Cariola, Diez, Pérez-Cotapos & Cía Ltda

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Cariola Díez Pérez-Cotapos & Cía Ltda (Cariola) is one of the leading and largest business law firms in Chile. The firm is focused on providing legal advice to corporations and businesses.

Cariola offers high-quality legal advice to its clients and provides a comprehensive range of legal services to meet today’s business needs, including commercial and corporate law; mergers and acquisitions; mining and natural resources; energy; oil and gas; public utilities and infrastructure; banking and finance; securities and capital markets; foreign investments; environmental matters; taxation; labour, employment and immigration; litigation; mediation and arbitration; administrative law and municipal law; real estate and urban development; insurance; hotels and entertainment; media and telecommunications; fisheries and aquaculture; competition and antitrust; consumer law; information technology; and intellectual property.

In relation to intellectual property, the firm (through its sister company, Sargent & Krahn) is the leading firm in Chile considering the volume of trademarks and patents that are handled by the firm, and having the largest portfolio of domestic as well as international clients.

The firm has a leading practice in the field of mergers and acquisitions, advising important companies on the acquisition of listed corporations and private companies in Chile, including on public biddings or simultaneous tender offers, for example in Chile and in the United States. The firm’s telecommunications, energy and utilities, privatisation, finance, and securities laws experience is also at the forefront. In terms of mining and natural resources, the firm is a major player, having been involved in significant transactions, participating in the development of mines in Chile and related services industry.

Cariola’s lawyers are trained to be proactive in the best interest of clients, especially those based abroad. They are on top of legal and business developments and provide information on changes in the legal framework and policies, informing on the effects that these changes might have for clients and their projects.

The partners and associate lawyers of Cariola Díez Pérez-Cotapos are outstanding practitioners and gained recognition in the academic field by lecturing as professors in Chile’s most respected law schools and universities. Furthermore, present and past lawyers of the firm participated in the drafting of Chile’s current constitution, acted as legal advisers to public and governmental entities, and have been members of the Chilean Senate. The partners and associates are at least bilingual, and many members of the firm hold postgraduate degrees from universities in the United States or Europe and have spent time abroad training at international law firms. This has enhanced their foreign language abilities and broadened their exposure to the international legal environment.

Many of the firm’s lawyers are consulted in Chile in matters relating to their specialisations, and participate in conferences and seminars, both nationally and abroad.

Cariola has its main office in Santiago and a branch in the northern city of Antofagasta, covering all of Chile. The firm maintains strong and permanent relationships with other law firms in Chile and abroad, and over the years has developed an extensive network of professional contacts and relationships with the leading law firms of Latin America.

Languages: English, French, German, Italian, Chinese (Mandarin), Portuguese, and Spanish.

2010 Developments

Cariola Díez Pérez-Cotapos has participated in many of the most important recent transactions in Chile. In the M&A department, the firm assisted Temasek group of Singapore in the purchase of 2.5 per cent of the shares in LAN Airlines; ED&F Man in the sale of its Chilean subsidiary to Empresas Iansa SA and Iansagro SA Inversiones Núcleo SA, the acquisition of a majority stake of Cintra Chile Ltda by Interconexión Eléctrica SA, ESP (ISA); Cofco Wines & Spirit Co of China in the acquisition of Viñas Bisquertt; the combination Lan and Tam Airlines; the acquisition of Chilevisión (leading local TV operator) by Turner Broadcasting Inc, among others. The litigation department has recently participated in many cases resolved under the rules of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). In the area of Mining, the firm has participated in important transactions such as the transfer of Xstrata participation in El Morro Project to Newgold Inc. The finance and banking area of practice has represented DnB NOR BANK ASA in connection with a facility agreement granted to Marine Harvest ASA; a syndicated group of Chilean and international banks led by Rabobank Curaçao NV in connection with a restructuring credit facility granted to Invertec Ostimar SA, among other transactions.

In addition, during 2010 Cariola promoted to partnership Rodrigo Sepúlveda (finance and banking), Mónica van der Schraft (arbitration and litigation) and María Luisa Valdés (intellectual property).

www.cariola.cl