Mr Juan Antonio Parodi > Cariola Díez Pérez-Cotapos > Santiago, Chile > Lawyer Profile

Full-service market-mainstay Cariola Díez Pérez-Cotapos fields an eleven-member banking and finance group that is consistently sought out by major financial institutions to assist with structuring cross-border financial and structured finance transactions. The team also has notable expertise in energy mining and infrastructure-related project finance; acquisition and corporate financings; and restructurings of international and domestic corporations. It additionally comprises specialists in secured financing involving agriculture producers and fish farming operations, as well as trade finance and derivatives. Fintech is a notable growth area for the firm, while the department additionally assists banks and financial institutions with their interactions with local regulators. Recent highlights for the team include advising Aquaship Group, as borrowers and guarantors, on a senior facilities agreement executed in January 2024 with the mandated lead arrangers, as well as the coordinator, facility agent and security agent. The group’s key practitioners are senior partner Francisco Javier Illanes, whose track record includes numerous high-end finance, banking and capital markets matters; Rodrigo Sepúlveda, an expert in project finance and syndicated loans; and Juan Antonio Parodi, who has extensive experience in financings, refinancings, syndicated loans and infrastructure-related project finance. At associate level, senior Sergio Balharry and intermediate Teresita Fernández both handle banking, finance and capital markets, along with corporate M&A.

The 11-strong capital markets team at full-service firm Cariola Díez Pérez-Cotapos is consistently mandated by issuers, investment banks, placement agents, financial advisers and investors on the public and private debt and equity offering of securities in Chile and the international markets. The group’s specialisms cover IPOs, Rule 144A/Reg S work, private placements and American depositary receipts. The team recently advised Compañía Cervecerías Unidas on the amendment and restructuring of unsecured 20-year Series H notes, in addition to assisting Transbank (as issuer) with the registration of unsecured bonds. The practice’s key advisers are senior partner Francisco J Illanes, who is an expert in finance, banking, capital markets, M&A and telecoms; Rodrigo Sepúlveda , whose wide-ranging practice focuses on advising Chilean and foreign banks and financial institutions, as well as Chilean companies, on banking and finance law, securities, foreign Investment, project finance, and the issuance of debt and capital instruments; and Juan Antonio Parodi, a highly-experienced adviser to major issuers and underwriters on domestic and international debt and equity capital market transactions. In the firm’s sizeable associate pool, seniors Sergio Balharry (who routinely advises on bond issuances) and Teresita Fernández are the key figures for capital markets work.

Cariola Díez Pérez-Cotapos‘ 14-member data privacy practice acts for international and domestic IT, telecoms, media and internet companies on data processing issues. The firm is also home to lawyers who are certified in cloud services, such expertise being leveraged during the design of clients’ IT platforms. The group’s main advisers are Rodrigo Lavados, who is a software and database expert; senior partner and financial, banking and capital markets department head Francisco Illanes; Raimundo Moreno, who specialises in civil and arbitration proceedings; and financing and refinancing deal specialist, Juan Antonio Parodi. At senior associate level, Gabriel Pensa‘s experience includes designing and implementing personal data-related corporate policies.

As part of its full-service legal offering, Cariola Díez Pérez-Cotapos fields a 13-strong TMT practice that primarily assists major IT, telecoms, media and internet companies on their investments in domestic companies. The group also advises on significant joint ventures, transactional IP, TMT-related litigation, IT and media projects’ regulatory issues, data processing and infrastructure projects with a notable technological component, along with associated corporate matters. The team’s recent caseload further includes multidisciplinary projects involving the development and licensing of IT, mapping processes, and identifying personal data and cybersecurity-related compliance gaps and mitigation measures. Of additional note, the firm is home to several coders and is cloud services-certified. The technology, privacy and media practice is co-led by Rodrigo Lavados, whose experience includes advising on the preparation of software licenses, technology transfers, audits and due diligence processes for data and computer programmes, and technological infrastructure projects; senior partner Francisco J Illanes, who in addition to telecoms advises on finance, banking, capital markets and M&A; and Juan Antonio Parodi, whose broad practice includes high-value financing and refinancing transactions. At senior associate level Gabriel Pensa is an expert in personal data protection projects, his workload including auditing technological infrastructure to identify compliance issues; and Eduardo Vilches, whose practice focuses on technology, cybersecurity and privacy.