Mr Andrey Dorado > Arias > San Jose, Costa Rica > Lawyer Profile

The experienced corporate team at Arias harnesses regional strength to advise major multinationals across such sectors as entertainment, hospitality, tech, energy, pharmaceuticals, professional services, and food and beverages on day-to-day matters and complex, multi-jurisdictional transactions. The group also draws on support from the firm’s labour and tax practices. The team is led by M&A and contract negotiation specialist Andrey Dorado; major transaction and corporate governance expert Melania Dittel; and Vicente Lines, who brings over 25 years’ experience in the practice area to assisting companies with entry into the Costa Rican market. Other key figures include senior counsel Tracy Valera, who advises on shareholders’, stock purchase and asset purchase agreements, and senior associate Sebastián Solano.

With locations in Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Panama and Costa Rica, the team at Arias utilises its regional footprint to advise investors, government agencies, NGOs and multinationals on a diverse spectrum of matters, ranging from administrative procedures, lawsuits against the government and government procurement proceedings to public works, infrastructure concessions, public project financing and claims before the Costa Rican Constitutional Court. The practice’s active client base spans such sectors as manufacturing, construction, energy, healthcare, hospitality and tech. The practice is headed by Carlos Ubico, who brings experience to project finance, administrative procedures and work concessions. Other key figures include Vicente Lines, an expert in energy and infrastructure; Carlos Camacho, who manages complex free trade zone matters; M&A specialist Andrey Dorado; Diego Gallegos, who brings expertise to asset finance transactions; and senior counsel Luis Diego Obando, a seasoned litigator.

Formed after the separation of Arias & Muñoz, the first Central American law firm, Arias fields a 39-partner-strong offering across seven offices located in Costa Rica, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala and Panama. The firm is renowned for its advice to major global and regional banks, multilateral development institutions and household-name multinationals regarding complex, region-wide transactions, along with syndicated loans, project and acquisition finance, and local and cross-border M&A. Fintech specialist Mario Lozano, managing partner Lilian Arias, M&A expert Roberta Gallardo and Luisa Rivas are among the key names from the sizeable corporate and finance teams in El Salvador. In Costa Rica, Diego Gallegos and Vicente Lines lead the banking practice; Linares, who frequently advises clients on market entry, also heads up the corporate team alongside Andrey Dorado and Melania Dittel. Foreign investment expert Ana Teresa Rizo, Bertha Arguello, Gustavo-Adolfo Vargas (who is a key adviser to multilaterals), and Rodrigo Ibarra are the names to note in Nicaragua. In Guatemala, Luis Pedro Del Valle is the “go-to” figure for corporate and finance matters; Evangelina Lardizábal and Mario Agüero head the practice in Honduras (where the firm has offices in Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula); and Yuri Moreno and M&A specialist María Cristina Fábrega lead the team in Panama.