Mr Pablo Umaña > BLP > San Jose, Costa Rica > Lawyer Profile

With offices in Costa Rica, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala, the team at BLP leverages regional strength to advise multilateral banks, development finance agencies and major multinationals on high-value energy and infrastructure projects, including solar power plants, battery energy storage systems, hydro facilities and wind farms. Energy finance expert Luis M Castro; David Gutiérrez, who specialises in multi-jurisdictional purchases and credit operations; Julio Castellanos, who brings experience in the negotiation of public works concession contracts; and Pablo Umaña, who assists with project finance matters, are the key contacts.

Employing the full bench strength of offices in San José, Puntarenas and Guanacaste, in addition to branches across Latin America and Europe, BLP remains a market leader, advising multinational and national commercial banks, investment banks, private equity sponsors and international funding organisations involved in high-value, multi-jurisdictional transactions. The firm’s full service extends to the securing and servicing of loans, credit restructuring, bankruptcy, regulatory compliance and complex litigation. The team is led by Vivian Liberman, an expert in capital markets, and Andrés López, who specialises in fintech and blockchain. Other key figures include Julio Castellanos, who advised on a recent social bond issuance of Inter-American Investment Corporation (IDB Invest) for a total of up to $75m, along with Pablo Umaña, who manages financing for major infrastructure projects in the energy, hospitality, transportation, agribusiness and manufacturing sectors. Luis Hernández brings expertise to advising on finance for real estate developments. The team was bolstered with the hire of Rodrigo Cubero as senior counsel in July 2022; he served as president of Costa Rica’s Central Bank between 2018 and 2022, and his previous experience includes over a decade spent in senior positions at the IMF.

The powerhouse team at BLP remains a market leader, leveraging the bench strength of offices in San José, Puntarenas and Guanacaste (with a new fourth location in Marina Flamingo which opened in January 2023), in addition to branches across Latin America and Europe, to advise banks, sponsors, non-bank lenders, contractors and operators involved involved in major energy and transportation projects, including hydro, wind and solar plants and toll road, airport and port concessions. The practice’s comprehensive service extends to project finance and development, as well as public-private partnerships (PPPs), public procurement, public debt and governmental budget issues. The team is led by Luis M Castro, who specialises in energy contracts and dealing with governmental entities; David Gutiérrez, who handles cross-border purchases and operations; and Luis Ortiz, who brings over 20 years of experience to public procurement processes. Other key figures include Julio Castellanos, who advises national and international and multilateral financial entities on multi-jurisdictional credit operations, and Pablo Umaña, whose practice focuses on corporate, infrastructure, energy and multilateral-related financing in emerging markets.