Mr Diego Martín > Consortium Legal > La Libertad, El Salvador > Lawyer Profile

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.

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.

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.