Mr Juan David Velasco > Baker McKenzie S.A.S. > BOGOTÁ, D.C, Colombia > Lawyer Profile

Baker McKenzie S.A.S.
CARRERA 11 NO. 79-35 PISO 9
6TH FLOOR
110221
Colombia

Work Department

International Tax, Private clients

Position

Partner

Career

Juan David is a Transactional Tax Partner and Wealth Management Practice Group Leader at Baker McKenzie Colombia. Juan’s practice focuses on International Tax, Transactional Tax, Merger and Acquisition Tax, Taxation of Private Equity and Venture Capital, Taxation of Digital Economy, Taxation of Compensation & Benefits, and Wealth Management for private clients.

As a leading transactional tax practitioner, he has actively advised numerous public and private companies, as well as private equity and venture capital firms on multi-jurisdictional tax-related aspects of investment, project finance, mergers, acquisitions and disposition of business interests and corporate reorganizations.

He also works with high-net-worth individuals on private wealth management, tax-efficient estate planning strategies and cross-border asset-protection structures.

Rankings:

  • Band 1, Private Wealth Law, Chambers High Net Worth, 2024
  • Band 5, Tax, Chambers Latin America, 2024
  • Band 5, Tax, Chambers Global, 2024
  • Next Generation Partner, Tax, Legal 500 Latin America, 2024

Languages

Spanish - English

Memberships

  • International Fiscal Association (IFA), Honorary Member and Former President Colombia Chapter, Member of the Latin American Regional Committee and Vice President of the Global YIN Committee.
  • Member of the Colombian Institute of Tax and Foreing Trade Law.
  • Member of the International Bar Association (IBA).

Education

  • University of Oxford, Saïd Business School, Oxford, UK (MBA) (2021)
  • Boston University School of Law, USA (Tax LL.M) (2012)
  • The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, USA (LL.M International Law) (2013)
  • Harvard Law School, USA (Program on Negotiation) (2013)
  • Universidad de Los Andes, Colombia (Tax Specialization) (2010)
  • Universidad de Los Andes, Colombia (J.D.) (2007)

Personal

Publications and Events:

  • Velasco Kerguelen, Juan David and Lozano, Eleonora et al. “Taxation of International Transactions”. International Fiscal Association (IFA) – Universidad de los Andes. (October 2022).
  • Velasco Kerguelen, Juan David., Gonzalez, Andrés “Group approach and separate entity approach in domestic and international tax law”. International Fiscal Association (IFA) Cahiers de Droit Fiscal International, ISSN 0168-0455, Vol. 106A, Nº. 1, 2022), pages. 267-281
  • Velasco Kerguelen, Juan David and Fernández, Pablo. The Multilateral Instrument and double tax treaties signed by Colombia: effects and challenges regarding treaty shopping. Revista Instituto Colombiano de Derecho Tributario 80. Julio de 2019. At. 19
  • Velasco Kerguelen, Juan David. “Assessing BEPS: origins, standards, and responses”. International Fiscal Association (IFA) Cahiers de Droit Fiscal International, ISSN 0168-0455, Vol. 102, Nº. 1, 2017), pages. 239-262
  • Velasco Kerguelen, Juan David. Book Chapter “BEPS Acción 12: Hacia la implementación global de mecanismos de revelación de planeaciones tributarias agresivas” in “Resultados del Plan de Acción BEPS y su aplicación en Colombia”. International Fiscal Association Capitulo Colombia and Instituto Colombiano de Derecho Tributario. (2016).

Lawyer Rankings

Colombia > Tax

(Next Generation Partners)

Juan David VelascoBaker McKenzie S.A.S.

Commended by clients for its ‘excellent combination of technical knowledge and business understanding’, Baker McKenzie S.A.S. houses a dominant full-service tax offering that provides advice across the full range of tax planning, wealth management, litigation, compliance and transfer pricing cases, among other matters. Its lawyers’ ‘excellent co-ordination with teams from other jurisdictions’ is a recurring theme among sources, with the Bogotá-based group distinguished by its ability to lean on the wider firm’s dominant global practice for additional firepower in cross-border tax mandates. Among the names to note, managing partner Ciro Meza is widely recognised as a leading tax specialist, who can turn his hand to the full range of tax planning, consulting and contentious work; he advises SierraCol on all of its transfer pricing and tax issues. Meza co-heads the department together with transfer pricing specialist Gustavo Sánchez, and transactional tax partner Juan David Velasco, who is highlighted for his ‘superior sensitivity to the particularities of business and its impact at the international level’. The group further draws on a strong second line of senior associates, including Laura DuránAndrea Jimenez and Juan David López, along with new arrival Carolina Roldán, who joined from Deloitte Legal (New York) in August 2023.