Firm Profile > BLP > San Jose, Costa Rica

Banking and finance Tier 1

BLP represents a wide variety of clients in cutting-edge financing transactions. The practice headed by Vivian Liberman and Andrés López has extensive expertise in credit restructuring and bankruptcy as well as complex litigation, and has recently added anti-money laundering advice to its range of services. The team regularly handles complex transactions for Credit Suisse, for instance acting as local counsel to the client and Citigroup Global Markets, as initial purchasers, in an offering under Rule 144A/Regulation S by Investment Energy Resources. Liberman and Julio Castellanos -who was made partner in Janaury 2020- also represented Fondo Latinoamericano de Reservas in a $1bn loan agreement under New York law with the Costa Rican Central Bank. The department also assists Scotiabank, DEG-Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft and Millicom, among other international entities. Other key figures in the team are David Gutiérrez and Luis Hernández.

Corporate and M&A Tier 1

BLP is one of the clear market leaders for corporate matters in the country. The firm advises both buying and selling parties on M&A deals and assists with corporate restructurings and free trade zone mandates. In an example of the latter, the department advised Roche on the spin-off of a shared service operation and IT service centre carried out within the tightly regulated free trade zone. Department head David Gutiérrez, who is based in Spain and Costa Rica, and the highly regarded Adriana Castro were the lead advisers for East West Manufacturing in its acquisition of certain assets and liabilities from General Microcircuits, which included a due diligence process and the revision of the asset and stock purchase agreement, as well as drafting all corporate resolutions. Other key figures in the 14-partner team are founding partner Luis M Castro, Ronald Lachner, Eduardo Calderón and Vivian Liberman. The team also saw the promotions of Adelina Villalobos, Andrea González and Juan Carlos Tristán to partner in 2018. The firm also hired Gabriela Jiménez as special counsel in September 2019; located in Mexico, she will augment the firm's international practice.

Dispute resolution Tier 1

BLP's dispute resolution team, led by Mauricio Salas, is sought out by high-profile international clients for the most delicate and complex cases. In a recent example, department head and key associate Thelma Petrucci defended Dow Chemical in mass tort litigation related to a banana pesticide later associated with sterility and cancer in agricultural workers, which was eventually dismissed after several years of discussions. Giselle Reuben and Pedro Castro represented Sony in the prosecution of a piracy ring involved in illegal tampering of hardware and software reproduction. Pandora Americas, China Iron and Steel Association, and Jiangsu Shagang International Trade are also on the firm's client list.

Intellectual property Tier 1

Under the leadership of Giselle Reuben, BLP's IP department regularly acts for international clients such as the Inter-American Development Bank, Scotiabank, Amazon and Unilever. In a recent work highlight, department head and up-and-coming associate León Weinstok advised Pandora Jewellery on a raid against counterfeit products infringing the client's rights. Uri Weinstok was entrusted with handling more than 50 trade mark applications throughout Central America for H&M, and the team also assisted Uber Technologies with the notification process for a data breach and co-ordination with the Data Protection Agency in order to avoid any sanctions.

Real estate Tier 1

Regional heavyweight BLP's real estate practice distinguishes itself through its ability to advise on complex, large-scale projects. Department head Luis M Castro and key figure Anneth Jiménez recently assisted Las Catalinas Properties Holding with the financing and development of a beachfront hotel development along with several residential properties, condominiums and commercial spaces. The team also advised Edwards Lifesciences on its Costa Rican expansion, which involved the acquisition of a large high-tech medical device manufacturing facility. Eduardo Calderón and Andrea González are also key team members. Late 2018 saw Adelina Villalobos and Juan Carlos Tristán promoted to the partnership; more recently -in November 2019- the firm has opened two new offices -Tamarindo and Brasilito- in the country's coastal Guanacaste region, hiring Paul Oporta as office head and counsel for the real estate and hospitality practices.

Labour and employment Tier 2

BLP's labour and employment practice, headed by Randall González, focuses on advising multinational companies, many of which operate under the free trade zone regime. Along with senior associate to note Alexandra Aguilar, González advised Drake Food Services on the termination of key employees related to the client's acquisition of the Costa Rican operations of pizza chain Papa John's. Millicom, Vinci Airports and BASF are also on the firm's client list.

Tax Tier 2

Luis Chacón leads the seven-strong tax department at BLP, which is particularly active in the retail, real estate, pharmaceuticals, hospitality and telecoms industries. The team acts for market-leading international clients including Pfizer and Amazon, and handles matters ranging from tax planning and advising on complex multi-jurisdictional structures to tax litigation. Associate to note Vittoria Di Gioacchino provides key support.