Mr Jose Luis Suárez > Gómez-Pinzón Abogados (GPA) > Bogota, Colombia > Lawyer Profile

Fielding a destination banking and finance practice, Gómez-Pinzón Abogados (GPA) handles the full spectrum of matters, with particularly strong expertise in cross-border asset finance, corporate finance and regulatory issues. The team’s enviable client roster includes domestic and global lenders —including state-owned banks— as well as major corporate borrowers, which mark it is a go-to team for event-driven, multi-jurisdictional mandates. In a recent example, department head Ricardo Fandiño acted as local counsel to Patagonia Holdco and CenturyLink Colombia in the capital markets and bank financing to support the acquisition of Lumen Technologies across different Latin American jurisdictions. In another cross-border mandate, José Luis Suárez acted as local counsel to a syndicate of five lenders on a $650m financing for Nu Colombia, Nu BN Servicios México, and Nu Holdings. The deep bench also draws on the senior experience of Daniel Londoño, whose previous professional experience includes a stint at Inter-American Investment Corporation, and capital markets specialist Adriana Moreno. At the senior associate level, Jimena González is noted for project finance and structured finance; Catalina Prieto has an emphasis on corporate finance and project finance; and Daniel Flórez maintains a focus on banking and capital markets. In December 2022, senior associate Tonia Orozco left to join the Development Bank of Latin America.

Lawyers at Gómez-Pinzón Abogados (GPA) are ‘diligent and proactive in finding solutions’, according to sources. The interdisciplinary projects group handles a broad scope of public bidding processes, project finance, project development, and contentious matters; with the ability to draw on its wider full-service practice to resource larger matters. Department co-head Paola Larrahondo sits in both the infrastructure, and the administrative and constitutional law teams and acts for a mix of concessionaires, public entities, and investors on projects work. Fellow co-head José Luis Suárez is recommended for his project finance expertise. Senior associates Juan Antonio Ucrós (infrastructure and administrative law) and Catalina Prieto (banking and finance) are also noted.

The interdisciplinary group at Gómez-Pinzón Abogados (GPA) demonstrates ‘strong knowledge of the management of concessions with the state’. The team, which acts for a diverse mix of private and public entities, routinely advises on bidding processes, public procurement procedures and infrastructure project development — it also has experience in administrative sanctioning proceedings. The department is co-led by infrastructure and administrative law specialist Paola Larrahondo together with José Luis Suárez, who specialises in public law and finance matters. Senior associate Juan Antonio Ucrós is also recommended public law and infrastructure work.

Gómez-Pinzón Abogados (GPA) fields an integrated banking, finance and capital markets practice that counts major Colombian and multinational issuers and underwriters among its representative clients. Despite the general market slowdown, the team was involved in several headline-grabbing mandates during 2022/2023. Most notably, department head Ricardo Fandiño, advised the underwriters (Citigroup Global Markets, JP Morgan Securities, Santander Investment Securities, and Scotia Capital) regarding Ecopetrol’s $2bn bond offering. Other senior figures include Daniel Londoño, who acted as local counsel to Credivalores-Crediservicios on a $300m notes issuance on the international market, as well as Medellín office head Adriana Moreno, and firm managing partner José Luis Suárez. The practice also houses a strong second line of senior associates, including Catalina Prieto Núñez, Jimena González Alarcón and Daniel Flórez Linero. In November 2022, senior associate Tonia Orozco left to join the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF).