Jiménez de Aréchaga, Viana & Brause

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Jimenez de Arechaga, Viana & Brause enjoys a well-established reputation for trustworthiness and a prestigious client list that were built upon the shoulders of its internationally-renowned founder, Professor Eduardo Jimenez de Arechaga, and that were cemented by more than 70 years of high-quality, personalised and devoted service. A full-service provider, Jimenez de Arechaga is the result of the 2001 merger between Jimenez de Arechaga & Brause and Estudio Hector A Viana, a merger that combined the recognised practice in the banking, financial and corporate fields of the former with the strong litigation practice of the latter. On the tenth anniversary of the merger, Jimenez de Arechaga prides itself on having successfully completed the transition from a family-based to an enterprise organisation.

Main areas of practice

Banking/finance: Jimenez de Arechaga has always enjoyed a dominant presence in the Uruguayan financial community, providing advice on a regular basis to the most relevant actors in the market. It conducted from day one the Uruguay chapter for the ABN AMRO and Banco Santander global merger, giving rise to the largest private bank in Uruguay. It has strong muscle in its capital markets practice, having participated in many of the most prominent recent deals, which included issuances of debt securities, future-flows securitisations, financial trust vehicles of consumer loans, and currently in the first IPO to be done under the new regulatory framework enacted in 2009. In 2010 the firm partnered with key players in the financial sector to create Efidus, the first structured finance company in Uruguay to provide integral services of structuring, placement, administration and legal implementation of financial trusts and other structured products.

Corporate/M&A: The firm’s international corporate and M&A practice has placed its lawyers at the centre of the most complex and challenging transactions in Uruguay. The transactional work includes mergers, spin-offs, stock purchases, and transfers of assets, and is usually interrelated with the labour and tax practices. This full service approach allows us to participate as main actors in major transactions that require of multidisciplinary attention. Currently the firm is leading the Uruguay chapter for the Kraft worldwide acquisition of Cadbury.

Real estate: The firm has been involved in the real estate sector, first linked to the purchase of agribusinesses and now assisting in the implementation of residential communities. Currently the firm is providing advice in the development of a luxury hotel and residential community with amenities in the exclusive resort of Jose Ignacio.

Project finance, energy, oil & gas, natural resources, agribusiness: Due to recent and proposed amendments in legislation, infrastructure projects are set to take centre stage in Uruguay. The firm is in the driving seat of this booming process, thanks to its role as adviser to the Uruguayan Association of Private Generators of Electrical Energy, and its participation in several project finance deals such as the construction of a regasification plant and of a convention centre. The firm offers a valuable component of expertise as far as agribusiness and natural resources (forestry, mining) matters are concerned.

Arbitration and litigation: Since our practice covers matters of almost all sectors of the economy, our litigation work is diverse. It includes all phases of preparation, trial and appellate litigation of actions in all courts. In addition, we are regularly involved in local and international arbitration cases. As a member of the roster of arbitrators of the Uruguayan Chamber of Commerce, senior partner Fernando Jimenez de Arechaga is periodically called upon to render services as arbitrator.

Labour & employment: The firm’s well-regarded labour department mainly represents employers in matters involving all aspects of labor relations. Matters regularly handled by this department include employment contracts, collective bargaining, employment litigation, outsourcing, employment compensation and social security.

Tax & accounting: Our tax and accounting practice gives support to our business practice, inasmuch as tax issues associated with business organisation planning, foreign investments, free zones and offshore activities arise.

The firm’s international clientele is diverse and includes international banks and financial institutions (eg, Banco Santander, ABN AMRO, Banca Privada d’Andorra, Banco Itaú, ING Bank NV, Goldman Sachs & Co, General Electric Capital, Zürcher Kantonalbank), pension funds (República AFAP), and multinational corporations (eg. Ericsson, McDonald’s, Google, Dole Foods, PGG Wrightson (agribusiness), Nidera (agribusiness), Pepsi, Kraft, Navios Corporation (maritime), Marfrig Group (meatpacking), Nortel, General Electric Medical, BearingPoint, Four Seasons, Fox Entertainment, New Skies Satellites, Satelites Mexicanos).