Camilo Martínez Beltran > DLA Piper Martinez Beltrán > Bogota, Colombia > Lawyer Profile

Standing out for its combination of legal and commercial acumen, the team at DLA Piper Martinez Beltrán ‘always contributes ideas to improve the client’s business’. The group covers the waterfront on banking and finance matters, with robust offerings in project finance, structured finance, capital markets and regulatory-related issues. Firm managing partner Camilo Martínez, who handles a mix of banking, corporate and contentious work, co-heads the department and brings to bear broad cross-practice expertise. Martínez recently advised Banco de Bogota on the spin-off of certain of its assets in Panama and Central America before the Superintendence of Finance and the Colombian Stock Exchange — as part of the wider reorganisation process of Banco de Bogotá and Grupo Aval. Practice co-head Sebastián Lora is particularly recognised for his experience in project finance and infrastructure-related issues; he advised the lenders on a COP$1.5bn credit agreement for the the ‘Malla Vial del Valle del Cauca’ toll-road project. Corporate and finance partner Juan Manuel de la Rosa and private equity specialist Felipe Quintero are also key contacts at senior level. The team additionally draws on banking and finance-focused senior associates Carlos Guzmán and  María José Assis.

Noted for its ‘timely delivery of results’, DLA Piper Martinez Beltrán’s capital markets group has experience in representing issuers, underwriters, brokers, placement agents and investors on debt and equity transactions. Managing partner Camilo Martínez spearheads the department and brings to bear complementary practice expertise in corporate, banking, foreign investment and dispute resolution. Other key contacts include associate director Juan Camilo Varón, who focuses on corporate, commercial and energy law; and associate Sebastián Pomárico, who provides support on banking, finance and corporate issues.

DLA Piper Martinez Beltrán’s dispute resolution group strikes the right note with sources for its ‘strong focus on service’. The multidisciplinary practice handles a broad range of contentious matters, with notable activity in civil and commercial litigation, administrative proceedings and constitutional actions, among others. Key contacts include managing partner Camilo Martínez, whose litigation expertise is supplemented by his complementary strength in corporate and finance transactions. Martínez recently paired up with Julian Solorza, who advises on all aspects of dispute resolution, to represent Club El Nogal in an action brought by a former club member, who was banned from the club for five years by its board of directors. Martínez and Solorza co-head the department together with insurance and reinsurance specialist Sergio Rojas and José Miguel Mendoza, who specialises in corporate conflicts, and energy and natural resources. Other senior names include Nicolás Polanía, who advises on arbitration, litigation and corporate law matters; and Ricardo Alarcón, who is the associate director of the arbitration team. At associate level, seniors Sergio Londoño and Juan Pablo Amaya are both noted for their emphasis on corporate litigation. Intermediate associate María José Figueroa left in July 2022 to study abroad. Since publication, both Londoño and Amaya have been raised to the partnership – effective as of February 2024.

DLA Piper Martinez Beltrán’s projects team finds favour for its ‘high level of responsiveness and accountability’. The group acts on a significant volume of secondary market transactions — Macquarie Asset Management stands as a trophy client in this segment — and also handles project finance and development work. Banking and finance specialist Sebastián Lora co-heads the department alongside infrastructure, projects, and public law partner Olga Lucía Ramírez, who joined in August 2022 from the Ministry of Transportation. Private equity expert Felipe Quintero and managing partner Camilo Martínez also handle projects-related matters. Former department co-head Paola Aldana  left to go freelance in February 2023.

DLA Piper Martinez Beltrán’s Colombian arbitration offering forms a part of the international firm’s comprehensive global practice. Although primarily engaged on domestic cases, the team is distinguished by its ability to draw on arbitration specialists in many of the world’s leading arbitration centres, including New York, Paris and London. Insurance specialist Sergio Rojas has significant experience in arbitral proceedings, including recent cases involving the insurance and infrastructure spheres. Rojas co-heads the department alongside corporate and finance partner Camilo Martínez and Julian Solorza, whose practice has an emphasis on domestic arbitration. Associate director of the international arbitration practice Ricardo Alarcón is also recommended.

According to sources, DLA Piper Martinez Beltrán’s insurance team strikes ‘the perfect balance between price and quality’. The group remains busy advising domestic and multinational insurers and insured entities on claims litigation and regulatory matters, with its recent experience encompassing the energy, financial services, real estate and construction industries. The department is led jointly by Sergio Rojas, who specialises in litigation concerning insurance, infrastructure claims, compliance, and financial risks; and Camilo Martínez, whose practice spans corporate, finance, and dispute resolution. Associate Daniel Felipe Coca left to study abroad in June 2022.

‘A first-rate team that is focused on seeking transactional solutions’, DLA Piper Martinez Beltrán attracts glowing reviews from sources for its lawyers’ ‘experience and knowledge in everything related to M&A’. Distinguished by its extensive global network and increasingly prominent position in infrastructure-related deals, the comprehensive practice covers the full life-cycle of corporate and M&A matters, with notable experience in cross-border work. Among the names to note, key partner Felipe Quintero had a banner year, which included advising Macquarie Asset Management on the acquisition of 50% of Odinsa’s road concession business in Colombia. In another significant infrastructure highlight, corporate and finance specialist Juan Manuel de la Rosa advised John Laing on the acquisition of two electric bus concessions in Bogotá from Somos K Fondo Ashmore Andino II – FCP, and Ashmore Andean Fund II. Outside of the infrastructure sphere, managing partner Camilo Martínez utilised his dual practice strengths in corporate and financial law to represent Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores in a spin-off process of certain of its assets in Panama and Central America before the Superintendence of Finance and the Colombian Stock Exchange, as part of the reorganisation process of Banco de Bogota and Grupo Aval. At senior level, the department also includes Felipe Aristizabal, who was promoted to partner in January 2023, and restructuring and insolvency specialist Nicolás Polanía. The deep corporate bench additionally draws on directors Juan Camilo Varón and Juan Carlos Gambín (‘a young and brilliant lawyer’), as well as senior associates Daniela Duarte, Natalia Bernal and María Alejandra Cabrera. Since pubication, the practice has been notably strengthened with the hire of Dario Laguado Giraldo -formerly chair of the corporate and M&A practice at Brigard Urrutia, (effective April 2024).