Fernando Alfredo Castillo > Brigard Urrutia > Bogota, Colombia > Lawyer Profile

Brigard Urrutia
CALLE 70A #4-41
BOGOTA
Colombia

Work Department

Corporate; Mergers and Acquisitions

Position

Partner

Career

Mr. Castillo is a member of the firm since 2007, as part of the M&A team, where he advises local and foreign companies in both domestic and transnational M&A transactions, as well as other corporate matters. Key representations include the merger between Colombia Telecomunicaciones and Movistar, the merger between Tigo and UNE, the sale by Casino of certain of its subsidiaries in Brazil and Argentina, and the sale of Citibank’s consumer business. He also provides advice in general M&A and corporate governance matters to several national and foreign companies, including Sanofi, Danaher Corporation, Argos, EPM, and ISA.

He is admitted to practice in Colombia (2005) and in the State of New York (2014), and he worked in the Latin American M&A practice at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP in New York. He is currently a Professor of Corporations at the Law School of the Universidad del Rosario, where he was previously a professor of Introduction to Civil law and Contracts.

Languages

Spanish, English and French

Education

Attorney from the School of Law of Colegio Mayor de Nuestra Señora del Rosario. He holds a postgraduate degree in Contractual Law and Financial Law from the same university. He obtained a Master 2 (Finalité Recherche) on General Private Law from the prestigious Université Paris 2 (Panthéon-Assas), with a scholarship from the Corporation pour les Études en France (CEF), and earned his LL.M. from New York University as a Dean’s Scholar.

Lawyer Rankings

Colombia > Corporate and M&A

(Next Generation Partners)

Fernando Alfredo CastilloBrigard Urrutia

Widely recognised as a corporate powerhouse in Colombia, Brigard Urrutia is commended by clients for its ‘extensive knowledge of the law, strong experience and pro-transaction business approach’. Fielding one of the largest corporate benches in the market, the group is a popular choice to handle large-scale domestic and cross-border M&A — including private equity-sponsored deals — as well as wider corporate matters, such as shareholder conflicts and business reorganisations. As one of the country’s most prominent corporate specialists, M&A co-head Sergio Michelsen is highly sought after for his record in high-stakes transactions; he recently advised Blu Logistics on the sale of all of its logistics companies in Colombia to Rhenus. Fellow department co-head Jaime Robledo utilises his dual-qualified (Colombia/New York) status to excel in cross-border deals. In a recent example of his international prowess, Robledo teamed up with Michelsen and Fernando Alfredo Castillo to advise Casino Guichard-Perrachon (and certain affiliates), on the Colombian aspects of the sale of their 47% stake in Almacenes Éxito to Grupo Calleja. Other recommended partners include Tomás Holguín, who honed his international skills working at firms in the USA and Brazil; Carlos Fradique-Méndez, who is a force in the private equity sphere; Álvaro Cala, who combines strength in corporate, aviation and real estate; and senior partner Carlos Urrutia. A strong second line of non-partners includes directors Ángela García Páez and Mónica Gutiérrez Velasco; as well as senior associate Andrea Camila Cruz and associate Laura Ricardo Ayerbe. Former corporate and M&A practice chair Dario Laguado Giraldo and director Paola Ordoñez left the firm in April and August 2024, respectively.