• Universidad de los Andes – Escuela de Alto Gobierno – Bogotá, 2018 –IP and the Private Sector. Lecture addressed to high level professionals.  

Languages

Spanish (native), English (fluent) and French (intermediate)

Memberships

During her career, María Fernanda has been committed and passionate about diversity, and to promoting working environments where equality and inclusion are prioritized. She was a founding member of the Diversity and Inclusion Committee of Brigard Urrutia & Brigard Castro – 2019 to 2021.

Education

María Fernanda graduated as an attorney from Universidad del Rosario. She obtained her LLM at New York University (NYU) in 2002, with a focus on IP and antitrust. Maria Fernanda coursed a Copyrights Diplomate at EAFIT – CECOLDA (Colombian Center for Copyright Studies). Also, she attended the intensive negotiation course at the High Management School at the Universidad de los Andes, in 2008.