Carlos Urrutia > Brigard Urrutia > Bogota, Colombia > Lawyer Profile

A destination practice for energy and natural resources law, Brigard Urrutia’s key attributes include its ‘strong ability to work under pressure’ as well as its ‘rapid co-ordination with other teams within the firm’. The full-service group is equipped to handle the gamut of industry matters, from regulatory and environmental issues, through to project structuring and transactional work. It also stands out for its involvement in both the conventional and renewable energy segments. Claudia Navarro is widely recognised for her renewable energy expertise; she advised Promigas on self-sufficient power generation solutions to be provided to its clients. Very experienced associate director of the oil-and-gas and mining practices, Marianna Boza recently acted alongside senior partner Carlos Urrutia and the M&A department to advise Cordoba Minerals on a strategic agreement with JCHX Mining Management to jointly develop its Alacran copper-gold-silver project. Transactional specialist Jaime Robledo and seasoned energy and infrastructure expert Carlos Umaña are also noted at senior level. The group additionally includes talented senior associate Juan Carlos Padilla, and fellow senior Andrés Felipe Parra who rejoined the team from Ecopetrol in May 2022.

The banking and finance group at Brigard Urrutia is ‘superior to any Colombian law firm’, according to some. Particularly praised for its ability to handle ‘sophisticated structures with international funders’, the team’s broad cross-border expertise is evidenced by its involvement in many of the market’s marquee cross-border mandates — for both Colombian and global banks and corporate borrowers. As a case in point, dual US- and Colombia-qualified banking specialists Carlos Fradique-Méndez and María Fernanda Diago joined forces to advise CFG Partners on the up-to $150m financing and acquisition of Alpha Capital’s and Vive Créditos’ assets, which involved five jurisdictions. Among its lender-side highlights, go-to expert Fradique-Méndez advised Citibank Colombia on a COP$120bn financing to a newly created debtor trust established by Bayport Colombia. The deep bench also calls upon the senior expertise of César Felipe Rodríguez, who is sought after for infrastructure and project finance-related matters, and seasoned banking, energy and natural resources specialist Carlos Urrutia. The group additionally draws on a capable pool of associates, including seniors Santiago Jaramillo Martínez, who has an emphasis on energy and infrastructure-related work, and Juan Eduardo Gómez, who combines banking and corporate experience. Associate María Fernanda Sánchez moved in house as general counsel at ADL Digital Lab in January 2023; and next generation partner Felipe Alarcón has also subsequently left the firm – effective as of September 2023.

Few firms in the market can equal Brigard Urrutia’s track record in transformative M&A deals, with the 23-lawyer team routinely involved in many of the most high-profile transactions to hit the Colombian market. The group’s ability to lean on a host of complementary practices from across the wider full-service firm equips its lawyers with a ‘comprehensive vision in consulting’ and ensures that it is sought after for complex mandates that require extensive cross-departmental collaboration. As a case in point, senior M&A expert Sergio Michelsen Jaramillo recently teamed up with next-generation partner Tomás Holguín, as well as the capital markets and competition practices, to advise Votorantim on the sale of its 82.42% stake in Acerías Paz del Rio. In a significant first-of-a-kind investment transaction, Michelsen also paired up with Jaime Robledo to advise Canada’s CPP investments on its $334m acquisition of a 19.3% stake in D1, which notably marked its first direct investment in Colombia. Darío Laguado Giraldo, chairman of the corporate and M&A practice, led on several infrastructure-related transactions over the past year, including advising Telefónica, and its subsidiary Colombia Telecomunicaciones, on the agreements by which Colombia Telecomunicaciones and KKR will establish the country’s first independent wholesale open access digital infrastructure company. Other senior names include corporate finance veteran Carlos Fradique-Méndez; aviation and real estate-focused specialist Álvaro Cala; senior partner Carlos Urrutia; and Fernando Alfredo Castillo. The sizeable department also fields a capable bench of corporate-dedicated non-partners, including director Ángela García Páez, prolific senior associates Paola Ordoñez  and Andrea Camila Cruz, and associate Laura Ricardo Ayerbe. Since publication, Ordóñez and Mónica Gutiérrez Velasco have both been promoted to practice directors.