Aguilar Castillo Love > Tegucigalpa, Honduras > Firm Profile

Aguilar Castillo Love > The Legal 500 Rankings

Honduras > Banking and finance Tier 1

Aguilar Castillo Love‘s banking and finance team has a strong reputation for multi-jurisdictional transactions, leveraging the firm’s network of offices throughout Central America, as well as its growing footprint in South America, to advise international financial institutions with operations in Honduras. Predominantly acting on the lender side – although it is also called upon by local borrowers to assist with loans from international banks – the team covers syndicated loans, refinancings and fintech matters, with a notable strength in financings in the energy sector, including project finance. Office managing partner Enrique Rodríguez Burchard and Juan José Alcerro Milla jointly lead the practice, bringing extensive experience in cross-border project finance transactions, while Carolina Aguirre Larios is particularly experienced in the financial regulatory space. Other names to note include Victor Alejandro Martínez, who frequently assists with related tax issues, and associate Ondina María Santos, who has expertise in fintech matters.

Honduras > Corporate and M&A Tier 1

Corporate powerhouse Aguilar Castillo Love leverages the firm’s extensive network (with offices throughout Central America as well as in Bolivia, Ecuador, Panama and Paraguay) and close links with international firms to advise on a wide array of multi-jurisdictional M&A, including regional deals. The team acts for a growing roster of multinational clients, as well as major local companies, demonstrating particular strength in the energy, technology (including fintech) and pharmaceutical industries. In addition, the broad practice covers corporate restructurings, the establishment of operations in Honduras, and related commercial and antitrust issues. The firm fields a sizeable four-partner team, headed by office managing partner Enrique Rodríguez Burchard, who has considerable experience in M&A, and Juan José Alcerro Milla, the leader of the firm’s antitrust and fintech and start-up groups. Carolina Aguirre Larios and Victor Alejandro Martínez, who has complementary tax expertise, are other names to note, alongside a deep bench of associates, including Ondina María Santos and Leonel Contreras. The firm also has an active D&I initiative, Proyectos ACL Mujeres, which promotes the participation of women in business, including through its pro bono work.

Honduras > Energy and projects Tier 1

Aguilar Castillo Love leverages its full-service model and extensive network in the region to advise on the full spectrum of corporate, financing and regulatory matters in the energy and projects space. The team has a strong recent record in energy-related M&A, including in cross-border deals, and is also active in project finance and the negotiation of power purchase agreements (PPAs), with an impressive client base that includes both international and Honduran investors. Juan José Alcerro Milla and office managing partner Enrique Rodríguez Burchard lead the practice, bringing broad experience in corporate and financial transactions in the renewable  and traditional energy and infrastructure sectors. Carolina Aguirre Larios is also widely recognised for her comprehensive energy and projects practice, particularly her expertise in PPAs. Victor Alejandro Martínez and associate Leonel Contreras provide key support on transactional matters.

Honduras > Intellectual property Tier 1

Aguilar Castillo Love plays an active role in the registration and renewal of client’s trade mark portfolios in Honduras and across Central America, frequently taking advantage of the firm’s presence throughout the region to handle cross-border mandates. In addition, the team is well versed in IP disputes, and in advising on the IP aspects of licensing, distribution and franchise agreements. The food and beverages and retail sectors are core areas of strength, although the firm’s diverse client base also covers the pharmaceuticals (where it also advises on patent matters), telecoms and banking spheres. Juan José Alcerro Milla, whose expertise ranges from trade mark filings to high-profile IP litigation, leads the team alongside Honduras managing partner Enrique Rodríguez Burchard. Carolina Aguirre Larios is also a key contact.

Honduras > Tax Tier 1

Aguilar Castillo Love maintains a broad tax practice, assisting an impressive roster of regional and international clients in the energy, mining, construction, and food and beverages sectors with both contentious and transactional tax matters. Praised by clients as ‘always willing to listen and collaborate‘, the team has a strong track record in complex disputes with the Honduran tax authority (SAR), in addition to advising on the tax aspects of major M&A and projects-related transactions, drawing on the firm’s longstanding expertise in the projects and energy space. Juan José Alcerro Milla, whose extensive experience spans tax litigation and the structuring of significant transactions, co-heads the practice with Honduras managing partner Enrique Rodríguez Burchard, who has recently been particularly active in contentious matters. Up-and-coming partner Victor Alejandro Martínez is also a key name for tax disputes, compliance and customs issues.

Honduras > Dispute resolution Tier 2

Commercial arbitration is a mainstay of the dispute resolution practice at Aguilar Castillo Love, which garners praise from clients for its ‘personalised service‘ and ‘immediate contact‘. The team is well versed in both domestic and cross-border proceedings, with an emphasis on cases in the energy and construction sectors, and also handles the enforcement of arbitral awards. Civil, commercial and administrative litigation are also areas of strength. Honduras managing partner Enrique Rodríguez Burchard, who handles the full spectrum of contentious matters, and Juan José Alcerro Milla, whose broad practice encompasses commercial, tax and IP disputes, lead the team. Carolina Aguirre Larios also plays an increasingly active role in arbitration, particularly advising foreign investors on claims against the state.

Central America > Corporate and finance

One of the first law firms to build a region-wide practice, Aguilar Castillo Love has established an extensive platform not only in Central America but also further afield; in addition to its offices in Costa Rica, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama, the firm now has a presence in Ecuador, Paraguay and, most recently, Bolivia, where it opened branches in Santa Cruz and La Paz in 2022. Thanks to its in-depth experience of advising international clients (and the strong international profiles of many of its lawyers), the firm is well versed in cross-border financial and corporate transactions, including project finance, debt restructurings, bond issuances and M&A. In the Costa Rica offices (located in central San José and Escazú), the key contacts are banking and finance head Marco Solano Gómez and John Aguilar-Quesada, who leads the corporate team. Juan Carlos Castillo Chacón, a market leader in energy-related deals, and up-and-coming partner Natalia Callejas Aquino oversee the Guatemala practice, while Esteban Agüero Guier and Flor De María Cortez, who has significant experience in foreign investments and free trade zone law, are the names to note in El Salvador, where the firm is commended for its fintech expertise. In Honduras, Enrique Rodríguez-Burchard and Juan José Alcerro Milla lead the corporate and finance teams, where the latter brings complementary strengths in antitrust and fintech issues. M&A expert Thelma Carrión Blandón and finance specialist Violeta Núñez head the corporate and banking departments in Nicaragua.