Profile
Work Department
Position
Partner
Career
Humberto has vast experience advising multinational and local companies on a wide range of tax, accounting and custom matters. He is recognized as one of the leading tax practitioners in Venezuela and has represented companies in several of the most relevant tax and transfer pricing litigations in Venezuela.
Before joining D’Empaire in 2012, Humberto was a partner at Tinoco, Travieso, Planchart, Erminy y Asociados (1986-1997), Managing Partner at Romero-Muci & Asociados from 1997 to 2012, International Partner at Andersen Legal from 1997 to 2002 and later Deloitte from 2002 to 2012.
Recent representations include:
- Weatherford, in several corporate transactions and tax litigations.
- Coca Cola Femsa de Venezuela in a multi-million dollar transfer pricing dispute.
- Mapfre Seguros in the tax implications of several transactions of its Venezuelan insurance company.
- Bancaribe in several tax disputes.
Humberto is currently ranked as “Band 1” by Chambers & Partners (2019 Venezuela Tax Rankings) and as a “Leading Lawyer” by The Legal 500 (2018 Venezuela Tax Rankings). He has authored more than 115 articles published in law reviews in Venezuela and abroad and more than 12 books in matters of accounting, law, taxation and tax litigation.
He has been awarded with several honors for his academic and professional career, such as the Annual Award granted by the Attorney General’s Office (1989); Honors Awards granted by the Academy of Political and Social Sciences (1991 and 2005); Nuck Wicksell Honor Award granted by the Venezuelan Association of Law and Economics (1997); Honor Award “Marcos Ramirez Murzi” granted by the Venezuelan Tax Law Association (2007 and 2008).
He is the chair professor and head of the finance law professorship at Universidad Catolica Andres Bello, professor of tax and accounting at the LLM Tax course at the same university, and professor at the PhD courses of Universidad Central de Venezuela.
Languages
Memberships
Education
He received a J.D. summa cum laude (first of his class) from Universidad Catolica Andres Bello in 1985, an LL.M. and a Specialization and Diploma on International Taxation from Harvard University in 1986 and a PhD from Universidad Central de Venezuela in 2003.
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Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- ‘The team is up to date on local regulations and, above all, on the way business is being done in the country. Our project involves negotiations with the public sector, and they have the knowledge to advise us professionally in new areas where there is little public information. They also use technological tools that allow for a quick response to our queries, which goes hand in hand with our organisation's culture.’
- ‘The main quality of the firm’s lawyers is their ability to advise us with a business mentality. While they have been clear in conveying risks, they go further to find innovative solutions that allow us to move forward while keeping our investment protected. There is also a very important culture of being available, providing quick responses, and a key strength is the teamwork between the firm's partners and lawyers, who work seamlessly together.’
Key clients
- Bekaert
- Colgate-Palmolive