Mrs Melania Dittel > Arias > San Jose, Costa Rica > Lawyer Profile

The experienced corporate team at regional firm Arias brings strength to advising major multinationals (including Telefónica and Mondelez) across such sectors as telecoms, pharmaceuticals, sports, food and beverages, professional services, chemicals and energy on day-to-day matters and complex, cross-border transactions. The team is headed by due diligence and contract negotiation specialist Andrey Dorado; energy sector expert Melania Dittel; Vicente Lines, who assists telecoms infrastructure and service providers with establishment in the Costa Rican market; Víctor Manuel Garita, who brings expertise to multi-jurisdictional M&A; and international trade authority (and former consul for the Costa Rican Consulate General in New York) Carlos Camacho. Diego Gallegos employs a project and asset finance skill set and provides support with political risk mitigation. Senior counsel Tracy Valera advises on shareholders’, stock purchase and asset purchase agreements and senior associate Sebastián Solano also provides key support.

Formed following the split of pioneering Central American firm Arias & Munoz, Arias has a well-established network of seven offices in the region, spread across Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras (where it has branches in both Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula), Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama. The firm has a long history of handling high-profile local and international M&A and financial transactions, acting for an impressive roster of multinationals, global financial institutions and leading regional banks. Diego Gallegos, who has expertise in asset and project finance, and Vicente Lines, an expert in the infrastructure and telecoms spaces, lead the finance practice in Costa Rica and are also key figures in the corporate team, where energy specialist Melania Dittel is also noted. In El Salvador, Mario Lozano is sought after for his advice on fintech and cryptocurrency issues, while Lilian Arias, the M&A-focused Roberta Gallardo and Luisa Rivas are among the key contacts for corporate matters. In Guatemala, Luis Pedro del Valle, who has a strong track record in cross-border M&A, took over leadership of the corporate and finance practices in April 2023. The highly experienced Evangelina Lardizábal steers the corporate and finance teams in Honduras alongside Mario Agüero, while in Nicaragua Ana Teresa Rizo, a go-to partner for foreign investments, Bertha Argüello, Gustavo-Adolfo Vargas and Rodrigo Ibarra, a specialist in the energy sector, are the names to note. María Cristina Fábrega takes the lead on M&A and financial transactions in Panama.