Consortium Legal > La Libertad, El Salvador > Firm Profile

Consortium Legal > The Legal 500 Rankings

El Salvador > Corporate and M&A Tier 1

The corporate practice at Consortium Legal continues to lead in the Salvadoran market, leveraging the deep bench strength of locations in El Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua to advise national and international corporations, insurers and financial institutions involved in high-value, multi-jurisdictional transactions. The firm’s active client base includes household-name brands such as Amazon, PepsiCo and Walmart, and spans sectors ranging from telecoms, food and beverages, and retail to tech, fintech, pharmaceuticals and real estate. The comprehensive practice extends to cover M&A, asset purchase agreements, company incorporations, due diligence processes, licensing issues and corporate governance. An experienced trio of partners oversees the team – El Salvador managing partner Oscar Samour, who draws on multidisciplinary expertise when handling M&A transactions; Diego Martín, who has over 20 years of experience in the infrastructure, insurance and tech sectors and in the tax aspects of corporate transactions; and Maria Alejandra Tulipano, who assists private and public companies with strategic regional expansion, public tenders and concession contracts. The deep bench of junior lawyers includes senior associates Fidel Márquez, who advises on M&A and the sale and purchases of assets, and Felipe Aragón, who, in addition to major transactions, handles issues in heavily regulated sectors, and associate Gustavo Vega, who assists domestic and multinational businesses with the participation in and award of public tenders.

El Salvador > Banking and finance

With offices in Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua, the team at Consortium Legal is supported by a strong platform in the region when advising government agencies and major multinational banks and financial institutions, including Credit Suisse, Citibank and the Bank of Nova Scotia, on high-value, cross-border financial transactions. The team is headed by El Salvador office managing partner Oscar Samour, an authority in the financial sector with over 18 years of experience. He is supported by a capable junior team, including senior associate Felipe Aragón, who handles complex financing structures and financial matters in heavily regulated sectors, and associates Annette Herrera, who manages the negotiation of guaranty trusts and local and international loan agreements, and Daniel Leiva, a specialist in fintech who was appointed director of the firm’s fintech and cryptoassets practice in April 2023. Since publication, Annette Herrera has left the firm.

El Salvador > Dispute resolution Tier 2

With locations in Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua, the team at Consortium Legal is well equipped to handle complex, multi-jurisdictional disputes. Spanning such sectors as agriculture, construction, retail, banking and hospitality, the group’s client base of financial institutions and domestic, regional and multinational corporations includes key market players such as Motorola and Operadora Del Sur (the distribution centre of Walmart). The team is led by César Ramos, who brings to bear over 35 years’ experience in arbitration and other alternative dispute resolution methods, as well as civil, commercial, economic crime and labour litigation. The group is supported by associates Diego Rivera, who assists with administrative litigation (including environmental cases and sanctioning proceedings before public bodies) and specialises in the telecoms, energy and aeronautics industries, and Némesis Guevara, who joined the firm in April 2022 from a role in the courts.

El Salvador > Tax Tier 2

The tax group at Consortium Legal pairs a strong regional presence (with locations in Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Nicaragua) with the experience of its team to provide major multinationals with a comprehensive tax service across the entire business life cycle. With a broad client base spanning such sectors as consumer products, telecoms, banking, energy and food, the team advises on the tax aspects of matters ranging from company incorporations to international trade, distribution, licensing, and commercial transactions and contracts. The practice is led by Diego Martín, who has over 20 years of experience in the practice area and who represents clients in tax and customs litigation at the administrative and judicial levels. The capable pool of junior lawyers includes senior associate William Escobar, whose practice takes in defending clients against tax assessment procedures and the imposition of internal, customs and municipal tax penalties, and associates Verónica Tadeo, who benefits from a background at the Salvadoran Internal Revenue Service, Carlos Pineda, who advises companies seeking to obtain tax benefits under the International Services Law and the Law for Industrial and Commercial Free Zones, and associate Gonzalo Manzano, who joined from freelance practice in June 2022 and manages corporate structuring and the tax optimisation of businesses.

El Salvador > Intellectual property Tier 3

The experienced team at Consortium Legal works closely with the firm’s other regional offices in Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua to manage and safeguard the intellectual property of domestic, regional and multinational corporations across such sectors as pharmaceuticals, banking, healthcare, food and beverages, and cosmetics. The firm’s comprehensive service extends to matters involving copyright, patents and trade marks, sanitary and pharmaceutical registrations, and litigation. The practice is headed by Suzane De Tablas, who has over 22 years’ experience in the practice area, advising on border actions, trade mark nullification and cancellation for non-use, copyright infringement, licensing, franchise contracts and IP due diligence on corporate transactions. The team is supported by senior associate Francisco Medrano, who specialises in trade mark proceedings before the Trademark Department of the Intellectual Property Registry of El Salvador and assists clients with matters related to unfair competition and anti-piracy through advising on border measures and the cancellation and nullity of trade marks.

Central America > Corporate and finance

Consortium Legal maintains a formidable offering across Central America, with a presence in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras (in both Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula), Nicaragua and Costa Rica (where it has branches in San José and Escazú, as well as two offices in Guanacaste, taking advantage of the province’s thriving tourism sector). The firm plays a prominent role in both domestic and cross-border financial transactions, and routinely advises foreign investors on projects in the region. In Costa Rica, Mario Quesada-Bianchini, who has three decades of experience in financial transactions and banking M&A (and also coordinates the firm’s regional finance practice), and fintech lead Randall Barquero are among the key contacts for financial matters, while Rolando Laclé Zúñiga, an expert in M&A and foreign investment, and Juan Manuel Godoy are names to note in the corporate team. Oscar Samour, a go-to specialist in multi-jurisdictional transactions, heads the banking practice in El Salvador, and steers the corporate team alongside Maria Alejandra Tulipano, who has a focus on international commerce, and Diego Martín. Olga Barreto, whose expertise spans the corporate, finance and aviation spheres, leads the team in Nicaragua. In Guatemala, the highly regarded Álvaro Castellanos heads the finance practice, while Alfredo Rodríguez, who has complementary tax expertise, and Rafael Alvarado Riedel lead the corporate team. An experienced quartet of partners – José Ramón Paz Morales, José Ramón Paz Padilla, Gustavo León-Gómez and José Rafael Rivera – handles corporate and finance matters in Honduras.

San Jose, Costa Rica

San Jose, Costa Rica

San Jose, Costa Rica

San Jose, Costa Rica

San Jose, Costa Rica

San Jose, Costa Rica

San Jose, Costa Rica

San Jose, Costa Rica

San Jose, Costa Rica

San Jose, Costa Rica

San Jose, Costa Rica