Mr Francisco Varela > Barros Silva Varela & Vigil > Santiago, Chile > Lawyer Profile

The five-member natural resources and mining practice at Barros Silva Varela & Vigil is notably focused on companies involved in mineral exploration and prospecting. The department is routinely mandated to advise on the development of mining projects, from the initial stages of exploration, through to execution, financing and permit stages. The team is led by Francisco Varela, an adviser on mining companies’ M&A transactions and projects. 2023 saw mining, energy and natural resources practitioner Javier Poblete, a former Cariola Díez Pérez-Cotapos lawyer, join the firm as a senior associate in April, while former associate Fernanda Contreras left the firm in August.

The ‘very practical and efficient’ corporate and M&A team at Barros Silva Varela & Vigil has significant experience in cross-border transactions, including M&A in the telecoms, agro-industrial, services, mining, energy, pharmaceutical and real estate sectors. The practice also houses experts in corporate governance and family offices. The department’s key figures are Jorge Vigil, an adviser on M&A, restructuring and contract negotiations; Rodrigo de Alencar, ‘an expert in negotiating M&A’; litigation head Fernando Barros Vial, who also advises on corporate affairs and corporate structures; and natural resources specialist Francisco Varela. The practice further includes M&A and investment fund-focused director Sebastián Barros; and senior associate Josefina Castro, who advises on compliance, corporate law and M&A.