Bergstein Abogados > Montevideo, Uruguay > Firm Profile

Bergstein Abogados > Firm Profile

The firm: Why Bergstein? Because of the seniority of the team, its hard work, and its high ethical standards strongly identifying with Jewish values.

Personal attention is Bergstein’s trademark: the professional who participates in the first interview, is the same person who conducts the work until the very end of the assignment.

Established in 1957, Bergstein emphasises quality rather than quantity. Its structure is large enough to provide clients with sophisticated legal advice, yet flexible enough to focus personal attention on each client’s specific needs.

The firm takes pride in its responsiveness and its understanding of the clients’ needs to provide concise and accurate advice. This explains the high number of international firms which partner with Bergstein to cover their legal support in Uruguay.

Independent publications consistently rank Bergstein among the top firms in the country, highlighting its “quality service, absolutely in line with international standards”, its “fast-delivery times” and its “impeccable integrity”.

The people: Bergstein’s most important asset is the people it has, today there is a perfect ratio of senior lawyers and a younger generation, which the make up the firm.

The firm invests heavily in professional development. Most of the firm’s lawyers have completed international studies abroad and have been trained at some of the most prominent international law firms in the US and Europe. All of them are bilingual and culturally attuned to the clients’ business environments.

Ethics: Fully aligned with most recent technology advances, Bergstein keeps loyal to the philosophy of its founding generation. Bergstein’s strength lies in the depth of its roots. Our work will be meaningless without the strong Jewish ethical underpinnings which sustain the firm.

Social responsibility: Bergstein is engaged in a number of pro bono programmes. In an effort to contribute to the development of the social community in which it is inserted, Bergstein provides professional assistance to Beit Jabad Uruguay, the Holocaust Museum, the Simon Wiesenthal Library, Tzedaká Foundation and Helper, a first aid hi-tech network of volunteers around the country.

Bergstein was founded by Dr Nahum Bergstein in 1957. Nahum Bergstein was widely recognized as one of the most prominent lawyers of his time. Mr Bergstein was Professor of Criminal Law, Vice Minister of Education and Culture, member of the House of Deputies and member of the Senate of the Republic. At Congress, Mr Bergstein authored and co-authored fundamental laws such as the Anti-Discrimination Act, the Anti-Corruption Act, and the amendments to the Pledge and Security Act and the Copyright legislation.

Nahum Bergstein established the imprint that characterizes the firm to this day: the ethical dimension of the profession, the relentless pursuit of excellence, work as one of the greatest expressions of self-realization, and the continued search of client satisfaction.

In the 1972, Mrs Nelly Kleckin joined the firm to lead the real estate/notarial practice for the next 35 years. The spectrum of services was broadened and the firm started to provide corporate and general business advice. The clientele diversified. First representing Argentine capitals which started to invest heavily in the real estate sector industry through the 1970s and 1980´s. And thereafter, starting in the early 1990´s, working hand-in-hand with Brazilian clients who started to rely upon Uruguay’s financial and legal offshore platforms. The Brazilian desk was opened at that time.

In the late 1980´s and early 1990`s, with the help of a new generation, the firm consolidated its internationalization process.

In 1992, the firm established its accounting and tax department, with the aim of providing a one-shop solution to its clients. By then, the classical and traditional legal bureau became a multi-disciplinary organization which started to provide a wide array of professional services including tax consulting, accounting and payroll, as well as notary and recruitment services.

Continued travelling, the academic and professional training of its young professionals abroad, and the renewed exchange with international correspondent law firms, are the trends which pattern the firm’s development in the XXI century.

Many of Bergstein’s clients are leading companies in their fields. such as banking, construction, consumer goods, credit cards, electronics, energy, information technology, medical engineering, mining, pharmaceuticals, smart-phones, and telecommunications.

Areas of practice: Today Bergstein is a full-service law firm, which provides professional services in almost all areas of law. The firm maintains a solid accounting department which supports the tax practice of the firm and is responsible for the accounts, payroll, tax and social security registers for many of the firm’s clients. Taking responsibility over full compliance (with local regulations) by foreign entities, is part of our regular practice.

Main areas of practice

• Accounting
• Administrative
• Agribusiness
• Aviation
• Banking and finance
• Competition law
• Compliance
• Consumer protection
• Corporate
• Data privacy
• Employment
• Energy
• Foreign investment
• Free trade zones
• Immigration
• Infrastructure
• Intellectual property
• Life sciences
• Litigation and arbitration
• Maritime
• Mining
• Oil and gas
• Real estate
• Taxes
• Telecommunications
• Wealth management