Mr José Ignacio Ovalle > Barros & Errázuriz > Santiago, Chile > Lawyer Profile

Barros & Errázuriz‘s five-member data privacy team comprises specialists in the drafting, editing and implementation of privacy policies. The group consistently reviews a range of agreements involving personal data transfers, its expertise including assessments of their legal impact on clients’ business models in Chile. The practice provides ongoing regulatory advice to DirecTV Chile’s legal division on data privacy matters, while Chinese mobile transportation platform DiDi, Chilean power distribution company Grupo Saesa and Spanish pool manufacturer Fluidra are also key clients. The department is co-led by longstanding TMT sector expert, José Ignacio Ovalle, who routinely advises national and foreign companies on personal data protection issues; and Andrés Rodríguez (at partner level since March 2023), whose experience includes advising the Government of Chile on telecoms, IT and data privacy work. Rodríguez’s career also includes working for four years as former chief legal adviser at the Undersecretary of Telecommunications. In the associate team, Magdalena Rojas is a Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP/Europe), who advises clients on the adaptation of their processes and contractual documents to local personal data protection legislation; and Fernanda Irrazabal, whose experience includes a nine-month internship in Barcelona, where she advised companies on compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Full-service law firm Barros & Errázuriz is home to a six-member TMT team that consistently advises fixed and mobile operators, satellite operators, digital applications, and free-to-air, paid television and internet service providers. The firm’s enviable client base also consists of e-commerce and social media platforms, over-the-top (OTT) services, technology providers and telecoms-related infrastructure companies (among others). The group’s broad practice covers processing and obtaining regulatory permits and licenses, and assisting with the legal side to operating in Chile. The team is also involved in 5G and satellite broadband matters, along with acting for multinational companies and domestic providers on major technology projects and transactions in Chile. The practice is co-led by José Ignacio Ovalle, who provides ongoing advice on telecoms and technology industry-related regulatory and commercial issues, in addition to acting in TMT-related judicial and administrative proceedings before Chile’s ordinary courts, the Undersecretariat of Telecommunications, and the Comptroller General of the Republic; and Andrés Rodríguez (a partner since March 2023), whose track record includes advising the Government of Chile and national and international companies on telecoms, IT and data privacy matters. At associate level, Magdalena Rojas regularly assists telecoms service providers in Chile with filing and processing concession applications before the Undersecretary of Telecommunications.

Barros & Errázuriz ‘remains one of the leading firms for real estate work’. The  13-member team is consistently sought out by domestic and international developers (and investment companies) to advise on the Chilean market’s largest real estate deals; and it is highly rated for its structuring of acquisitions, real estate associations and consortiums, as well as real estate project financings. Acting across the full range of real estate development work, its sector specialisms range from residential, commercial, industrial and multifamily, to educational, recreational, agricultural, hospitality, social housing, retail and hotel developments. It also has notable industry expertise in infrastructure and construction, including telecoms towers. The group is additionally experienced in regulatory issues and administrative conflicts. The team is co-led by José Ignacio Ovalle, who advises major real estate and construction companies on the development of condominiums, shopping centres, offices, ports and hotels; Patricio Solórzano, a longstanding adviser on the structuring of residential, commercial and industrial real estate projects; and Oscar Ruiz-Tagle, whose expertise encompasses urban and environmental regulations, along with territorial planning. The team further includes experienced counsel Alejandra Aránguiz, who ‘has complete knowledge of the subjects she advises on’; and senior associate and residential and commercial real estate project practitioner, María Teresa Diez.