Mr José Ramón Paz Morales > Consortium Legal > San Pedro Sula, Honduras > Lawyer Profile

Consortium Legal houses a comprehensive banking and finance practice, which encompasses loans, securitisations, electronic banking and payment systems matters, and regulatory compliance, as well as the incorporation of financial companies and their authorisation by the Central Bank of Honduras. In particular, the team is commended for its prowess in cross-border matters, frequently joining up with the firm’s regional offices to handle Central America-wide mandates for a host of domestic and international financial institutions. The practice is led by the experienced trio of José Ramón Paz Morales (who is noted for his expertise in multi-jurisdictional transactions and banking regulation), Honduras managing partner José Ramón Paz Padilla (a seasoned expert in advising both lenders and borrowers on international finance matters) and Gustavo León-Gómez (whose practice has an emphasis on corporate and consumer finance and regulatory issues). José Rafael Rivera is also a key name at senior level.

Regional heavyweight Consortium Legal houses a comprehensive corporate practice in Honduras, based in offices in Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula, with wide-ranging expertise spanning M&A, corporate reorganisations and commercial issues. Taking advantage of the firm’s presence throughout Central America, the team is particularly active in advising multinational clients across sectors including retail, finance, technology and manufacturing, and is also well versed in multi-jurisdictional M&A, acting on both the buyer and seller side. Further strengths include advising on compliance with anti-money laundering regulations and the structuring of cross-border agency, franchise and distribution agreements. The team is led by José Rafael Rivera, whose broad practice encompasses the acquisition of companies in Honduras and Central America more widely, and José Ramón Paz Morales, who is commended for his experience in cross-border M&A, corporate reorganisations and capital markets transactions. José Ramón Paz Padilla, the managing partner and co-founder of the Honduras office, lends further expertise to the practice. As a member of the Central American Network for Corporate Social Responsibility (INTEGRARSE), the firm also promotes various sustainability programmes in the region.

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.