Mr Fernando Samaniego > Prieto Abogados > Santiago, Chile > Lawyer Profile
Prieto Abogados Offices
EL GOLF 40
13-14 FLOOR
SANTIAGO
Chile
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Mr Fernando Samaniego
Work Department
Litigation and Arbitration ,Antitrust ,Corporate ,Real Estate.
Position
Partner.
Career
Fernando Samaniego joined Prieto in 1988 and has been a partner since 1998. He currently heads the Litigation and Arbitration Department.
He manages the dispute resolution area and is counsel in lawsuits and proceedings before ordinary and arbitral courts regarding diverse matters that include disputes relating to construction, insurance, property and administrative law and environmental issues.
He has also been legal counsel in proceedings before administrative and regulatory authorities and has acted as arbitrator.
He works actively in the Unrestricted Competition Department and is involved in diverse proceedings before the Antitrust Court.
During his career, he has practiced in several areas of the law, including the Capital Market, Mergers and Acquisitions, Property Law and Construction, and has been legal counsel in major transactions and projects.
He studied law at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and he is a member of the Chilean Bar Association since 1989. He is currently Director of Aguas Andinas S.A and he is on the arbitrators roster of the Arbitration and Mediation Center of the Santiago Chamber of Commerce and of the National Arbitration Center. He has spoken at many seminars and conferences on Arbitration and Unrestricted Competition.
Memberships
He is a member of, the Chilean Bar Association.
Education
Diploma in the Economics of Competition, Fundamentals for Attorneys, Universidad de los Andes, 2005. Law Degree, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, 1989.
Lawyer Rankings
Chile > Competition and antitrust
The competition practice at Prieto Abogados handles contentious and non-contentious cases before the TDLC, representation before the FNE in cartel or abuse-of-dominant-position cases and (increasingly since the June 2017 reforms) merger-control review, along with preventative consultancy and compliance programmes. In TDLC matters, the team has been particularly active in the retail, agriculture, energy, banking and transport sectors. The dedicated four-strong team advises clients including Aguas Andinas, Banco Internacional, SURA and Transelec, calling on relevant partners including Claudio Undurraga (energy, infrastructure, arbitration), Fernando Samaniego (arbitration and litigation) and Juan Tagle (M&A) as necessary. Recent matters saw practice head Benjamín Grebe , who demonstrates ‘strong expertise’, lead the defence of Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha in an antitrust lawsuit against six maritime transport companies for allegedly collusive agreement of tender terms in the interoceanic automotive transport market. Other work included the deisgn of a compliance program for Watt’s and ongoing antirtrust advice to Puertos y Logisticas. Former senior associate Manfred Zink returned to the FNE in 2018 and was replaced by Nicolás Yuraszeck, himself returning to the firm after a period in London, most recently at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP.
Chile > Dispute resolution
The eight-strong team at Prieto Abogados is ‘usually well informed about almost every important case in Chile, even when not directly involved‘. The practice regularly acts before arbitrators and ordinary courts, particularly in disputes involving the energy, construction, real estate and retail sectors; the practice has also recently been active in insurance and healthcare-related matters. Recent headline mandates saw Alberto González V (arbitration, particularly in real estate, construction and energy disputes) and Fernando Samaniego (real estate, construction and anti-trust litigation) advise four electrical power generating companies (including Engie Energía Chile), in a $160.2m damages claim against GasAtacama Chile for unlawful conduct in relaton to the reporting of generation data. Other work saw González and Samaniego team up with senior partner Claudio Undurraga (utilities, energy, infrastructure and anti-trust litigation) to advise GWC Inversiones in a $21m damages claim for presumptive breadch of contract. Associate Juan Pablo Riesco is also a key team member. Clients include Engie Energía Chile, Huawei, Aguas Andinas, VivoCorp, Watt’s and Sibelco Chile.
Chile > Real estate
Prieto Abogados is well respected for its advice on the acquisition, development and construction of large real estate projects. Clients include Inversiones La Construcción, Desarrollos Urbanos and Inmobiliaria Deisa; current mandates include regularly advising real estate investment fund Fondo de Inversion Privado GSI I on property acquisitions. Infrastructure and real estate litigator Fernando Samaniego, Cristóbal Villarino and associate Juan Andrés Ilharreborde are the names to note.