Mr Alberto Cardemil > Carey > Santiago, Chile > Lawyer Profile

With ‘incredible knowledge and understanding of mining regulation and practice‘, Carey‘s eight-member team consistently acts for metallic and non-metallic mineral mining companies on the country’s most important mining projects. The department assists with project development matters, financing and M&A deals, and its expertise covers exploration, exploitation and processing activities. The practice is co-led by Rafael Vergara, ‘a senior statesman in the mining legal world‘, whose expertise spans all aspects of mining law; Alberto Cardemil, one of Chile’s leading experts on water rights; and counsel Francisco Corona, whose practice focuses on natural resources, mining, energy and environmental law. Within the mining group’s senior associate pool, Maximiliano Urrutia is ‘a solid adviser‘, while Esteban Fresno assists with natural resources, mining, water, energy, environmental and indigenous law.

The sizeable infrastructure, project development and project finance practice at market stalwart Carey has extensive experience in the development, financing and execution of energy infrastructure projects (thermoelectric, hydroelectric, oil and gas, wind, photovoltaic and biomass). The firm’s heavyweight projects expertise also covers mining, roads, hospitals, telecoms networks, ports, airport infrastructure, concessions, and housing and hospitality services. The ‘deeply capable‘ practice fields several leaders, namely: Rafael Vergara, who routinely advises on major mining transactions in Chile; Oscar Aitken, who co-heads the firm’s construction and engineering group alongside real estate group head Juan Pablo Stitchkin; Juan Francisco Mackenna and José Miguel Bustamante, who both advise on a broad range of energy and infrastructure projects; water rights expert Alberto Cardemil, the co-head of the natural resources and environmental group; project development and finance specialist Felipe Moro; and Fernando Noriega, who focuses on project financing, banking law, lending, capital markets and foreign investment. Within the senior associate pool, Juan Pablo Vukasovic has notable projects experience, but former fellow senior Sophia Bobadilla left in February 2022.

The 12-member environmental practice group at full-service firm Carey comprises ‘very good professionals who give very appropriate legal advice‘. The team routinely advises on environmental impact assessments and environmental sanctioning proceedings, with its clients including mining, energy, infrastructure, water utilities, aquaculture and agriculture industry businesses. It also has extensive experience in water rights. Moreover, the firm’s environmental litigation practice, alongside the firm’s dispute resolution group (co-led by environmental disputes specialist Aldo Molinari), handles complex environmental litigation, including defences before the environmental courts. The department is co-led -in conjunction with Molinari- by Alberto Cardemil, who leads the firm’s water and agribusiness practices; and Rafael Vergara, who is experienced in regulatory and environmental evaluation processes. Within the senior associate pool, Tomás De La Maza is a water, agribusiness and corporate law expert, while Manuel José Barros and Julio Recordon both ‘stand out for their availability and flexibility‘. Since publication, Barros and Recordon have been raised to the partnership – effective as of December 2022.