Mr Gonzalo Jiménez > Cariola Díez Pérez-Cotapos > Santiago, Chile > Lawyer Profile

Cariola Díez Pérez-Cotapos‘ public law expertise traditionally focused on heavily regulated industries, such as gas distribution, energy generation, transmission and distribution, the water industry and telecoms. Of late, the practice has expanded to cover administrative procedure-related constitutional actions involving securities and food and beverage regulations, as well as education. The five-strong regulatory law department, which includes members of the environmental, energy, utilities and administrative law practices, is led by Gonzalo Jiménez. However, experienced counsel Carolina Helfmann  (constitutional, environmental and regulatory law), left the firm in December 2019.

Cariola Díez Pérez-Cotapos‘ sizeable 38-member practice group covers the infrastructure-project lifecycle from planning, finance, development and construction, through to operation and transactional matters. It is particularly experienced in energy projects (including greenfield), and regularly assists mining companies and its strong industrial client roster on their PPA requirements and associated needs. Carlos Pérez-Cotapos frequently advises on significant foreign mining investment projects; Rodrigo Sepúlveda is a finance, banking, securities and project finance expert; Cristián Herrera‘s practice covers project development, foreign investment, infrastructure, corporate law and security market regulations; and Gonzalo Jiménez is an infrastructure project specialist. Managing partner Juan Pablo Matus and Gonzalo Grez provide further partner-level support.

Particularly active advising on the environmental legal aspects concerning the development of power plants, and industrial and telecoms facilities, recently, Cariola Díez Pérez-Cotapos fields a six-strong team. The practice also handles litigious matters and acts in sanctioning procedures. Gonzalo Jiménez is head of the regulatory law department, which includes the environment, energy, regulated public services and administrative law areas. Key environmental practitioners include Martín Astorga, who has some 17 years’ environmental law experience – including a spell at regulatory body CONAMA; and senior associate Verónica Cuadra, who returned to the firm in late 2019 having completed her LLM studies at Cambridge University.

Cariola Díez Pérez-Cotapos‘ eight-member department has longstanding experience in advising on greenfield thermal power plants in Chile. It also acts for mining companies and industrial clients, which demand large blocks of energy through PPAs, and assists developers with the bidding process for the sale of energy and capacity. Gonzalo Jiménez heads the department, which includes Sergio Díez (focusing on wind farms and greenfield projects), Martín Astorga – who assists with the environmental side of energy projects – and associate Verónica Cuadra (on electricity regulations).