Javier Vergara > Vergara Galindo Correa Abogados > Santiago, Chile > Lawyer Profile

Vergara Galindo Correa Abogados
BADAJOZ NO 45, 8TH FLOOR
LAS CONDES
SANTIAGO
Chile
Javier Vergara photo

Position

Partner

Career

Lawyer, Universidad de Chile. Specialization Program “Environmental Policy Development and Implementation”, organized by the Environmental Law Institute, Washington, DC, United States.

He began his career in the public sector as part of the Special Decontamination Commission for the Metropolitan Region which he joined in 1991.  Subsequently he joined the National Environmental Commission (CONAMA) of which he was Technical Secretary, Prosecutor and Director of the Metropolitan Region.  In 1998 he joined the law firm “Urrutia y Cia”, initially as an associate and later as partner.  In 2005 he formed the law firm VGC Abogados.

He has been a professor of Environmental Law at the Universidad de Chile since 1998.

His career has positioned him as one of the most recognized experts in environmental law in Chile for which he has been distinguished as a Leading Lawyer in the environmental category for the publication of The Legal 500, Leading Individual in Chambers and Partners Latin America for the environmental category and in Who´s Who Legal as an expert in the environment. As well as, in the Best Lawyers directory, he has been highlighted as the best lawyer in the environmental category in several years.

He is a member of the Chilean Bar Association and the Chilean Association of Environmental Law (ACHIDAM).

Lawyer Rankings

Chile > Environment

(Hall of Fame)

Javier VergaraVergara Galindo Correa Abogados

Vergara Galindo Correa Abogados‘ sizeable environmental and regulatory department comprises specialists in the environmental assessment of natural resources projects (predominantly mining and water) of all sizes. It also assists with obtaining the authorisations and permits required for the development, construction and operation of such projects, as well as advising on compliance issues. On the contentious front, the team regularly litigates in constitutional, administrative, civil and criminal law disputes. The team inclcudes several partners with past-public sector experience: Mario Galindo‘s career includes 10 years as a litigator at National Environmental Commission (CONAMA); Javier Vergara is a former CONAMA (Metropolitan Region) technical secretary, prosecutor and director; and Cecilia Urbina‘s curriculum includes being the first compliance and sanction division head at the Superintendence of the Environment (SMA). The team also includes highly-rated environmental law specialist José Luis Fuenzalida, while current litigation department head Ignacio Mujica (raised to partner in December 2022) acts in environmental damage litigation claims. At director level, Francisca Olivares routinely assists with obtaining projects’ environmental approvals and the processing of environmental and sectoral permits; and Elena Fischman focuses on environmental compliance and risks. Associate Josefa Conget acts in environmental and administrative litigation, but former senior Paula Gajardo left the firm in May 2022.